Wrong type of bees cause 11 hour delay

**yorkie** · 25th May 2007, 22:38

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6691851.stm

Swarm of bees grounds UK aircraft

Almost 200 passengers found themselves stranded at Bournemouth Airport for 11 hours after their plane turned back after flying into a swarm of bees.

The Palmair Boeing 737, bound for Faro in Portugal, took off from Bournemouth at 0810 BST on Thursday.

But after flying into the swarm the pilot experienced an engine surge an hour later and returned the aircraft to the UK for checks.

Engineers ruled it was unsafe to fly and another plane took off at 1915 BST.

Ingested bees

A total of 196 passengers were affected including 90 attempting to travel to the Algarve and a further 106 waiting to return to the UK.

The incident happened just two days after a swarm of 20,000 bees descended on Bournemouth Pier. It is believed the plane's engines ingested the bees while flying over Bournemouth but this did not cause problems until later into the flight. The passengers from Faro arrived back in Britain at 0120 BST

26th May 2007, 04:46

I read this earlier somewhere else .... think it was on the BBC news new section thing.

TBH I don't think it was right to delay the flight for that long, but Palmair only have 2 aircraft last time I checked and there are limits to capacity.

That swarm of bees was mightily annoying though....

5872 · 26th May 2007, 06:33

Well Bourenmouth Airport (BOH) Isnt excatly In or near the center of bourenmouth its closer to Christchurch then anything else , would take you about half an hour to drive to bourenmouth center or the station and longer on the bus , The aircraft will be ok because BASCO will fix it if its gone abit wrong , hmm anyone know whats happening to the 3 747s they have there 2 727s , 1 737 ? If anyone is intrested on watching planes theres a little cabin place just behind the airport you can sit at and see all the planes

Ta Fred

Jordy · 26th May 2007, 06:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkie

It is believed the plane's engines ingested the bees

Ingested?!

!

**yorkie** · 26th May 2007, 09:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom

TBH I don't think it was right to delay the flight for that long, but Palmair only have 2 aircraft last time I checked and there are limits to capacity.

I wonder if Hull Trains could detain passengers at King's Cross for 11 hours (because they don't have many trains). The fact is that passengers rights on trains are vastly superior than on planes, and that needs highlighting. The next time someone moans at a 65 minute delay they should realise the delay could be 665 minutes if they were on a plane!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom

That swarm of bees was mightily annoying though....

Maybe to the aircraft, but they have the right to live, and we shouldn't have the right to wreck havoc in the sky like we do. Hopefully one day we'll be prevented from doing so before it's too late.

Coxster · 26th May 2007, 11:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkie

but they have the right to live, and we shouldn't have the right to wreck havoc in the sky like we do

I totally agree. It means birds, for example, come down to earth and get hit by trains instead

27th May 2007, 06:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by yorkie

I wonder if Hull Trains could detain passengers at King's Cross for 11 hours (because they don't have many trains). The fact is that passengers rights on trains are vastly superior than on planes, and that needs highlighting. The next time someone moans at a 65 minute delay they should realise the delay could be 665 minutes if they were on a plane!

Hull Trains have the capability of being able to drop trains onto new services with ease by turning back at any old station, while with aircraft you're midflight, and the next airport you are visiting is say, 3 hours away (max with Palmair).

With every mode of transport - there are difficulties and restrictions, hence why the plane was turned back...

Quote:

Maybe to the aircraft, but they have the right to live, and we shouldn't have the right to wreck havoc in the sky like we do. Hopefully one day we'll be prevented from doing so before it's too late.

Oh I know... let's get gliders.

Tom B · 27th May 2007, 09:58

Unfortunately the vast majority of the general public loves planes and hates trains - which is why there's so much pro-air and anti-rail propaganda in the media.

