An American Airlines employee was killed on Saturday after being “ingested into the engine” of an aircraft parked at Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama, the National Transportation Safety Board says.
According to WSFA-TV, an Envoy/American Eagle Embraer 170-200 LR was parked at a gate with the parking brake set when, according to the NTSB, a ground worker was somehow pulled into one of the plane’s engines.
KRLD radio reported the ground worker was a baggage handler, though the airline has not yet issued an official statement on the incident or identified the employee.
Wade Davis, executive director of the airport, said in a statement Sunday they were “saddened to hear about the tragic loss of a team member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines” and that “our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.”
Further details about the accident are not yet available and the NTSB said a preliminary accident report is expected to be released within the next two or three weeks.
Flight 3408 was scheduled to leave Montgomery for DFW at about 3 p.m. Saturday. The airport ceased operations after the accident but resumed service at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The investigations by the FAA and NTSB are ongoing.
A worker at the Montgomery Regional Airport in Alabama died Saturday in an incident on the ramp, the Federal Aviation Administration said Saturday.
The Montgomery Regional Airport said in a statement an American Airlines/Piedmont Airlines ground crew employee was “involved in a fatality” around 3 p.m.
“We are saddened to hear about the tragic loss of a team member of the AA/Piedmont Airlines,” said Wade A. Davis, the airport’s executive director. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.”
American Airlines said in a statement it was “devastated by the accident involving a team member,” adding, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and our local team members. We are focused on ensuring that all involved have the support they need during this difficult time.”
All inbound and outbound flights were grounded for more than four hours Saturday afternoon, but the airport said it returned to normal operations as of 8:30 p.m.
The victim was not named, and the circumstances of the death were not immediately released. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will both investigate.
The flight, operated by regional carrier Envoy Air, was scheduled to depart Montgomery for Dallas-Fort Worth Saturday afternoon, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware.com.
CNN reached out to Envoy Air for further information Saturday.
Around two-thirds of Ford’s dealer network in the U.S. has signed up for the company’s electric-vehicle certification program, the price of batteries for electric cars is on the rise for the first time in over 10 years, and United Airlines is looking at Delta’s pilots’ contract as the template. These stories and more in The Morning Shift for Tuesday, December 6, 2022.
1st Gear: Most Ford Dealers are in on EV Certification
Ford says that nearly two-thirds of its U.S. dealer network are on board with the company’s pricy electric-vehicle certification program. The automaker’s CEO, Jim Farley, says 1,920 dealers have signed on.
He added that 1,659 went the “Certified Elite” route. That program requires investing as much as $1.2 million at the dealership. A further 261 dealers went with the cheaper “Certified” status. That program only requires dealers to spend up to $500,000 for EV enhancements. However, that level caps EV sales at 25 per year. From Automotive News:
Ford has about 3,000 dealerships in the U.S. The company said those that didn’t sign up by last week’s deadline will not be allowed to sell EVs beyond 2023 but will have another opportunity to do so in 2025.
Farley has said Ford’s retailer need to evolve to better compete with EV startups like Tesla and others that sell directly to customers.
“The future of the franchise system hangs in the balance here,” Farley said. “The No. 1 EV player in the U.S. bet against the dealers. We wanted to make the opposite choice.”
The announcement comes as opposition to the program grows. Last week, dealers in New York filed a lawsuit challenging the program as illegal, while a separate group of dealers in Illinois filed a protest with the state’s motor vehicle board. Also last week, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Connecticut state lawmakers voiced their displeasure over what they say are excessive costs that potentially violate state franchise laws.
Ford has consistently said it believes the program does not violate any state laws.
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“We want to work with our dealers, but there are certain things our customers want that are nonnegotiable,” Farley said to the crowd at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit.
He added that he does not regret rolling out the program.
“There’s always a better way,” Farley continued. “But I don’t think we made, really, any big mistakes.”
