DAYUM SWA!
- Thread starter SurferLucas
- Start date
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
I mean I was a ramp trainer and manager in my life and that is what I'd do, after calling Airport Communications and assuming no one was in harms way. I mean, what else can you do? I didn't even know that could happen. No one ever told me it could happen, nor have I seen it. Those GPU hoses are heavy af covered in thick rubber. They are so heavy that you have to muscle them into place, which can take many tries. They have an "ON/OFF" button and "UP/DOWN" buttons. That's it. How you do this, I have no idea, I don't blame the dude until I hear otherwise.
All that said, I'd be sitting there laughing, just like I was when an air conditioning hose came off an Air Italy A330 and whacked it in 150 different places across the top fuselage like a cartoon and took it out of service. If no one is hurt, and no one is in trouble, just enjoy the show. We'll miss it one day.
They're like that because of staffing combined with poor training where I bet you many new hires don't know what happens in the cockpit if the plane goes dark and resets, or that the plane will go dark entirely at all. They will put 2-3 people on a 737, and CS can't pull the bridge/shut the door until they raise it. So while they're busy with gate checks and everything else, they often take delays because they can't get the cord up in time to get the door shut for brakes release even tho everyone was ready to go but the short-staffed ramp for 5 mins or whatever. Then they have to explain what happened. Staffing on the ramps creates an unsafe work environment to begin with, but most of what I've seen as pulling hoses off planes with no APU gen on or damaging something is due to pressure from CS/Ops/Management to get a plane out. That's why as unpopular as it was in SMF, I'd get on the radio like a broken record as 3 people were trying to load 250 bags on a 757 and dump the lavs and tell the Red Coats "We are short-staffed, this flight will be late, everyone is working at a safe pace". ATL looked at that a nothing but an unprofessional excuse, but I didn't care. Never had an accident on my watch, but you did with all the other managers who "cared more about the bottom line".
The ramp is not the kind of place you want to have people poorly trained and in a rush. Besides, when I tell non-airline people that a flight being 1 minute late is considered "late", they almost always say that they only care about arriving on time. Obviously, I did gate assignments at a hub so I get why it's important, but it isn't THAT important at the end of the day. It really isn't, just a dong measuring contest for DOT statics, yet every "OUT" time that is a few seconds late gets slapped on a department, people get in trouble and stressed out, and the plane lands 22 mins early because they pad the times so much regardless. Idiocracy ahoy. And my attitude towards their games is not met as progressive, let me tell you lol. "Hur durr we are .04% more on-time this month than Frontier, Costco pizza for everyone. Jk. But raises for us".
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roundout
VNAV monitor
Is this utopia?Over the last almost three decades, we've had memoranda of understanding about when below wing will do what and when, but nothing has changed ever.
Remember the ramp checking in ten minutes prior to establish communications to avoid having the broken headset issue at pushback?
View attachment 71905
Yeah me too! LOL!
"I'm gonna FCR that!"
"Go right ahead!"
mrivc211
Well-Known Member
you read my mind. My challenge as a full paying passenger since I left the industry is asking FA's if the crew can turn the temp down or turn the APU on when the cabin temp is wildy out of control and getting the stare of death from them as if to say, How dare you ask that. Half the time I see them lie to my face when saying they will go tell the crew then walk to the galley and sit on a crate. It makes me wanna throw on a turban from my carry on, walk to the back, lay out a prayer rug, and keep saying "allah akbar" while touching my head temple area
Skåning
Well-Known Member
Lolz at our triggered pilots when @BEEF SUPREME called out this behavior
milleR
Well-Known Member
I think the one guy that ran and got a fire extinguisher kind of set the example of what you should be doing in that situation. They aren't hard to find.
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
Hellllll no, I didn't even know that thing could go up in flames like that. Do you know what the range is on those hand-held small ramp extinguishers? It's for like a paper fire on the ground or something, not for firing up into the (very likely windy) air at something like that, which for all I know can explode or something sending shrapnel all over. I'm not like those white guys in the horror movies, it's not gonna be me. Nope. Not in this situation.
