Word: valujet
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Every time a commercial airliner meets up with disaster, the flying public is forced to confront dangers it never even knew existed--remember microbursts and wind shear?--and the airlines scramble to alter policies, upgrade technology or retrain their pilots. In the case of the May 11 crash of ValuJet Flight 592, which plunged into the muck of the Everglades and killed all 110 people on board, the safety concerns are so varied--and the questions emerging about the role of the Federal Aviation Administration in regulating low-cost airlines so troubling--that it may be a while before passengers...
Flight 592, on one of ValuJet's 51 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and MD-80 aircraft, had taken off from Miami International bound for Atlanta when its crew reported smoke in the cockpit and turned the aircraft around for an emergency return to the airport. At about 2:25 p.m. Miami air-traffic control reported the jet had disappeared from its radar...
...ValuJet is one of a new breed of low-price airlines that seek to take advantage of a large pool of pilots and flight attendants who found themselves out of jobs after layoffs at large airlines. It is so no-frills that ValuJet president Jordan uses a $100 desk he bought at Home Depot. The strategy has proved a success for ValuJet. In 1993 the airline flew to Orlando and Tampa in Florida from Atlanta; today it serves 31 cities in 19 states. It reported that in April it had flown 50% more "revenue passenger miles" than...
...airline has experienced a long sequence of nonfatal mishaps. In January 1994 a ValuJet DC-9 skidded off an icy runway in Washington, forcing the closure of the airport. Last June the crew of a ValuJet DC-9 taxiing in preparation for takeoff from Atlanta heard a loud bang as an engine failed, scattering shrapnel that injured seven passengers and causing a fire that spread to the fuselage. Within 90 seconds smoke had engulfed the passenger compartment. The crew's prompt evacuation of the passengers drew praise from a controller who watched the scene through binoculars--but also caused...
...began its most recent review in February, after a rash of minor mishaps. In one incident, a jet arriving in Nashville landed with such force its landing gear collapsed. The agency found ValuJet to be in full compliance with regulations but expressed concern about pilot training and maintenance. Last week's ill-fated DC-9, which Jordan said was built in 1969, had passed an inspection...