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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) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
This whole thing is sketchy. Why was this plane in the air for 5 hours before it was deemed unsafe? Spooky!
Looks like the two 737s flew up from YYZ and did a quick turn leaving again during the night, and the 767 followed in the early morning. My guess is that nobody was checked in to the hotel (at least by WestJet). Glad the outcome was a safe one.
The other comments about their 767 reliability records are interesting. I would be thinking that Qantas maintenance would be (and is) top notch.
The other comments about their 767 reliability records are interesting. I would be thinking that Qantas maintenance would be (and is) top notch.
westjet gone downhill big time in the last two years. Used to fly with them often but after several canceled flights and being bussed I will not use them no more and use another airline now with better service.
If you are referring to Canadian inter-city travel I have to assume that you have jumped to frumpy Air Canada? YIKES! Or is it US - Canada flights? Wondering what US carrier is better than WestJet. Considering WestJet and SouthWest have similar business models and staff attitude; SouthWest would seem to be a natural alternative for you but, oh my, SouthWest does not fly into Canada.
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
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.