ForumGarden

You were Asked to Help Balance the Plane



A group of tourists headed to Newcastle, UK from Majorca, Spain on a charter plane refused to fly after they were asked to move to the back to help balance the weight of the plane, according to several published reports.

Inthenews.co.uk.com said reports suggested that the plane's cargo hold malfunctioned, causing the passenger's luggage to store only in the front of the plane. Passengers were then asked to sit in the back of the plane to counteract the imbalance.

Fearing for their safety, 71 passengers refused and found other ways to get home, including paying for tickets to board other flights. Thomas Cook Airline officials said there was no safety risk to the passengers, the story said.



SO WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN ONE OF THOSE 71 PEOPLE?

Well it makes perfect sense to me.

Thats why I get told to sit down and not walk about

"Oi ! Fatty your wobbling the plane " :wah:

The last time we flew ,,w e were told to stay futher back than the first six rows of seats,,, till the plane had taken off

I'd have had more concerns about flying to Newcastle.....It's full of Geordies you know!!

dubs;1210340 wrote: I'd have had more concerns about flying to Newcastle.....It's full of Geordies you know!!


yep me too:D

dubs;1210340 wrote: I'd have had more concerns about flying to Newcastle.....It's full of Geordies you know!! :yh_rotfl

Ryan Air always keep the first 6 rows empty, now I know why!

Snowfire;1210335 wrote: Well it makes perfect sense to me.



Thats why I get told to sit down and not walk about



"Oi ! Fatty your wobbling the plane " :wah:


:yh_rotfl:yh_rotfl Priceless.....

I wouldn't fly any plane where I had to be shifted to make sure the plane was balanced. I'd wonder what else was wrong with the plane

I don't think so!

Kathy Ellen;1210354 wrote: I wouldn't fly any plane where I had to be shifted to make sure the plane was balanced. I'd wonder what else was wrong with the plane


It was probably just a small fault KE, nothing to do with the safety systems on the plane. They have a cargo handling system that involves little wheels that pop up from the floor of the hold, which enable the baggage containers to be moved fairly easily. If the rear one wasn't working, the only variable in distributing the weight, is to move passengers. I think I'd rather be on a stable balanced aircraft, than to sit up front on a nose heavy one...:wah::wah:

It sounds to me that folks were merely freaked out more than anything. It's not like some passenger sitting in the aisle refused to open the door in an emergency or anything. To the pilots, it's no big deal, because they're familiar with this sort of thing.

I recall earlier this year, when I was waiting an abnormally long time at Dallas/Fort Worth, as folks were checking out the wing outside my window, which apparently,had been damaged by birds upon landing. The main area of damage was the flap and the aileron, which allows the wings to roll from side to side, but the spoiler can be used as well, which was fine. Anyway, it wasn't a big deal, but some passengers remained a bit uneasy. I joked that it's no big deal, nothing to worry about... there's just something wrong with the filange. :wah: Anyway, the pilot decided that it wasn't worth vacating the plane over and the flight continued on without incident to our destination. Sometimes you've just gotta' trust the pilot... they're flying in the same plane, so unless the pilot is suicidal or something... you're in safe hands.