Travelers despair as Alaska Airlines grounds flights for an hour, American ... trends now
A rash of safety concerns at carriers like Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, compounded by manufacturing problems at Boeing and other woes, have left customers uncertain about the future of air travel.
In the latest in a series of seemingly never-ending complications, Alaska Airlines asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground advisory Wednesday after a software update caused widespread technical issues.
'This morning we experienced an issue while performing an upgrade to the system that calculates our weight and balance,' the airline said in a statement to DailyMail.com.
'A ground stop for all Alaska and Horizon flights was instituted at approximately 7:30am PT. The issue was mitigated and the ground stop for Alaska and Horizon flights expired at 8:30am PT.'
Travelers took to social media to complain, with some vowing to switch to other airlines and others lamenting that they were waiting on the tarmac for up to an hour after the advisory expired.
Safety concerns at major airlines across the United States, compounded by rising prices and technical problems, have left travelers unsure about the future of air travel
A ground advisory for Alaska Airlines flights was issued Wednesday after a software update to a weight-and balance-calculating system caused widespread problems
Also on Wednesday, Boeing quality engineer Sam Salehpour testified before the Senate to discuss the safety culture at the aircraft manufacturer
The ground advisory came amid dual hearings in the Senate about the safety culture at Boeing, which provides 231 of the 314 planes in Alaska's fleet.
Earlier this year, the airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights after a door plug on a 737 Max 9 blew off shortly after liftoff from Portland International Airport.
The manufacturer was forced to shell out $160 million earlier this month to cover losses Alaska had suffered.
Speaking before a committee on Wednesday, a Boeing whistleblower claimed he had received threats including a nail through his car tire for speaking out against his beleaguered employer.
Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer, claimed he was targeted after raising concerns about the quality of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jets.
'I have even been subjected to threats of violence from my supervisor after I attempted to discuss the problems in a meeting in April 9 2023,' Salehpour said.
'After the meeting, my supervisor said to me, "I would have killed anyone who said what you said if it was from some other group, I would tear them apart."
The engineer said he filed an ethics complaint, but no action was taken, 'and I continue to report to a supervisor who has threatened me with bodily injury for speaking out.'
Salehpour claimed he was made the target of threats after raising concerns about the quality of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jets
Ed Pierson, a former manager at Boeing and executive director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety, claimed an incident involving a blown-out door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight was being covered up
Senator Richard Blumenthal held up a picture of a large nail through a car tire, which Salehpour claimed was evidence of the threats
Salehpour asserted that higher-ups at the company had barred him from key meetings and sidelined him from his job duties as a means of retaliation.
He also provided the committee with a photo of a large nail that was allegedly planted in his car tire.
'That was about a one month old tire,' he explained. 'The nail was inserted in there, I believe it happened at work.'
Senator Roger Marshall asked if he believed the damaged tire and threats constituted efforts by the company to silence him.
'I think the retaliation was somebody calling me on my personal phone time after time. This is my personal phone,' Salehpour said.
'My boss was calling me there for forty minutes, he berated me and chewed me out. I have a work phone that he could use but he called