2nd Gear: EV Battery Prices on the Rise
The price of lithium-ion batteries is on the rise for the first time in over 10 years. The increase comes from surging prices raw material costs, and it will ultimately have a negative impact on the automotive industry’s push for EVs to get cheaper. From Financial Times:
Soaring prices of battery metals such as lithium, cobalt and nickel and higher component costs pushed battery pack prices up to $151 per kilowatt hour, a 7 per cent rise compared with a year ago and the first increase since BloombergNEF began its annual survey in 2010.
The company expects prices to rise further to $152 per kWh next year. In 2010, prices were $1,160 per kWh on average.
That’s bad news for the automotive industry. FT reports the industry has viewed $100 per kWH battery pack as the number where EVs become competitive with ICE vehicles from a price perspective.
However, lithium prices have increased 10-fold since the start of 2021 and nickel is up 75 per cent, while cobalt prices have been more than double their 2020 average this year.
As a result, BloombergNEF forecasts that the $100 per kWh level will be reached by 2026, two years later than previously expected. This will “negatively impact the ability for automakers to produce and sell mass-market EVs in areas without subsidies”, it said.
It added that the higher costs could also be problematic for the economics of battery energy storage projects that are vital to stabilising the grid as intermittent renewable power grows.
The rise in battery pack prices would have been even higher if car companies and cell manufacturers in the Chinese market had not switched to cheaper lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which do not use cobalt and nickel but have a shorter range.
Right now, there’s a lot of uncertainty about whether or not battery material prices will actually ease. Skyrocketing demand and manufacturing issues are only exacerbating the problem for battery makers and consumers.
3rd Gear: United Looking to Delta’s Contract as a Blueprint
United Airlines’ CEO Scott Kirby says a possible deal between Delta and its pilots union could be used as a template for similar agreements. From Reuters:
“It’s a rich contract but I think the really good news is it means we’ll all get deals done essentially on the same terms and can move forward,” Kirby told Reuters on the sidelines of an event in Washington late Monday. Delta struck a tentative deal Friday to give pilots a 34% cumulative pay increase in a new four-year contract.
Kirby says the Delta agreement will push pilot wages up across carriers and be passed onto consumers in the form of higher airplane ticket prices.
“The biggest news for an investor perspective is cost convergence in the industry means that what is different now is all the low cost carriers are going to have come up to these much higher pay rates,” Kirby said. “This is going to wind up like oil prices — it’s going to be a pass through.”
Delta’s contract reportedly also offers a lump-sum one-time payment, reduced healthcare insurance premiums, better 401(k) parameters as well as improved paid time off.
Kirby added that demand is still very strong for flight tickets, which he says are cheaper today than they have been over the past 15 years.
Its union estimates the proposed deal represents more than $7.2 billion of cumulative value increases over the next four years.
American Airlines and United have promised “industry-leading” contracts to their pilots.
Reuters reports that last month American Airlines pilots turned down a proposed 19 percent pay hike over the next two years that would cost the company about $2 billion. United pilots had previously turned down an offer that would give them about a 14.5 percent wage cumulative increase.
4th Gear: Works Strike at Pennsylvania Auto Parts Supplier
About 270 workers at an Autoneum AG plant in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania have gone on strike at the global automotive insulation supplier, and soon ripples could be felt throughout the rest of the automotive industry.
Workers walked off the job last Thursday after negotiations between the company and the union stalled after the latest contract offer was rejected by the workers. From Automotive News:
Autoneum, based in Winterthur, Switzerland, focuses on internal and external sound and heat insulation systems. The supplier works with almost every major automaker, including General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis, according to its website.
For the Bloomsburg plant, its exact list of customers is unclear. However, the plant received awards from Toyota in 2011, Ford in 2014 and GM in 2021. Autoneum did not respond to calls from Automotive News’ seeking comment on the strike.
Brian Heverly, president of Local 1700 Workers United, told FOX 56 that the rank-and-file turned down Autoneum’s third and final contract offer.
Among worker complaints is the supplier’s insistence that workers pay 5 percent more of their healthcare costs outside of usual yearly increases.
Local 1700 Vice President Dave Schaffer, an employee at the plant 44 years, told FOX 56 that the workers didn’t want to strike, but felt compelled to given the circumstances.
The last strike at this plant was reportedly back in 1968, a year known for nothing else but that strike.
