

JetBlue passengers watched their own ordeal on live TV By Roger Yu, USA TODAY In the latest example of how real-time information is changing commercial aviation, passengers on JetBlue Flight 292 on Wednesday watched on seat-back TVs the lead-up to their emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport. Those on board described a strange but generally calm atmosphere in the cabin during the hours that television covered their circular flight over Los Angeles before landing safely at LAX. Five-year-old JetBlue widely touts its multichannel television feature, giving Flight 292 passengers an array of channels on which to watch their jet circle. The flight, bound for New York from Burbank's Bob Hope Airport, made the emergency landing after the flight crew discovered that the wheel on its front landing gear was turned at a 90-degree angle. The plane circled for three hours to burn off fuel for a safer landing. Dave Reinitz, a comic from L.A. and one of 140 passengers on board, describes the experience of watching the broadcast live as "surreal." He says the familiarity with the faces of broadcasters and the stations helped to alleviate anxiety. Experts' comments largely predicting a safe landing also helped. nonetheless, he made a farewell video for his girlfriend. Alexandra Jacobs, another passenger, credits pilot Scott Burke and crewmembers for calming the passengers. They informed passengers of the problem and likelihood of a favorable outcome. The level of anxiety among passengers rose once TV stations began covering it live, she says. "That was when the alarm began to be ratcheted up," says Jacobs, an editor at The New York Observer newspaper. "The channels of communication stopped being exclusively from passengers" and crewmembers. On Sept. 11, 2001, passengers on some flights hijacked by terrorists learned of the World Trade Center situation by cellphone. As airlines work toward installation of Internet connections, and possibly the routine use of cellphones in flight, old ways are changing, experts say. Capt. Ron Nielsen, an airline pilot who conducts fear-of-flying classes, says airlines and pilots will have to be more forthcoming with information about delays, potential hazards and mishaps as passengers get more information access. Says Nielsen: "Pilots will have to communicate more. But there's also an increase in passenger responsibility. They're responsible for their own state of panic." The proliferation of instant information sources is "something that airlines have to potentially respond to," says Bert Boquet, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. John Paul, a Dallas consultant and a frequent flier, says he'd welcome any measures that would increase passengers knowing more about in-flight situations. "Some of the most frustrating times for me are when passengers are kept in the dark," he says. Frequent-flier Anita Madison of Chicago says she wouldn't have wanted to watch on TV what was happening with Flight 292. "The information being given by the flight crew would be more accurate than some unknowns on the Larry King Live show speculating as to what was going to happen," she says. On the JetBlue flight, TV sets went dark for the final minutes of the flight. The flight captain chose to turn off the TV to "fully brief the passengers on board of the emergency situation," says Jenny Dervin, a JetBlue spokeswoman.