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American Airlines jet flying from Shanghai makes unexpected landing in remote Alaskan town

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An American Airlines jet carrying more than 100 people made an emergency landing in the Southwest Alaska community of Cold Bay Wednesday morning, with locals on standby to assist the new arrivals. (www.adn.com) More...

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spinoneone
Paul Wisgerhof 7
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010 Cold Bay's population was 108.
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mariofer
mariofer 1
Double the local population with a "half empty" airliner. You have to love Alaska LOL
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joelwiley
joel wiley 4
Warm welcome in Cold Bay
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL288/history/20161012/0850Z/ZSPD/PACD
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paulgilpin1953
paul gilpin 3
i'm curious. what is the difference between an unexpected landing and an unscheduled landing? this is the kind of thing george carlin is needed to explain. i guess an unexpected landing is like a near miss, then.
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joelwiley
joel wiley 1
The flexibility of the English language.
un·ex·pect·ed: 1.not expected or regarded as likely to happen
un·sched·uled: 1.not scheduled

I believe flight plans normally include alternate destinations should something occur during the flight. IMO, whether you consider the exercise of such contingencies 'scheduled' or not may be a matter of opinion.
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UALdave
David Halligan 3
I hope it wasn't the same engine issue that ANA has had with their 787s.
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mcass777
mark cassidy cassidy 2
Where and who did the customs and immigration?
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djames225
djames225 6
All the passengers and flight crew, sans the 4 pilots, were flown to Anchorage Wednesday evening, by Alaska Airlines and did all customs work etc there...From what I understand, after being accommodated Wednesday night in Anchorage, AA then flew any west coast bound passengers to their final destinations directly from Anchorage and flew the remainder to Chicago via an AA 757.
The 4 pilots remained in Cold Bay while maintenance crews repair the craft
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AAaviator
AAaviator -3
Why worry about customs and immigration? I mean, what's another 108 illegals - on top of the millions we already have?
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TiredTom
Tom Bruce 5
NEVER FELT COMFORTABLE FLYING ON 2 ENGINES OVER LONG OCEAN STRETCHES... just an old guy that had to rely on 4 recips in the 60s....
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dtw757
mike SUT 2
Used to say....the only way to cross the ocean is to add up the number of engines, divide by 2 and if the answer doesn't come out with an even number...???? :-) (ex P-3 Pilot,747-200 and 747-400 pilot.) Of course I did finally HAVE to do it on 757/767 A330 and DC-10( which I did lose the #2 on out of Hawaii one night)
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THRUSTT
THRUSTT -1
Is 0 considered an even no.? 2 divided by 2...
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djames225
djames225 3
2 divided by 2 is 1...Mike and I both feel unsafe..lol
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djames225
djames225 2
Amen Tom
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rawhp1
Bryan Jensen 1
Were you on the "3" engine connies?
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pefisher
Peter Fisher 1
Feel very much the same as you Tom
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nchinetti
Nunzio Chinetti -3
4 engines are twice as likely to fail and are not profitable. I guess you won't be flying much if you don't like the twins.
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TiredTom
Tom Bruce 7
yep...you're right...except when you lose 50% of power vs. 25%...well? Flew lots of lots of hours...
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ToddBaldwin3
ToddBaldwin3 11
Eight engines are pretty nice too.
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djames225
djames225 1
so are six..unfortunately both the six and eight belch a lot carbon out the backside
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ToddBaldwin3
ToddBaldwin3 2
Yes they do, and the B-52 isn't shy about showing it.
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djames225
djames225 1
LOL..no it isnt
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2thomas
2thomas -2
thats true tom. but, modern engines are way more reliable than these in the 60'. and, yes, you loose 50%, but the twin has due to this fact way more total power as a 4eng plane. and this gives you also more margin in other situations like t/o or in windsheercond etc.
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djames225
djames225 1
I think you best go back and look at thrust numbers of all modern (and some not so modern) quad engine craft (747-9, A380, A340-600, 747-4) and compare before you say "but the twin has due to this fact way more total power"
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2thomas
2thomas 2
don't compare apple with pears. the 380 is happy to make it save at mtow with 4 engines. there is not more power avail on thrust on a single engine. just compare a 340-200 with the 330-300. the earth-curve makes the 340 climb :). anyway, all i wanna say is loosing an engine on a twin is not as horrible as most people think and you are not loosing 50% power of what you really need because it is overpowered from the beginning. stay save
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djames225
djames225 0
Im not comparing apples to pears as you were the 1 bringing up 4 engine vs 2 engine craft and the loss of 1 engine..on a 2 engine crafty you lose 50% thrust if 1 engine shuts down and on a 4 engine craft you only lose 25% thrust should an engine shut down...you are in fact losing 50% thrust on a twin should 1 shut down because you cant spool the opposite engine a whole lot harder or face issues with craft stability...ohh and a couple of the 4 engine craft I mentioned use modern engines ie 747-8 and Dreamliner same engine..A380 a modern Trent
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ToddBaldwin3
ToddBaldwin3 4
It's a sad commentary of the times when these people had to remain restricted to the area in the immediate vicinity of the aircraft because there was no TSA to make them take their shoes off before boarding.
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RECOR10
RECOR10 -1
Huh? This I am sure you know is NOT "TSA", this is a Customs issue...
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ToddBaldwin3
ToddBaldwin3 5
I believe the article specifically stated that they could not go into town because there was no security screening when they returned.
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joelwiley
joel wiley 5
"The lack of an agency capable of conducting security screenings meant the best course of action was to stay put, the mayor said."