A spokesperson for General Motors told the outlet that the automaker is aware of what’s going on, but they don’t see the strike having an immediate impact on GM operations.
5th Gear: GM’s BrightDrop Starts Production in Canada
General Motors has started production of its BrightDrop electric delivery vehicle at its CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario. That makes it the first EV factory in Canada as a whole.
Last month, GM said the startup will be worth about $1 billion in revenue in 2023. The company is expected to hit $5 billion in revenue by the middle of the 2020s, and it could be as high as $10 billion by 2030.
“Starting volume production is really important; this is a very important product for GM,” Sam Abuelsamid, principal research analyst leading Guidehouse Insights, told The Detroit News. “This finally starts to get them back into a more competitive offering in the van segment and with electrification, so … it has the potential to be a really strong business for GM.”
GM launched production this week of the larger Zevo 600 electric delivery vans at CAMI. The delivery vans were being manufactured at small scale at a Michigan supplier plant until the CAMI facility was ready for production. Production of the Zevo 400, a smaller model than the Zevo 600, will start in late 2023. BrightDrop expects to make 30,000 next year and scale to 50,000 by 2025.
[…]
GM formed BrightDrop in 2021. The business is focused on providing emissions-free products for delivery companies. Its products include the Zevo electric delivery vans, Trace eCarts for easier package delivery and the BrightDrop Core software platform.
The automaker invested more than $800 million to convert CAMI for high-volume EV production. The plant was revamped in just seven months — the quickest retooling of a GM plant ever.
[…]
BrightDrop also on Monday announced it’s entering the Canadian market with the addition of DHL Express Canada logistics company as a customer. DHL will add its first Zevo vans to its fleet early next year. The company is also piloting BrightDrop’s Trace eCarts and software platform in Toronto.
BrightDrop has also received requests for electric delivery vans from FedEx Corp., Walmart Inc., Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc.
All in all, BrightDrop has 25,000 production reservations and expressions of interest for its EV delivery vans. So far, the company has delivered 150 Zevo vans to FedEx out of the 2,500 the shipping company has ordered.
Reverse: Washington
Neutral: Boeing 747, Over and Out
On The Radio: Darlene Love – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)“
Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Official Audio)
This is the best Christmas song, and I will not hear otherwise.
NFL free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was removed from a Los Angeles-bound American Airlines flight Sunday morning at Miami International Airport after refusing to comply with safety protocol, according to a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department.
Officers were notified of a medical emergency on an American Airlines flight around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The flight crew grew concerned for a passenger – identified by police as Beckham – as they tried to wake him to fasten his seat belt, according to a statement from Miami police.
“He appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness, prior to their departure,” the police statement read. “Fearing that Mr. Beckham was seriously ill, and that his condition would worsen through the expected 5 hour flight, the attendants called for police and fire rescue.”
When officers arrived, they asked Beckham to exit the aircraft several times, and he refused, according to the statement. The aircraft was deplaned, at which point officers asked Beckham to exit the plane and he did so without incident, the statement read.
“American Airlines flight 1228, with service from Miami (MIA) to Los Angeles (LAX), returned to the gate before takeoff due to a customer failing to follow crew member instructions and refusing to fasten their seatbelt (sic). The customer was removed, and the flight re-departed at 10:54 a.m. local time,” American Airlines said in a statement obtained by CNN.
Daniel Davillier, Beckham’s attorney, released a statement saying his client boarded the flight that morning without any problems. The flight had been delayed and Beckham fell asleep with his blanket over his head – a normal practice of his during long flights, Davillier said.
“He was awakened and told that the plane was back at the gate and that he needed to get off the plane because he did not put his seatbelt on when asked,” Davillier’s statement read, adding that Beckham was told it was too late to fasten the belt and he’d either need to get off the plane or everyone would have to deplane.
“The overzealous flight attendant refused to simply allow Mr. Beckham to fasten his seatbelt and proceed with the flight and instead immediately removed everyone from the plane,” Davillier said. “At no time was Mr. Beckham disruptive or combative.”
Davillier called the incident “completely unnecessary.”
