Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Flight attendants fear for safety, leave Air Canada flight due to stench in plane: Reports

An Air Canada flight was delayed for more than three hours after flight attendants, fearing for their safety, left the plane due to a stench in the cabin, according to reports.

“The delay was due to a report of an unpleasant odour in the cabin, typically associated with oil in the ventilation system, which does not impact the safe operation of a flight,” Air Canada spokeswoman, Angela Mah, said in an email.

The flight, AC139, was scheduled to leave Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport at 1 p.m., and arrive at Vancouver International Airport shortly after 6 p.m., or 3 p.m. Vancouver time.

Instead, the flight took off at 4:18 p.m., and is expected to arrive just after 9:30 p.m., or 6:30 p.m. Vancouver time.

Maintenance crew and the plane’s captain cleared the aircraft for flight, but “there was a delay waiting for clearance of the in-flight crew,” Mah said. There are four flight attendants on board, she added.

Among the 130 passengers is Gary Mason, a Vancouver-based columnist for a Toronto newspaper. After live-tweeting the delay, including crew and passenger reaction, the topic #AC139 started trending on Twitter in Canada.

Three of the four flight attendants who left were replaced with new ones, according to Mason. The pilot informed passengers that the original attendants were uncomfortable with the smell coming from the plane’s air filters, he said.

Mah refused to directly address whether the attendants left over safety concerns, but said, “We only operate our flights when it is safe to do so.”

In a January, 2012 newsletter, the Air Canada Pilots Association describes the odour as “old sweaty socks.” It is “rarely perceived as threatening or toxic,” the report said.

Krista Kealey, spokeswoman for the Ottawa International Airport Authority, confirmed that the plane left for Vancouver, but said the delay had “zero to do with the airport.”

“It was entirely an Air Canada matter,” she said. “It’s completely in their hands.”

The delay comes just after an Air Canada jet’s dramatic engine failure that dropped debris across Mississauga earlier this week.

Original Article
Source: the star
Author: Anita Li

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