captain Sullenberger,as a retired airline captain,is most certainly entitled to give an educated opinion with regard to the faa,crashes, and specific types of aircraft,just as many who are in or retired from aviation do on this site,flightaware..he does consulting now, and is often called upon to voice his opinion..when he did the now famous "landing in the Hudson",for which he has received many accolades,he was doing his job as a captain,making a decision which he and his co pilot knew was an alternative to crashing into buildings,their only other option,as he could not make it back to any airport..he is not a saint,nor a knight in shining armour,nor are those who respect the man "general public sheep"..he is a man who did the job he was paid to do,which was to be responsible for his aircraft,crew and the people on board..some are better at it than others,whether its luck,circumstances,training or years of experience..the faa and boeing are both under scrutiny at this time,because tha

(Written on 21/03/2019)(Permalink)

if you read mr dicksons credentials/resume,he appears to be more than qualified to head the faa..what matters in the job is the ability to work and understand the needs of the airlines and those who fly across the board,and be able to assure the safety and reliability of aircraft..he already has stated his opinons on the air traffic control system,which is to keep it as it is with improvement, and not use private contractors..i wish him well..

(Written on 21/03/2019)(Permalink)

this is the reason American ailines just halted all service in and out of Venezuela..the pilots and flight attendants unions were aware of possible incidents like this..those people are desparate as per a news report with video,they have no food,no water,nor even any electricity in caracas..

(Written on 18/03/2019)(Permalink)

there was a segment on one cable new program about the boeing plant were these max 737 are made..they are continuing to produce them per the orders they have..deliveries are halted as of now until the problem is verified and fixed however..

(Written on 18/03/2019)(Permalink)

congratulations to the staff and technical people who founded flightaware and keep it up and running..its a great website to read various articles on aviation issues and to comment and compare thoughts..also to keep track of specific flight information! happy 14th birthday!

(Written on 18/03/2019)(Permalink)

American airlines just recently ended the "lifespan/service" of its much used md-80, in order to replace them with newer aircraft,including the 737 max..i wonder if they will be able to fill in routes they fly with that aircraft,until the end of april when the computer programming issue is fixed by boeing..since southwest has an all 737 fleet,and only 34 of the newest max aircraft in service,they may be able to cope with just some cancellations..one thing is for sure,none are allowed to fly without flight attendants, and if their unions say,no way, those airplanes will be grounded...

(Written on 13/03/2019)(Permalink)

update with reference to the 737 max as of today..the faa still has not "grounded" the max 737 for u.s. based carriers...air Canada today announced they will stop fying it until the issue is resolved..boeing has stated as of yesterday they are working on a "fix" to the softwear which may have been a cause of the recent crashes, but will not be ready until the end of april..

(Written on 13/03/2019)(Permalink)

matt..you are correct..that was in 1979 and it was american airlines who used the dc 10 extensively,as did united airlines and continental airlines.there was a missing bolt which helped hold one of the engines in place,so all dc 10s were required to have serious additional maintenance checks done by every u s carrier using the plane..

(Written on 12/03/2019)(Permalink)

this is not the first time this sort of thing has happened,and it is not just united airlines that has had a problem..when a personis hired for any position with an airline,that particular companys rules, regulations and restrictions on employee or relative or friend travel is fully explained..

(Written on 11/03/2019)(Permalink)

there was an article similar to this one a while back..it may have been about the Lufthansa group, but in any case, the consensus with regard to the idea of a one man (or woman) cockpit by all of those who commented,was a definite no..there should be a two person cockpit crew for safety,as well as making the passengers feel comfortable onboard..i agree...

(Written on 07/03/2019)(Permalink)