“Sleeping on a plane should not be a cause for removal from a flight,” the attorney said. “If they could wake him up when the flight returned to the gate, then they could have done the same thing and woken him up to ask him to put on his seatbelt.”
No charges have been filed in the incident and after being escorted by officers to the terminal’s non-secure area Sunday morning, Beckham then “made other arrangements,” police say.
Beckham is currently a free agent as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a knee injury suffered in Super Bowl LVI as a member of the Los Angeles Rams in February. Beckham had a touchdown catch in the Rams’ winning effort over the Cincinnati Bengals in that game.
Beckham was spotted in Miami sitting courtside at the Miami Heat-Washington Wizards game Wednesday night, according to video posted on the NBA’s official Twitter account.
Flying overseas in business-class or better is one of those things — like getting the Good Seats at the game — that, once you’ve done it, it’s hard to go back to coach or the bleachers. Some luxuries, you will convince yourself, are worth paying for. According to The Wall Street Journal, one such option — first-class seats on international American Airlines flights — is soon going away. American says this decision was made, in part, to add more business-class seats, which these days, are more or less what the old first-class was anyway.
American had previously said as much last month, though WSJ reports that on an earnings call on Thursday, an American executive said plainly that the airline is making the change for the simple reason that first-class isn’t selling as well as the other good seats on the plane.
“And frankly, by removing [first-class seats], we can provide more business-class seats, which is what our customers most want or are most willing to pay for,” [said Chief Commercial Officer Vasu Raj.]
[…]
…the airline will outfit its long-haul fleet with new “Flagship Suites,” which include seats that lie flat and sliding doors for privacy, in a revamp that will increase premium seating on those planes by more than 45% by 2026.
The new suites will be included on newly delivered Boeing 787-9 planes and Airbus A321 XLRs starting in 2024. American will also retrofit its Boeing 777-300ER planes to include the new suites.
The sliding door thing seems a little unnecessary, but then again people get real weird on planes, especially on long-haul trips, and some people value their privacy more than I do. More importantly, this says that many of the business-class seats lie flat, which is the real game-changer, as deplaning overseas after hours of fitful, garbage sleep in an upright chair as opposed to restful, continuous sleep lying flat makes a night-and-day difference.
This seems, in any case, mostly an exercise in branding, as “first-class” just sounds more expensive than “business-class,” which, as the WSJ notes, has most of the same benefits anyway. Is either of them worth it for you, a poor dirtbag? That is a personal decision, though I prefer to save my nickels for my destination, and arrive in London or wherever stiff as a board, having flown coach. The times I have flown first- or business-class were paid for by someone else, which was nice of them. On one such flight, I even sat next to the actress Rooney Mara once. I’m sure she was doing something a lot cooler in France than driving a dumb luxury SUV.
American Airlines expanded on its plan to drop international first-class cabins and replace them with more business class seats.
The move was first disclosed last month and reiterated in a conference call with investors Thursday by Vasu Raja, the company’s chief commercial officer, who said the change is in response to customer demand.
“The first class will not exist … at American Airlines for the simple reason that our customers aren’t buying it,” he said in response to a question. American Airlines later told CNN that Raja was referring to international flights only.
“The quality of the business class seat has improved so much. And frankly, by removing [first class] we can go provide more business class seats, which is what our customers most want or are most willing to pay for,” Raja said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said American Airlines was dropping all first-class cabins. It is eliminating first-class cabins in international flights only.
In February, Frontier Airlines announced a planned $2.9 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines. JetBlue Airways revealed its rival $3.6 billion all-cash bid in early April, sparking a bidding war for Spirit between the two carriers that has continued ever since. Either potential merged airline combination would become the fifth-largest in the United States. Though, it seems the war is finally coming to an end with Frontier and Spirit reaching agreeable terms.
The biggest roadblock to Frontier’s acquisition of Spirit Airlines wasn’t any offer proposed by JetBlue but Spirit’s own shareholders. At the start of June, Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory company, implored shareholders not to vote for the Frontier deal. Spirit then delayed the vote on the acquisition until June 30th. The management of the Florida-based airline stated that it delayed the vote because of the lack of shareholder support but continued seeking a better deal with Frontier as its first option.
