SPIRIT AIRLINES jet dove 1,600 feet

[TrackerSam]

DETROIT (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is investigating a close call between a Texas-bound Spirit Airlines flight and a skydiving plane that forced the jetliner to dive sharply over Michigan, as screaming passengers feared the plane was going to crash.

Flight attendants bumped their heads and luggage spilled out of overhead binds during the incident Sunday evening.

The Airbus 319 jetliner took off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport with 126 passengers and a crew of five, bound for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. It was over Tecumseh in southeastern Michigan about 8:22 p.m. when controllers reported another plane nearby, the FAA said.

"Air traffic controllers notified the Spirit pilot that a skydiving jump plane was climbing just south of the jetliner's position," FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said in an email. "The Spirit pilot confirmed that he could see the smaller aircraft on his Terminal Collision Avoidance System. ... A minute later, the Spirit jet received an automated TCAS warning that required him to begin an immediate 1,600-foot descent to 12,800 feet from a previous altitude of 14,400 feet."



Read more: http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/2...-call-of-spirit-jet-small-plane#ixzz2XtpyAmci

:scared:

 

[tezi]

That would have been it for me...I would have been ordering doubles after the emergency had passed, and I don't even drink.

I never want to fly again...EVER!:scared:

 

[blue_the_puppy]

just what i want to read a few days before a transatlantic flight.

 

[Nova]

Why can't they design overhead bin doors so that they don't fly open every time a plane makes a sudden move?

 

[wfgodot]

Puts to shame my "terrifying" air ride when the pilot came on the intercom and told us to expect "moderate to severe turbulence over Dayton." Two minutes pass by. WHAM. Perhaps "severe" does do it justice but it was worse than that. My ex-, in the next seat, was a crafty vet of many plane rides. This was my second. So I looked over at her - she had scoffed politely at the captain's announcement ("Been there, done that. It's nothing.") - and she was white as a sheet. Never had heard anything like that, EVER. And felt. What a jolt. Shook me up, it did!!

To the extent that, while in a holding pattern later that day flying in to Toronto, strictly above water - Lake Ontario maybe - I became convinced that we were dumping fuel to lessen the impact of the crash landing to come. EGAD! The ex- had by then come to her senses and was very reassuring. Yes, holding pattern, yes, traffic backed up at the airport. Common thing. It was the water, I think, that did for me. Did I shout egad?

 

[fred&edna]

Yes, you said Egad, Batman. I mean... godot

Airplane tales... sounds like a topic for a good thread.

 

[tezi]

Puts to shame my "terrifying" air ride when the pilot came on the intercom and told us to expect "moderate to severe turbulence over Dayton." Two minutes pass by. WHAM. Perhaps "severe" does do it justice but it was worse than that. My ex-, in the next seat, was a crafty vet of many plane rides. This was my second. So I looked over at her - she had scoffed politely at the captain's announcement ("Been there, done that. It's nothing.") - and she was white as a sheet. Never had heard anything like that, EVER. And felt. What a jolt. Shook me up, it did!!

To the extent that, while in a holding pattern later that day flying in to Toronto, strictly above water - Lake Ontario maybe - I became convinced that we were dumping fuel to lessen the impact of the crash landing to come. EGAD! The ex- had by then come to her senses and was very reassuring. Yes, holding pattern, yes, traffic backed up at the airport. Common thing. It was the water, I think, that did for me. Did I shout egad?

Yes, I heard you all the way over here! LOL. :floorlaugh::floorlaugh::floorlaugh:

 

[TrackerSam]

Puts to shame my "terrifying" air ride when the pilot came on the intercom and told us to expect "moderate to severe turbulence over Dayton." Two minutes pass by. WHAM. Perhaps "severe" does do it justice but it was worse than that. My ex-, in the next seat, was a crafty vet of many plane rides. This was my second. So I looked over at her - she had scoffed politely at the captain's announcement ("Been there, done that. It's nothing.") - and she was white as a sheet. Never had heard anything like that, EVER. And felt. What a jolt. Shook me up, it did!!

I had turbulence on Spirit flight a couple of weeks ago. Who knew clouds were so bumpy?
A dive like this one would end my flying days for sure.
I also hate when the bells go off, like it's code from the pilot to the crew.