Latest news with #KathleenBangs
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Forbes
Bad Weather Disrupts U.S. Air Travel Today—More Than 3,600 Delayed Flights So Far
Bad weather—from thunderstorms in Dallas to 'low ceilings' on the East Coast—caused thousands of flight delays Thursday, frustrating travelers for a second day running. Bad weather causes more flight delays than any other factor. As of 2:35 p.m. EDT Thursday, there were 3,400 flight delays and 234 cancellations in and out of U.S. airports, according to FlightAware. Thunderstorms caused 30-minute delays at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's National Airspace System dashboard. On the East Coast, ground delays due to 'low ceilings'—referring to a layer of clouds thick enough to potentially restrict visual flight rules—were in place at New York's JFK and LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia and Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Airports reporting triple-digit delayed departures Thursday afternoon include Newark, Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago O'Hare. Mid-June to the end of August typically marks 'high season' for flight disruptions due to thunderstorms and high temperatures, which coincides with the busiest travel season. Thursday's 3,400 disrupted flights represent roughly 8% of the roughly 45,000 flights the FAA handles per day. Whenever possible, avoid afternoon and evening flights, which tend to be delayed more often than morning departures. 'Statistically, every hour you wait, the chance of a delay gets worse,' Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial pilot and current spokesperson at FlightAware, told Forbes. The Department of Transportation requires airlines to provide passengers with refunds in the event of flight cancellations and significant delays—but only when the disruption was due to circumstances within the airline's control. Weather-related flight delays and cancellations are not covered, leaving passengers on their own unless they can take advantage of a change waiver or purchased travel insurance in advance of their trip. The Smart Traveler's Survival Playbook For Summer Flight Cancellations (Forbes)
Miami Herald
30-01-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
DC plane crash isn't first along Potomac River. How 1982 collision reshaped US flight
The Wednesday, Jan. 29, plane crash into the Potomac River has drawn parallels to another tragic accident in Washington D.C. On Jan. 13, 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 struck a bridge connecting Washington D.C. and Arlington, Virginia, during its ascent from Ronald Reagan National Airport, then called Washington National Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Like the more recent crash, the plane crashed into the Potomac River and resulted in a monumental loss of life. Federal authorities said 78 people were killed — 74 people aboard the flight and four occupants of vehicles on the bridge. Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737-222, had a delayed takeoff to Tampa, Florida, due to icing conditions and a crowded runway at the Arlington, Virginia, airport, according to Arlington Historical. 'Before departure and during takeoff, the captain, inexperienced in flying in snowy conditions, made a series of additional mistakes that caused the plane to lose power and stall quickly,' Arlington Historical said. The series of errors that led to the crash included the 'flight crew's failure to use engine anti-ice during ground operation and takeoff (and) their decision to takeoff' despite the heavy wintry weather, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. Other factors included the delay that allowed the plane to be exposed to additional precipitation, the crew's limited experience and the pilot's refusal to 'reject the takeoff during the early stage when his attention was called to anomalous engine instrument readings,' the board said. Since then, swift changes have been made in regards to how commercial aircraft operate. What changes were made after 1982 crash? De-icing and anti-icing became federal aviation standards following the Air Florida Flight 90 accident, according to the FAA. 'After enough accidents, the (Federal Aviation Administration) realized they couldn't just count on flight crews to make the decision because they don't necessarily always see what's on the aircraft,' FlightAware spokeswoman Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot, told Fox Weather in 2022. Air Florida Flight 90 was initially deiced, but because the flight was delayed, more frozen precipitation accumulated on the plane before its departure, federal authorities said. The NTSB pointed to the 1982 crash in its enactment of crew resource management training, a tactic 'designed to improve crew coordination, resource allocation and error management' between pilots. 'CRM training augments technical training, enhances pilots' performance, and encourages all flight crew members to identify and assertively announce potential problems by focusing on situational awareness, communications skills, teamwork, task allocation, and decision-making within a comprehensive framework of standard operating procedures,' the board said. The training evolved as more crashes occurred, with the 1982 accident creating an emphasis on 'the importance of divided attention, sterile cockpit rules and standardized callouts,' according to Twenty-five years after the 1982 crash, experts said the changes made aviation 'far safer,' the Washington Post reported in 2007. 'This accident was pivotal because it helped draw attention to the fact that pilots need to communicate better,' Robert L. Sumwalt III, vice chairman of the NTSB at the time, told the Post. 'This accident was ingrained in the minds of the entire world, and we watched the recovery efforts as they happened. I don't know of any other accident that has had this amount of impact on aviation but also in other industries.' Air Florida filed for bankruptcy and grounded all planes two years after the Potomac River crash, according to a 1984 article in The New York Times.
