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WestJet flight unexpectedly grounded in Greenland
A group of travellers aboard a WestJet flight destined for Canada were temporarily stranded in Greenland Tuesday after the plane was unexpectedly grounded. WestJet Flight 4 was headed to Toronto from London but was diverted when air traffic control and pilots deemed the plane was unsafe to fly about five hours into the flight, Winnipegger Zach Stein said. (www.cbc.ca) المزيد...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I'm curious about the statement "...diverted when air traffic control and pilots deemed the plane was unsafe to fly...". Seems kind of odd that ATC was part of the decision that the A/C was unsafe.
Doubt it as the news media knows very little about AC lucky they didn't call it a piper cub which has been done before.
Take what is printed with a grain of salt.
Take what is printed with a grain of salt.
Or that rare twin engine piper cub.
Let's hope the passengers know they are entitled to 600 Euro compensation per person, as the flight originated in Europe, plus any out of pocket expense.
Not wishing to second guess anything here it is possible that what was meant by ATC and the pilots as to the plane being unsafe had more to do on what airport the pilots wanted to land at. Generally the pilots want to land an unsafe plane at the closest airport with a runway long enough to accommodate the plane.
Plenty of runway at BGSF but not that close. I think the airport was an old USAF base in the cold war
thx to Wiki folks, was built by US in 1941 who took occupied Greenland. Quite the story , , , , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland_in_World_War_II
I'm not familiar with the standard route of travel West Jet uses to Toronto. Very possible it uses the same flight path those bound for the lower 48 in the US as many pass over or close to Toronto. Would there have been a closer airport from where they declared their emergency?
There is no standard route for aircraft crossing the North Atlantic. Most passenger aircraft fly one of several tracks plotted daily change based on winds aloft and weather. Google "North Atlantic Organized Track System"
This particular flight was fairly north compared to the days before and after.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/WJA4/history/20161018/1215Z/EGKK/BGSF
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/WJA4/history/20161018/1215Z/EGKK/BGSF
Thanks for posting that link...there is a strange little 45deg right turn on the east side of greenland that may have indicated an earlier intention to land which was reversed followed by the final approach. That kind of turn to the north is not normal and would most likely be initiated by the pilots not atc.
My pleasure for the posting. Yes, the little hook obviously means something, and the fact that at the point where they decided to go to Greenland instead of Goose Bay gave only a minor advantage time wise for BGSF also offers a point for interpretation.