Not clear if the security was Customs for International arrival or TSA for departure screening.
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AABABY
AABABY 6
They might be carrying concealed sandwiches?
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RECOR10
RECOR10 1
Concealed tomato sandwich can get you jail time from Nevada to Cali
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joelwiley
joel wiley 1
Only if you try smuggling an ag product on the 'no fly' list. I doubt Cold Bay has an Ag Inspection Station.
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honzanl
honza nl 3
When I go to a supermarket there is also no security screening today, does that mean that there then is no security? What happened to common sense in the US? Anywhere seen it lately?
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spurgeonrichard350
Richard Spurgeon 1
Many years ago I was a radio operator on a military flight, I was working Cold Bay on my position reports, glad I was not stationed there, there is nothing there.
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ToddBaldwin3
ToddBaldwin3 1
There's not much at Adak either.
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Iupton05
Ian Kenneth Upton 1
I think that plane made the day for the people in Cold Bay.
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jbsimms
James Simms 1
Another article on this subject, some people commented, "Well, Anchorage was only an hour to so further. Why didn't they continue on?" I'm sure the FAA would have frowned on that w/passengers on board & a suitable diversion field immediately available. Remember the bruhaha when a British Airways 747 lost an engine leaving LAX then continued on to Heathrow on three. Plus there might have been some panic among the passengers if they'd found out there was only one working engine; then the outcry of endangering passengers if it were found out there was a suitable airfield nearby.
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Y2KRene
Rene Kunz 1
Let's hope not the same turbine blade failure problems as ANA experienced with their Rolls Royce engines 787's. AA 787's have GEnx-1B70 engines
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THRUSTT
THRUSTT 0
As the plane sat on the Tarmac, passengers stretched their legs on a secure area of the runway... Jesus Cristo!!!
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djames225
djames225 2
The passengers congragated (sp*) in a US Coast Guard hanger while waiting.
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ignacio98
Ignacio Fuentes 0
I'm more interested to know why a 787 is used to carry only 110 passengers (half or a third of its capacity). Not the best business decision by AA if that's the average. Although the route is a very long one I'm sure a smaller plane could handle that route as well. Or maybe it's a new route and they have to have plenty of losses before the route has full planes on board.
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AABABY
AABABY 7
CARGO, gentlemen, CARGO!
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mariofer
mariofer 5
Sometimes is not the amount of passengers on that leg but the amount of bookings they have on the return trip. They need to position the plane in Shanghai somehow in order to handle them. Better sending it there with 100 passengers than empty. This actually happens a lot. I remember flying from MIA to ATL on a Delta 767 and we were all of 35 people on the plane. The next leg for that aircraft was completely full.
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ignacio98
Ignacio Fuentes 3
That makes sense. Crazy to think they have lose 200 seats to be able to accommodate something like that. No wonder the airlines used to not make money (now they do). I remember watching a documentary on how much money a flight makes. They tracked a flight from NYC to LAX. It was a 757 with around 250 passengers I think. Anyways after making all the numbers it came down to making $50 on that flight. Crazy.
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mariofer
mariofer 2
That was CNBC's Inside American Airlines: A Week in the Life. Is available in Hulu if you care to watch it again. I think people should be watched before complaining about airfare prices and not having free snacks on flights anymore. People forget companies are in business in order to make money.
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cpergiel
Chuck Pergiel 1
People are idiots. You can't complain about the airline or the airplane or security but prices are fair game.
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ignacio98
Ignacio Fuentes 1
Yeah exactly that was it! I agree with ya!
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adambear8
adambear8 1
It was a 767 on the show that mariofer is talking about.
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raytoews
Ray Toews 0
Sure, I can make my business lose money too. All I have to do is lease a bunch of my stuff from my wife and voila, no profit for my shareholders. For an industry that is always losing money they don't seem to have any problem Re investing in billions of new equipment. Where do the shareholders come from??
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iflyrjs
terry gersdorf 3
Huh ?
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cpergiel
Chuck Pergiel 1
A year or two ago Rolls Royce had billions of $ of orders on the books for new jet engines. Now they are on the skids. Turns out they weren't making money on the engines, in some cases they were even giving them away. They were making their money on maintenance contracts. Then their customers got wise to that scam.
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joelwiley
joel wiley 2
Think HP printer cartridges. Sometimes that strategy works.
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iflyrjs
terry gersdorf 3
Let me enlighten you since you obviously don't fly much This is typical of ALL airlines there will be occasions when the flight is half full or half empty. Example take a red eye from LAX to ATL or NYC ..... The ORD to PVG was full I checked the load and I knew the cockpit and cabin crew both legs full of cargo as always.... thats the money maker.....
I fly that route regularly.
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CKY
CKY 1
While early/mid October is a low period on the US travel calendar, it is a high travel period in Mainland China. Most people in China have at least 7 days off on/around October 1-7 for National Day. The plane was likely full on the outbound trip from ORD to PVG.
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MSUSparty
MSU Sparty 0
Find me a smaller airplane that can fly that route? Doesnt exist. That is what 787 was deisgned for vs A380. Longer leaner routes.
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pilot62
Scott Campbell 0
Looks like the plan changed, an American Triple 7 headed there tonight from LAX