Today, Institutional Shareholder Services has reversed its stance and recommended a vote for a new deal with Frontier Airlines. ISS stated, “Shareholders are best served by taking the deal that provides the best combination of long-term value and compensation in the event of regulatory rejection. On balance, support for the merger with Frontier on the revised terms is warranted.” Frontier raised his purchase bid by $2 per share ($4.13 per share), matching an increase from JetBlue. Frontier also raised its reverse termination fee to Spirit to $350 million, an $100 million increase.
JetBlue’s current $3.7 billion offer might sound enticing, but the New York-based airline has done little to ease Spirit’s worries that government regulators won’t actually approve the deal. JetBlue is currently under anti-trust investigation for its strategic alliance with American Airlines. When asked by Spirit to end the controversial partnership to further negotiations, JetBlue declined. This rebuffed demand somewhat indicated that JetBlue simply wanted to disrupt the creation of a direct industry rival.
Johnny Depp’s lawyer Camille Vasquez is being called “wonder woman” for rushing to a man’s aid when he experienced a medical emergency aboard a flight she was on, according to a report.
Vasquez, coming fresh off her career-making courtroom victory in Depp’s bombshell defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard, was traveling from Los Angeles to New York City on an American Airlines flight this week when a fellow passenger collapsed and hit his head, TMZ reported, citing eyewitness accounts.
The unnamed traveler, who appeared to be in his 70s, fell while walking past Vasquez and her bodyguard, who were flying first class.
When a flight attendant called for help, the celebrity lawyer and her guard reportedly jumped into action.
Vasquez and her bodyguard were on an American Airlines flight this week when a man in his 70s fell and hit his head next to them.REUTERSVasquez made partner after Depp’s win. EPA
Passengers said that Vasquez called her brother-in-law, who is a doctor, and had him guide her through checking whether the patient was having a heart attack or a brain hemorrhage, the outlet reported.
Vasquez’s bodyguard even took off his Apple Watch and placed it on the ailing passenger to monitor his vitals, TMZ said.
Vasquez was soon relieved from EMT duties by a surgeon who happened to be on board the flight — and who took over the life-saving measures.
According to TMZ, one of the cabin crew members told Vasquez that she was “wonder woman” and presented her with a bottle of champagne and a bottle of Merlot for her troubles.
Vasquez reportedly put her brother-in-law, who’s a doctor, on the phone, and had him guide her through checking if the passenger was having a heart attack ZapatA/MEGA
The pilot then turned the plane around and returned to LAX, where it was met by paramedics who escorted the patient off the flight. It is unclear what caused the man to collapse, and his condition is unknown at this time.
The incident is certain to raise the newly-minted law partner’s status to new heights.
The Depp-Heard civil trial, which ended with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star being awarded more than $10 million in damages for having his reputation besmirched, has earned Vasquez legions of fans around the world.
American Airlines will eliminate service for three cities following the Labor Day holiday weekend as a result of staffing shortages, marking the latest hiccup for the airline industry amid thousands of cancellations and cuts in recent months.
An airline spokesperson said the company will drop service to Toledo, Ohio; Ithaca, N.Y.; and Islip, N.Y., on Sept. 7 in response to a “regional pilot shortage.”
“We’re extremely grateful for the care and service our team members provided to our customers in Islip, Ithaca and Toledo, and are working closely with them during this time,” the spokesperson said in an email to The Hill. “We’ll proactively reach out to customers scheduled to travel after this date to offer alternate arrangements.”
Travel demand has surged, with large numbers of Americans taking trips for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened about 2.44 million people at airports on Friday, a total greater than any other day since Nov. 28, 2021.
Meanwhile, airlines have struggled to keep up with rising demand after shedding millions of jobs at the height of the pandemic, driving prices higher.
Thousands of flights were canceled or delayed this past weekend ahead of Father’s Day and Juneteenth.
Delta Air Lines cut 100 flights from its daily schedule between July 1 and Aug. 7, and the company’s pilots wrote an open letter to customers published Thursday saying they were flying a “record amount” of overtime to reduce the high number of cancellations.
