Airline Empires

Faith in Ornstein

miller22 — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:57:12 +0000

With Mesa Airlines in bankruptcy protection, there are numerous documents that are filed to the judge daily. What I didn’t realize is that every document that is submitted to the court is made publicly available. Why should this surprise me? Because a very interesting docket was passed along to me which proves that almost everything that gets sent to the judge ends up on a public website.

Download the docket pdf HERE.

So, just what does the docket say? It’s a hand-written note, and it certainly doesn’t express much faith in Ornstein:

Dear Judge Glenn:

I can speak for almost all of us Mesa Airlines, that our CEO (J. Ornstein) has brought this airline down.
He cheats of out of pay and treats us badly. He should be forced out. All he cares about is himself. He
is a scammer. If he can’t be forced out, his pay should be greatly reduced. It isn’t the economy that put us
in this situation. He has made blunder-after-blunder the last few years! He was involved in a stock-trading scam
in his past. Please, please, take this letter into account in your decisions. He’s a bad person!

Thank you,
The Concerned

But don’t just take my word for it. If you search through Mesa’s Chapter 11 filing site at http://www.epiq11.com/, you will find the original docket. Just click the “All Active Cases” link, and find Mesa Airlines. Look through the docket link and find docket number 325.

Hangar Collapse in Washington

miller22 — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:34:48 +0000

The latest snow storm to hit Washington has caused some very expensive casualties. A hangar housing business jets buckled under the weight of the snow, damaging Gulfstreams, Global Expresses, and a few I’m not able to identify.

The question floating around the office today was whether or not these aircraft could be salvaged. It seems to me they would be, assuming you can repair any tail stress damage, although if the keel of the aircraft was bent…game over.

Aftermath: American 737-800 in Jamaica

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:18:07 +0000

On December 22, American Airlines flight 331, a 737-800 bound to Kingston, Jamaica from Miami, Florida overran the runway in Kingston. The pictures speak for themselves.

12 Days of Airplane Geeks Christmas

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 16:22:20 +0000

Being in the festive spirit, I thought I’d share with you the twelve days of Airplane Geeks Christmas brought to you by the Airplane Geeks Podcast.

Airport Trivia

admin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:59:07 +0000

I’m going to try something new with some ‘name that airport trivia’ questions, but from a true airplane geek’s point of view. Simply look at the picture below, and name that airport in the comments.

Just enter your answer in a comment. I’ll be keeping score (massive bonus points for being the first, but you still get a point for being right). I will also give bonus points for any informative, snarky, witty, or otherwise hilarious comments.

Rare View

admin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:54:00 +0000

B-29 RC Airplane You Have to See to Believe

admin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:11:43 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ok, this is cool. I’m not in to RC airplanes, for no reason at all really, but this one would be an absolute blast to fly. I’ve been told it’s the largest RC airplane flying, and it sure looks like it.

jetBlue Commercial – Well Done

admin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:41:29 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m a fan of funny commercials, and since there are a ton of funny airline commercials out there, perhaps it’s time to bring some to the blog. Here’s one of my favorites. Stay tuned as I bring more of my favorites.

Jumbo Crosswind Landing

admin — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:45:48 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Crosswinds are tough, there’s no question about it. Sometimes we forget how difficult it is to bring such a large object as a jumbo safely to the runway. You didn’t see this one coming

FedEx MD-11 Crashes in Tokyo

miller22 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:56:01 +0000

Yesterday, a FedEx MD-11 crashed at Tokyo’s Narita airport on landing. There is some spectacular video of the crash from what looks like one of the airport security cameras. I will warn the readers, that this is a difficult video to watch for some.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Airplanes don’t just crash like this. It’s important to remember that the pilots flying FedEx’s MD-11’s tend to be senior, and thus more experienced. You’re going to hear about the bad landing technique, and even though I’m one to criticize bad landing technique, there’s too much unknown here to start pointing fingers at the pilots.