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL9653
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mcass777
mark cassidy cassidy 1
Looks like it is a 757 for the completion of the flight

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL9259/history/20161013/2015Z/PANC/KORD
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spurgeonrichard350
Richard Spurgeon 0
Many years ago I was a radio operator on a military aircraft, I remember sending mu position reports to Cold Bay. I was happy I was not stationed there, for there is nothing there.
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209flyboy
209flyboy 0
I have to laugh at the stupidity of the 'KNOW NOTHINGS. If you are on my plane and there is a safety problem I wouldn't even attempt to continue. Where do these idiots come from?
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cpergiel
Chuck Pergiel 0
Airliner takes off from London. Flies half way to India. Has a problem. Where do they land? Someplace close by? No. They fly all the way back to London. What was the problem? Who knows? Corporate speak doesn't impart any actual information.
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wmyke2k
Michael Woolfolk 1
Your comment really has nothing to do with what happened in this incident. The Captain of the aircraft made a decision to land at the first available place that could safely handle his aircraft and passengers. He made the decision, not corporate. The safety of his passengers comes first.
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cpergiel
Chuck Pergiel 1
My point was that not all problems elicit the same kind of response, but we seldom hear just what the problem was. No matter what happens, whether an engine flames out or temperature indicator was a little off, they just say 'there was a problem' and that's all you ever hear about it.
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