ChrisCooper · 27th May 2007, 11:55

I wouldn't say that they love planes, I think for most people they are just a way of getting from A to B, used since they are the most viable or only option, and I definitly wouldn't say there is lots of pro-air and anti-rail propaganda.
The majority of the public take different view to reliability of air compared to rail, since many people use rail on a regular basis so often get problems (remember, even with 90% punctuality you are still going to be delayed on 1in10 journies, which for a regular commuter is once a week), wheras most people fly a couple of times a year, so are less likely to experiance problems. Also, when delays to flights occur, they are not percieved as bad in most cases due to the length of stay (being an hour late for a 2 week holiday is nothing like as bad as for a day out), the nature of the journies (the majority of people only use air for leisure trips, wheras the majority of rail users I expect are commuters or business travellers, and the length of journey (a delay on a long trip won't seem as bad as the same delay on a short trip). Also, in a lot of cases airports are nicer places to be delayed than railway stations (afterall, many stations have very basic facilities, perhaps just bus shelters).
As for satety, it's a fact that air is safer than rail (about twice as safe per mile), and there hasn't been a fatal air crash involving a passenger plane in Britain since 1989 (Kegworth), and the last serious but none fatal accident was 1990 (explosive decompression of BA flight), and infact there hasn't been a fatal crash of a British registered passenger plane since Kegworth, although a Britannia flight did crash on landing in Spain in 1999 with some injuries but no fatalities. The last major crash of a Western airliner was 2001 (American Airlines flight which crashed in New York), with the vast majority of accidents these days involving third world airlines flying elderly planes, which arn't of concern to people in the UK, any more than train crashes abroad are.

Oracle · 29th May 2007, 10:22

Bournemouth nee HURN airport is indeed in the Borough of Christchurch, and of course Southampton nee Eastleigh Airport is in the Borough of Eastleigh. BAP is really due north of Hengistbury Head, which is some way from the town centre. I know, I have flown enough times out of there in a Cessna.

Ever since the authorities extended the main runway to about 7500 feet the airport has been able to cope with 747s, and they used to be parked there awaiting charters. You can also get a turboprop, such as an F27 or similar on the cross-runway.

gordonthemoron · 29th May 2007, 14:10

How come there was a swarm of bees at 35,000 feet?

ChrisCooper · 29th May 2007, 20:29

It probably happened not long after take off at much lower altitude. For some reason it took an hour for them to cause problems with the engines.

66526 · 4th June 2007, 17:51

If a pilot sees a problem with the engines, he's gunna need to land the plane in case it drops out of the sky. I always back up the railways when trains are delayed due to issues of safety and I will do the same for planes even though I know nothing about them. Fact is, I'd rather see a plane delayed for 11 hours than see on the news about 200 people being killed in a plane crash.

25th May 2007, 22:38	#1
yorkie Fares Advisor Administrator Join Date: 6 Jun 2005 Location: Yorkshire Posts: 20,718	Wrong type of bees cause 11 hour delay http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6691851.stm Swarm of bees grounds UK aircraft Almost 200 passengers found themselves stranded at Bournemouth Airport for 11 hours after their plane turned back after flying into a swarm of bees. The Palmair Boeing 737, bound for Faro in Portugal, took off from Bournemouth at 0810 BST on Thursday. But after flying into the swarm the pilot experienced an engine surge an hour later and returned the aircraft to the UK for checks. Engineers ruled it was unsafe to fly and another plane took off at 1915 BST. Ingested bees A total of 196 passengers were affected including 90 attempting to travel to the Algarve and a further 106 waiting to return to the UK. The incident happened just two days after a swarm of 20,000 bees descended on Bournemouth Pier. It is believed the plane's engines ingested the bees while flying over Bournemouth but this did not cause problems until later into the flight. The passengers from Faro arrived back in Britain at 0120 BST

27th May 2007, 09:58	#8
Tom B Lord High Executioner Established Member Join Date: 27 Jul 2005 Location: Edinburgh/Doncaster Posts: 3,889	Unfortunately the vast majority of the general public loves planes and hates trains - which is why there's so much pro-air and anti-rail propaganda in the media. __________________ Tom B

