I wonder if the baggage handler thought, "It's just a graze, that should buff right out . . . "

NTSB Identification: SEA06LA033
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of Alaska Airlines Inc.
Accident occurred Monday, December 26, 2005 in Seattle, WA
Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration: N979AS
Injuries: 125 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On December 26, 2005, at approximately 1625 Pacific standard time, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N979AS, was substantially damaged when the airplane experienced a rapid cabin depressurization during climb out from Seattle, Washington. Alaska Airlines Inc. was operating the airplane under Title 14 CFR Part 121. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross-country flight that originated approximately 10 minutes before the accident. The flight was on an IFR clearance with a destination of Burbank, California.

The pilot said that the takeoff was normal. During the climb out, at approximately 26,000 feet, they heard a loud bang, and the cabin depressurized. He said that they put their oxygen masks on and started an emergency descent to a lower altitude. An uneventful landing was performed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Post landing examination of the fuselage revealed a 12 inch by 6 inch hole near the forward cargo door.

After the occurrance, a baggage handler stated that he had "grazed the airplane" with a belt loader during the turn-around at Seattle.

Quoted: Somebody fax the former baggage handler one of these: forms.faa.gov/forms/faa337.pdf

Fixed it.

Alaska Airlines Outsources 472 Baggage-Handling Jobs

May 16, 2005

Alaska Airlines baggage handlers arriving for work at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport just before 3 a.m. yesterday were met with a Friday the 13th surprise. Overnight, their jobs had been given to an outsourcing company.

Link

My brother used to work on the airport ramp.  They moved him inside the terminal after he stabbed a 747 with that pole they use to keep an unloaded cargo 747 from tipping back on its tail.

Wasn't his fault, the tug's roof made it impossible to see what he was doing.  The guy guiding him in screwed up.

For a short time in 1997 I was a ramp supervisor for the company that was contracted for AA's baggage/cargo,ground handling services at a West coast airport. I don't want to name the place, although with that new handgun ban they're in no position to......  ANYWAY, after several months of dealing with the err... individuals that got hired I came home to Pa.  Lets just say that's not the first time somebody "grazed" a plane.

wow

Quoted: Somebody fax the baggage handler one of these: forms.faa.gov/forms/faa337.pdf

That ramper wouldn’t know where to begin with a 337, he’s the one who damaged the plane…………..you want him to fix it as well?  

Take a close look at most any old airliner, and you'll find a dozen patches where ramp rats have damaged them.   Slim few of these guys have the integrity to report their damage, they just claim it happened at the previous airport, too bad if it causes an aborted trip or worse.

Many of the baggage handlers and cargo loaders I've worked with  would be hard-pressed to keep a job at McDonalds.

When I worked on the cargo side of ABQ Intl, supervisors at both the cargo airlines said the average length of employment for entry-level employees was 3-4 weeks.   The pay sucked, hard physical labor, no benefits, incredibly screwed up work schedules, and about zero chance for advancement.

These companies had a really difficult time attracting people that could pass a background check.   Funny as hell to sit in airport security orientation, have the chief cop explain the check, and watch 30% of the new hires get up and leave.  Or my favorite, when the chief asks for their SSAN, they say they don't have one, or try to make up one on the spot.

By the time employees were trained to work safely, they'd quit.   The ramp was usually a circus, with a fair amount of accidents.   I remember watching a DC-9 sitting in a lake of 500 gallons of spilled jet fuel, just waiting for some dumbass to drive a tug through it and ignite it.

''I was too afraid to say anything, that is why all those people died''. Take his ass to court.

The airline industry is nothing more than public transportation.
I'll drive