It's getting to be close to around the time Amtrak promised the next phase of the Superliner Replacement program. Did they not promise to produce a RFP or something in the fall of 2023? I thought they did. Yet so far nothing.
Fall still has almost 2 more months to go. (Although I have noticed that some stores are already putting out their Xmas decorations.)
B-737 MAX 9s grounded. Here is another event that might enable Amtrak to fill in airline cancellations. Will it happen ? Never!! The FAA has grounded the B-737 MAX due to blow out of a window emergency exit window. Those windows are all plug type that are supposed to not be able to be removed once an aircraft begins pressurization.
Unless the window was installed improperly during a maintenance check the studs that hold the window must have failed. Several studs would have to have failed!
A very improbable thing would be passenger at seat removed the window but pressurization should have kept window in place. With that in mind maybe aircraft was not pressurizing properly or not at all?
Alaska Airlines Inflight Blowout Raises New Doubts About 737 MAX (msn.com)
EDIT--- Just learned that incident happened at 16,000 feet. That means that the differential pressure would have been between 4 -6 PSI cabin to outside. Also no passenger at the window seat just someone in middle seat.
FAA grounds Boeing 737 Max 9s after panel blows out mid-flight (nydailynews.com)
F.A.A. Orders Airlines to Ground Some Boeing 737 Max 9 Jets After Midair Emergency - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
blue streak 1Unless the window was installed improperly during a maintenance check the studs that hold the window must have failed. Several studs would have to have failed!
It wasn't a window it was an entire door or what they call a "plug". It is an option on the 737 to install a door there so they cut out the door and put a plug in it's place as Alaska decided it did not want that option. It was actually a full door cutout as well not an emergency exit door cutout. It was paneled over in the cabin so passengers would be unaware it was there. So like Flo used to say in the Progressive Insurance commercial....."Surprise!!!".
How this is related to railroading is anyones guess as airlines and Amtrak do not compete unless it is short distance.
This was a Seattle (SEA) to Ontario, CA (ONT) flight. Maybe with CA HSR..
If you run the 737-9 with over 200 seats you need an additional exit as well as additional cabin crew. The plug with a window is cheaper than a door and a slide.
Edit: The plane was ~10 Weeks old so this looks like a Boeing oops.
Be interesting to see what would happen if you tried extending CAHSR practically into Oregon. I don't think the 'inside gateway' or OSL could be rebuilt to anything remotely like true HSR standard, although with Chinese TLM and methodology it might be "possible".
I don't see anyone riding Amtrak between Seattle and the Ontario area as being remotely competitive with air service, no matter what level of amenities you provided. Especially when the 'fix' is structural revision of a few members in a few airframes... likely done on the builder's Benjamin (the current equivalent of 'nickel' or 'dime' in the cliche, with inflation, regulations, and cost increases factored in). It would be interesting to preserve the thread from being locked by discussing exactly what Amtrak might do to increase share between destination pairs in the Pacific Northwest and southern California, but the traffic between the PNW and San Francisco is already DOA for CAHSR since the whole approach into the city from the actual HSR portion is laughably congested and relatively slow, and presumably all the mandatory political stops further north in the Central Valley will lunch any practical day-train service that might originate in Washington state.
Imagine that there is a very intense search for the door plug.
A report says that many airline passengers are stranded in San Diego due to many 737 MAX 9 cancellations. Amtrak where are you?
A thought. Suspect thast there aare going to be more 737s inspected depending on findings. That is why locating plug door or parts is very important. Just a wag but did this failure happen because of a door malfunction or worse a problem of the frame the door sat in?
In a similar manner HSR between ATL and MCO would have spared Delta from running a 9000 series special flight in a A330 to rescue passengers delayed by 90 min TSA lines.
Amtrak doesn't have enough operable equipment to run its normal schedules at 'normal' equipment complements - there isn't any equipment to run extra trains.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
blue streak 1Imagine that there is a very intense search for the door plug.
A homeowner found it in his yard, as reported on tonight's news.
People have also found a couple of cell phones that were sucked out of the plane. The fell 16K feet and were still operational.
blue streak 1 Imagine that there is a very intense search for the door plug. A report says that many airline passengers are stranded in San Diego due to many 737 MAX 9 cancellations. Amtrak where are you? A thought. Suspect thast there aare going to be more 737s inspected depending on findings. That is why locating plug door or parts is very important. Just a wag but did this failure happen because of a door malfunction or worse a problem of the frame the door sat in?
The whole Boeing incident comparison to Amtrak and if there was any spillover in Amtrak traffic levels is kind of a stretch for a Trains Forum thread. Though I heard the Boeing folks were working on quality control....
Backshop blue streak 1 Imagine that there is a very intense search for the door plug. A report says that many airline passengers are stranded in San Diego due to many 737 MAX 9 cancellations. Amtrak where are you? A thought. Suspect thast there aare going to be more 737s inspected depending on findings. That is why locating plug door or parts is very important. Just a wag but did this failure happen because of a door malfunction or worse a problem of the frame the door sat in? Many of the planes were inspected overnight and are back in service. You do realize that Amtrak goes to very few of the places that airlines do, in a convenient manner? They also need equipment and crews. You just can't pull them out of thin air.
Many of the planes were inspected overnight and are back in service. You do realize that Amtrak goes to very few of the places that airlines do, in a convenient manner? They also need equipment and crews. You just can't pull them out of thin air.
My understanding is that NONE of the Max-9 planes have been inspected as Boeing has not communicated the proper inspection procedure to either United or Alaska airlines - who own all the US 737 Max9's operating in the US.
BaltACD People have also found a couple of cell phones that were sucked out of the plane. The fell 16K feet and were still operational.
"Takes a licking, but keeps on ticking"
"Long, long falling and Keeps on calling...
Or for the country-music rhyme:
"Takes a wrecking and keeps on texting"
Hewlett-Packard, back in the days I had a HP-65, routinely ran pieces in their newsletter about calculators that were dropped or lost or left out in the weather and worked after they were retrieved...
In other news, Apple Corp to add z-axis tracking to Find My in iOS 17...
Pilots are being ruthless on this whole issue.......
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