27th May 2007, 11:55	#9
ChrisCooper Established Member Join Date: 7 Sep 2005 Location: Loughborough Posts: 1,787	I wouldn't say that they love planes, I think for most people they are just a way of getting from A to B, used since they are the most viable or only option, and I definitly wouldn't say there is lots of pro-air and anti-rail propaganda. The majority of the public take different view to reliability of air compared to rail, since many people use rail on a regular basis so often get problems (remember, even with 90% punctuality you are still going to be delayed on 1in10 journies, which for a regular commuter is once a week), wheras most people fly a couple of times a year, so are less likely to experiance problems. Also, when delays to flights occur, they are not percieved as bad in most cases due to the length of stay (being an hour late for a 2 week holiday is nothing like as bad as for a day out), the nature of the journies (the majority of people only use air for leisure trips, wheras the majority of rail users I expect are commuters or business travellers, and the length of journey (a delay on a long trip won't seem as bad as the same delay on a short trip). Also, in a lot of cases airports are nicer places to be delayed than railway stations (afterall, many stations have very basic facilities, perhaps just bus shelters). As for satety, it's a fact that air is safer than rail (about twice as safe per mile), and there hasn't been a fatal air crash involving a passenger plane in Britain since 1989 (Kegworth), and the last serious but none fatal accident was 1990 (explosive decompression of BA flight), and infact there hasn't been a fatal crash of a British registered passenger plane since Kegworth, although a Britannia flight did crash on landing in Spain in 1999 with some injuries but no fatalities. The last major crash of a Western airliner was 2001 (American Airlines flight which crashed in New York), with the vast majority of accidents these days involving third world airlines flying elderly planes, which arn't of concern to people in the UK, any more than train crashes abroad are. __________________ My Fotopic site \| My BVE screenshots site: \| My Youtube site

29th May 2007, 10:22	#10
Oracle Established Member Join Date: 19 May 2006 Location: Near Ashurst New Forest Station Posts: 1,419	Bournemouth nee HURN airport is indeed in the Borough of Christchurch, and of course Southampton nee Eastleigh Airport is in the Borough of Eastleigh. BAP is really due north of Hengistbury Head, which is some way from the town centre. I know, I have flown enough times out of there in a Cessna. Ever since the authorities extended the main runway to about 7500 feet the airport has been able to cope with 747s, and they used to be parked there awaiting charters. You can also get a turboprop, such as an F27 or similar on the cross-runway. __________________ Deputy Editor of Vintage Roadscene Magazine \| Former Editor UndergrounD Magazine \| Co-author of The Class 40s book

29th May 2007, 20:29	#12
ChrisCooper Established Member Join Date: 7 Sep 2005 Location: Loughborough Posts: 1,787	It probably happened not long after take off at much lower altitude. For some reason it took an hour for them to cause problems with the engines. __________________ My Fotopic site \| My BVE screenshots site: \| My Youtube site

26th May 2007, 04:46	#2
Tom Guest Posts: n/a	I read this earlier somewhere else .... think it was on the BBC news new section thing. TBH I don't think it was right to delay the flight for that long, but Palmair only have 2 aircraft last time I checked and there are limits to capacity. That swarm of bees was mightily annoying though....

26th May 2007, 06:33	#3
5872 Established Member Join Date: 28 Jan 2007 Location: A6-EHF Posts: 2,280	Well Bourenmouth Airport (BOH) Isnt excatly In or near the center of bourenmouth its closer to Christchurch then anything else , would take you about half an hour to drive to bourenmouth center or the station and longer on the bus , The aircraft will be ok because BASCO will fix it if its gone abit wrong , hmm anyone know whats happening to the 3 747s they have there 2 727s , 1 737 ? If anyone is intrested on watching planes theres a little cabin place just behind the airport you can sit at and see all the planes Ta Fred

29th May 2007, 14:10	#11
gordonthemoron Established Member Join Date: 4 Sep 2006 Location: Leighton Buzzard Posts: 2,737	How come there was a swarm of bees at 35,000 feet?

4th June 2007, 17:51	#13
66526 Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: 9 Nov 2005 Posts: 332	If a pilot sees a problem with the engines, he's gunna need to land the plane in case it drops out of the sky. I always back up the railways when trains are delayed due to issues of safety and I will do the same for planes even though I know nothing about them. Fact is, I'd rather see a plane delayed for 11 hours than see on the news about 200 people being killed in a plane crash.