Other airlines have cut back on their schedules as well. Southwest Airlines cut 20,000 flights this summer, The Dallas Morning News reported.
American is also making changes to eight other routes, which the airline spokesperson said is to better match the current demand environment. All of those routes include one of the airline’s hub airports as an origin or destination city.
Three regional carriers wholly owned by American — PSA Airlines, Envoy Air and Piedmont Airlines — recently announced contract agreements with American that include “significant pay increases” as part of efforts to attract and retain pilots, according to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), a pilot union that represents the employees.
Pilots working at PSA Airlines, which operates 800 daily flights for American, will receive an additional 50 percent pay raise for two years.
“The new PSA agreements will not only help PSA hire and retain quality pilots, but will set the standard for other regional carriers to follow suit,” John Ebbert, chair of the ALPA’s PSA pilot group, said in a statement.
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – An American Airlines London-bound flight from Miami was forced to turn around Wednesday night after a couple refused to wear their masks.
Flight 38 was about an hour and a half into its flight to Heathrow Airport when it circled back and returned to Miami International Airport.
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Publicly, American Airlines is only saying the flight returned “…due to a disruptive customer refusing to comply with the federal mask requirement.”
A source told CBS4 News the couple was suspected of being intoxicated, which does not come as a surprise to CBS Travel Editor Peter Greenberg.
“As long as they are not counting the number of people getting on planes already drunk, because so many of these cases involve alcohol consumption prior to boarding the plane – if they don’t address that this could be the new normal for the rest of the year,” said Greenberg.
CBS4’s source says that among the couple one person was more of the problem.
WEB EXTRA: CBS Travel Editor Peter Greenberg On Flight Disruptions
The decision not to continue with the flight was made because they did not want to fly another 7 hours with passengers who are disruptive and non-compliant.
Police dispatch called for officers to meet the plane at Gate D14. Once the plane landed, more than 100 passengers were informed they had to get off the plane.
“We weren’t given any instructions, just told that we had to go back and now we can’t get our luggage,” said one passenger.
Many on the plane had no idea why it returned to Miami.
“Disappointed. They wouldn’t really say anything and I don’t think they told the flight attendants anything because all they would say is there was an extreme incident and they had to turn around,” said one passenger.
“They just told us to get off and the police were there,” said another passenger.
American Airlines issued a statement apologizing for the inconvenience.
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“American Airlines flight 38 with service from Miami (MIA) to London (LHR) returned to MIA due to disruptive customer refusing to comply with the federal mask requirement. The flight landed at MIA where local law enforcement met the aircraft. We thank our crew for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The flight was canceled as a result of the incident. Many passengers stayed overnight in Miami to catch the flight that was re-booked for Thursday.
Theresa Green made the most of her unexpected stay.
“They looked after us. They put us up in nice hotels,” Green said. “I’ve had a good day. So I’m good. I got to see Miami, so it’s all good.”
The woman who refused to wear a mask was not arrested, however, she was put on American’s internal no-fly list pending further investigation.
Airlines have frequently banned passengers for the duration of the pandemic if they refuse to follow mandatory mask requirements designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Zach Griff is a senior reporter for The Points Guy. “It’s a really a costly decision on the airlines part to turn the plane around and go back to Miami,” he said.
He says for fliers who don’t adhere to masking rules, they could face some big fines and expenses.
“That was a significant diversion I can’t imagine how much that must have cost the airline and we’ll see if that cost is put on the passenger, the offensive passenger who caused the unruly incident,” he said.
Last year the FAA reports 4,290 mask incidents. This year it’s at 92 so far.
The FAA says unruly passenger problems have been cut in half over the last year.
“If you’re taking to the skies just behave. Follow the rules. When you check-in for an airline flight you are agreeing you don’t have COVID,” Griff said.
The FAA will investigate the case. It could impose a fine of up to $37,000.
When we asked police why the woman was not arrested, they told us mask mandate violations are not arrestable offenses. They continued saying if there was a fight or criminal issue that would be different.
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There’s no word what caused this to escalate so much that the flight was turned around.
