TRAVELERS TUNED IN TO OWN CRISIS IN-FLIGHT TV RIVETING ON FLIGHT 292.Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer Because JetBlue offers 36-channel in-flight satellite TV at each seat as part of its service, many of the passengers aboard distressed Flight 292 on Wednesday were able to flip to news channels such as MSNBC MSNBC Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company and watch their own crisis unfold as a nationally televised airborne drama. As the pilot circled the skies over Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , burning off fuel, the passengers saw shots of their plane and its faulty nose gear, as well as emergency crews preparing for their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport “LAX” redirects here. For other uses, see LAX (disambiguation). “KLAX” redirects here. For other uses, see KLAX (disambiguation). Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX , and heard on-air news teams and experts discuss the dangers that lay ahead. Christiana Lund, 25, began watching the film ``The Kingdom of Heaven'' shortly after JetBlue Flight 292 rolled out of its gate at Bob Hope Airport Bob Hope Airport (IATA: BUR, ICAO: KBUR, FAA LID: BUR) is a regional and national airport located in Burbank, California, United States. It was formerly known as United Airport (1930-1934); Union Air Terminal (1934-1940); at 3:17 p.m., then began switching between MSNBC and CNN CNN or Cable News Network Subsidiary company of Turner Broadcasting Systems. It was created by Ted Turner in 1980 to present 24-hour live news broadcasts, using satellites to transmit reports from news bureaus around the world. once she realized that she and her flight mates had become the news. ``I don't remember when the news came on,'' said Lund, who was scheduled to take Flight 292 from Burbank to New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. on Thursday. ``As soon as I did start watching it, I was glued to it, trying to make sure we knew everything.'' While the information from the captain and flight crew was consistent with what was being reported on the news, the tone and the sense of gravity from the two sources often diverged, passengers said. ``The captain apologized at first, saying there was a problem with the landing gear and it was no big deal; there was nothing really to worry about,'' said Pia Varma, 23, of Encino. ``Then, on the news, they're saying this has never been attempted before and it's the scariest thing ever. It was a little nerve-racking.'' During the course of the flight, Lund and other passengers were moved from the front of the plane to the rear, as was carry-on baggage, to make it easier to keep the nose of the plane aloft at touchdown. ``The woman sitting next to me would say, 'I can't watch it.' Then she'd watch it anyway,'' Lund said. ``By watching the TV and taking time to occupy my mind, it almost seemed like it wasn't real.'' It took about 45 minutes for Varma to realize that Flight 292 had made the news. Then, like Lund, she was hooked. ``Some people were watching it; others were distracted, watching movies and TV,'' Varma said. ``I like to know what's going on Verb 1. know what's going on - be well-informed be on the ball, be with it, know the score, know what's what know - know how to do or perform something; "She knows how to knit"; "Does your husband know how to cook?" , and this story definitely affected me.'' Passengers had TV news access for about three hours - from shortly after takeoff until about 10 minutes before the flight touched down at LAX with a shower of sparks shooting from the nose wheels. Andy Warren Andy Warren may refer to:
``There was a common bond, all of us watching this and assessing what was going on,'' said Warren, who is scheduled to appear today on the ``Ellen DeGeneres'' show to talk about the ordeal. ``A lot of the commentators they brought on had comments that were very helpful and some that were troubling and very disturbing.'' A JetBlue spokeswoman, while refusing to comment on specifics of the flight pending the results of an investigation, said the TV feed is typically interrupted only if the captain needs the passengers' full attention. ``I'm not privy One who has a direct, successive relationship to another individual; a coparticipant; one who has an interest in a matter; private. Privy refers to a person in privity with another—that is, someone involved in a particular transaction that results in a union, to any conversations or decisions made (on Flight 292),'' said Jenny Dervin. ``Our policy regarding live TV is that we do not censor censor (sĕn`sər), title of two magistrates of ancient Rome (from c.443 B.C. to the time of Domitian). They took the census (by which they assessed taxation, voting, and military service) and supervised public behavior. and we don't turn it off arbitrarily.'' Dervin referred all further comments to the National Transportation and Safety Board, which refused comment. Joe Hodas, a spokesman for Frontier Airlines This article is about Frontier Airlines that was founded in 1994. For the company known as Frontier Airlines from 1950 to 1986, see Frontier Airlines (1950-1986). For the similarly named Frontier Flying Service see Frontier Flying Service. , which also offers in-flight TV, said the JetBlue incident has company officials rethinking their position on allowing television during an emergency situation. Currently the flight crew has the discretion to turn the TV on or off. In the future, the crew might be given no option but to shut it down. ``We want the flight crew thinking about the crisis at hand, rather than whether to turn the TV off,'' Hodas said. ``During the initial phase (Wednesday), there was a lot of speculation and misinformation mis·in·form tr.v. mis·in·formed, mis·in·form·ing, mis·in·forms To provide with incorrect information. mis going on. Nobody knows better about a given situation than the pilot and the flight crew, and it's really important we make sure the passengers are listening to them.'' Evan Henerson, (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com |
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