American sends uncertified A321 to Hawaii

The news headline with its mention of "uncertified" made me think it was an amateur-built experimental or something. It turns out it was the right model of Airbus, but the wrong variant because it lacked the extra fire suppression etc. required for a long overwater flight.
 
NoHeat said:
The news headline with its mention of "uncertified" made me think it was an amateur-built experimental or something. It turns out it was the right model of Airbus, but the wrong variant because it lacked the extra fire suppression etc. required for a long overwater flight.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same, or the plane was returned to service after maintenance without proper signoffs. Just the wrong use of "uncertified".
 
ETOPS is a certification and there's a lot more to it than extra fire suppression equipment so the story headline is correct.
 
At least they filed a flight plan... imagine the horror if they hadn't.
 
Silvaire said:
ETOPS is a certification and there's a lot more to it than extra fire suppression equipment so the story headline is correct.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. You are right about ETOPS but wrong about the headline. "American Airlines accidentally sends uncertified plane to Hawaii" has a certain connotation and that is that the airplane itself is uncertified not that it is just uncertified for a certain type of operation such as ETOPS, RVSM, CAT III, etc. It is poor journalism and borders on sensationalism.

Also many of the news stories that I have read or heard regarding this story seem to be equating any overwater flight with ETOPS. Basically the media is stupid when it comes to these sort of things. That of course is not news.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Basically the media is stupid when it comes to these sort of things. That of course is not news.
Click to expand...

If the media is stupid about the things we know about, that makes me suspect everything else the media says and does.

Ergo, the media is stupid. Just stop there.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
If the media is stupid about the things we know about, that makes me suspect everything else the media says and does.

Ergo, the media is stupid. Just stop there.
Click to expand...

Greg, there is a difference between stupidity and ignorance. Media is ignorant. Perhaps media is arrogantly ignorant but stupidity is not proven.
 
Well, the media is always going to maximize the drama for any story even if it's not very big...
 
All the other headlines I've seen use the phrase "wrong plane". I guess that's not sensational enough for CNN.
 
Clark1961 said:
Greg, there is a difference between stupidity and ignorance. Media is ignorant. Perhaps media is arrogantly ignorant but stupidity is not proven.
Click to expand...

Well, I was just quoting the post above mine. But in the case of the media I think that is a difference without distinction. Or a distinction without a difference. However that phrase goes.

Bottom line is when reporting the news, it is their responsibility to become educated on the subject so they aren't ignorant anymore. IMO, ignorance in reporting, as with ignorance of the law, is no excuse.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Well, I was just quoting the post above mine. But in the case of the media I think that is a difference without distinction. Or a distinction without a difference. However that phrase goes.

Bottom line is when reporting the news, it is their responsibility to become educated on the subject so they aren't ignorant anymore. IMO, ignorance in reporting, as with ignorance of the law, is no excuse.
Click to expand...

Time and time again, I have communicated with local writers to fix obvious errors of fact in news stories on aviation. I can think of several times articles were edited based on my feedback. But that's after the fact. It would be much better if they vetted their stories through a knowledgeable person before going to print or to the web. It would cost them 5 minutes and would greatly reduce the number of gross errors. But they are <seemingly> not interested.
 
I realize that the fact that it made the news at all shows that scary news sells, but what is inaccurate about the article?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top