Feel free to come down the jetway and put your money where your mouth is, haus. My life isn't worth any less if I'm the guy down there, nope nope nope. GTFO out the cockpit is my advice.
Everyone is a tough guy, I'm keeping it real.
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milleR
Well-Known Member
I worked several years in EMS, but keep talking at me.
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
Cool, then you'd be comfortable doing that. I'm not, nor do I want to see some 19-year-old kid do that. Don't assume everyone lives in your world.
milleR
Well-Known Member
I just want to be clear on this- you've just set an airplane on fire and your reaction is to sit back and watch the carnage. If I'm reading this wrong please correct me.
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
Did the ramper just set the airplane on fire tho? Did he do anything differently than ever before?
EDIT: Unless there is some GTA-like "On Off On Up UP Down On" cheat code that blows up the airplane, I'd be like "Something is wrong here" and gtfo, not assume "Oh no, I just accidentally blew up a 737, I must fight this fire myself at all costs". I think my reaction is one a lot more human beings on the ramp would have than you seem to think...
ASpilot2be
Qbicle seat warmer
There are concerns with the fire extinguisher use for sure. Is it a windy night? Probably not gonna work very well. Are you gonna spray the FO with halon if he opens the window?
If it is was calm winds, I would try to grab an extinguisher and try it.
If it is was calm winds, I would try to grab an extinguisher and try it.
milleR
Well-Known Member
Ok, aside from the fact is sure looks that way let's spin it in this direction- you just saw a trash can burst into flame next to a plane and a jetway. You're advocating sitting back and watching it burn?
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
No, because the extinguisher in a trash can fire is highly effective, or can be. You are pointing downward at it, sweeping, like God intended. Please though, tell me how a ramper would go about screwing up doing something they should never do and cause a GPU fire? Because I can tell you in 6 years of writing reports about crazy things like this happening at a major airport, it is almost always a malfunction somewhere, but I like how you can confidently say "it sure looks that way". You must know something I don't.
In the 737 situation, I am not getting involved, period. And I wouldn't get in trouble for that, either. I don't know enough about the situation to be confident that spraying into the air on ramps that are almost always windy at most airports is worth me being near that inferno.
You do you, boo boo.
BTW, there is 0 training for ANY ground staff to fight an aircraft fire. Only ground fires, and extremely small ones at that.
milleR
Well-Known Member
I'm not trying or interested in arguing with you, that wasn't my intent and I apologize if I came off as antagonistic.
My only point is, when you see a problem at least make an effort to be part of the solution. And fire is a big f-ing problem. The most frustrating words I ever hear are "that's not my job" while people just sit back and wait for somebody else to do something.
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
Per my first post that you replied to:
"I mean I was a ramp trainer and manager in my life and that is what I'd do, after calling Airport Communications and assuming no one was in harms way. I mean, what else can you do? I didn't even know that could happen. No one ever told me it could happen, nor have I seen it. Those GPU hoses are heavy af covered in thick rubber. They are so heavy that you have to muscle them into place, which can take many tries. They have an "ON/OFF" button and "UP/DOWN" buttons. That's it. How you do this, I have no idea, I don't blame the dude until I hear otherwise."
milleR
Well-Known Member
Can't disagree with any of that. I took issue with what you said immediately afterwards
And at the end of the day, the guy that actually did something by getting an extinguisher and putting out the fire was part of the solution.
ChasenSFO
hen teaser
Good for him, everyone is lucky someone down there was confident enough to try that. It wouldn't be me, nor should it be expected of the average teenage ramper with their current training and job duties. And that's that.
milleR
Well-Known Member
You're not wrong, it's just disappointing. Even what appears to be one of the pilots showed up to try and figure out how to fix it. But we're obviously talking past each other on this one, so I bid you adieu since it's late here on the east coast. But I'll tell you that the guilt of questioning what you could have done is most often worse than second guessing what you did do.
