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Title: Airman Spots Jetliner Fuel Leak At35,000 Feet
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Published: May 15, 2009
Author: wired
Post Date: 2009-05-15 20:51:53 by tom007
Keywords: None
Views: 57
Autopia Planes, Trains, Automobiles and the Future of Transportation Airman Spots Jetliner’s Fuel Leak At 35,000 Feet * By Chuck Squatriglia Email Author * May 15, 2009 | * 12:28 pm | * Categories: Air Travel fuel_leak2 Staff Sgt. Bartek Bachleda knew something was amiss almost immediately after the jetliner left Chicago. He’d looked out the window and saw what he thought was a fuel leak. He’d know, because he’s a boom operator with the 909th Air Refueling Station based at Kadena Air Base in Japan. That’s where he was headed. He was one of 300 people aboard the flight bound for Narita. Still, he wanted to be sure, so he kept close watch on the situation. After an hour, he was convinced the plane had a serious problem. He alerted the flight attendant, who appeared unconcerned. He started filming the leak. No one knew it at the time, but the plane was losing 6,000 pounds of fuel an hour. He showed the flight attendant the video. “Ma’am, it’s an emergency,” he told her after identifying himself, according to the U.S. Air Force. “You need to inform the captain before we go oceanic.” That convinced her. She told the captain. He watched the video. He announced that the plane was returning to Chicago, then decided to continue on to San Francisco. It was the only place passengers could catch another flight to Narita. Bachleda’s actions may have saved the lives of everyone aboard that flight, which the Air Force did not identify. Upon landing, the captain told Bachleda the plane wouldn’t have made it to Japan. * Posted by: jaysun | 05/15/09 | 12:53 pm Wow! That is friggin’ incredible. Those people are extraordinarily lucky to have had that man on-board. They owe him their lives. * Posted by: csmuncyphoto | 05/15/09 | 12:54 pm Good on you, SSgt. Bachleda. Here’s hoping your commander recognizes your quick thinking! * Posted by: grizzlyadam | 05/15/09 | 1:29 pm Good for him. So, where was the indicator telling the pilots that there was a leak? * Posted by: tmartin | 05/15/09 | 1:34 pm Agree with grizzlyadam. I find it pretty surprising the pilots were oblivious to this. * Posted by: Evil13rt | 05/15/09 | 2:49 pm I could be wrong, but I don’t think there’s a “hey goober, your burning your fuel too fast!” light on the dashboard. The may have noticed themselves coming up short on fuel, but ( through no real fault on them) that may not have happened until they were dangerously far from shore. The airman likely saved hundreds of lives. * Posted by: CaptainQueeg | 05/15/09 | 2:53 pm I hate to spoil the drama, but these guys were not about to suddenly run out of fuel and go Sullenberger on us in the North Pacific. At least every hour, the crew checks the fuel on board and compares it to the predicted FOB on the computer generated flight plan. A 6000lb/hr overburn is going to show up pretty quickly - that’s about how much each engine on a 747-400 burns in cruise. Chicago to Narita doesn’t even go over water until you’re well past Anchoarge - roughly 6 hours later. This was going to get caught while there were plenty of airports to choose from. Half way from SFO to HNL is another story though. The airman deserves his kudos for being persistent and bringing the problem to the crew’s attention early. * Posted by: BigTuna | 05/15/09 | 3:45 pm It seems like the flight attendants are always unconcerned about passenger-reported events, at least initially. While I understand the need to remain calm, it seems like attendants should default to ‘concerned’ until a situation is proven unfounded. * Posted by: jhsiao | 05/15/09 | 4:16 pm The livery on the winglet suggests the airline is United. Unsurprising since they have a major hub in Chicago. * Posted by: mystixa | 05/15/09 | 4:43 pm @bigtuna hey cant be concerned about every passengers concerns or they would be nervous wrecks. Few people are qualified to know whats normal, let alone what is an emergency on a plane. Essentially the passengers are cattle with fancy jewelry, nothing more. * Posted by: kmiahali | 05/15/09 | 4:49 pm Man, had that guy not been on board,everyone would have probably died. Amazing… * Posted by: psyced | 05/15/09 | 5:12 pm Honors. * Posted by: arbiter213 | 05/15/09 | 5:18 pm Actually, based on the wing tip coloration and it’s location/destination, my guess is it was an All Nippon Airways (ANA) flight. * Posted by: fletc3her | 05/15/09 | 5:23 pm Tell a flight attendant you’re concerned because a guy wearing a turban spent too long in the bathroom and see if they’re “unconcerned”. You’ll probably have fighter escorts within half an hour. I do find it hard to believe that the pilot hadn’t noticed the fuel leak. I guess it’s reassuring to think that their standard policy would have alerted them to the problem well in advance of when they could have diverted. * Posted by: daemonbarber | 05/15/09 | 5:58 pm Wired: “No one knew it at the time, but the plane was losing 6,000 pounds of fuel an hour.” . Air Force Link:”… the captain and the crew were trying to figure out how the aircraft was losing 6,000 pounds of fuel an hour …” . Gotta love hacking up a good article to turn it into Wired swill. Forget the facts, I guess it makes a better story if the pilots didn’t know there was a problem. Still, kudos to the airman… Even if the plane would have been fine (the pilots would hardly have tried to continue on if they couldn’t figure out what the problem was). * Posted by: timlfrench | 05/15/09 | 6:20 pm It’s United, look at the stripes. http://www.airliners.nl/images2007/301108-United-N641UA.jpg
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