DOT blames Mesaba for ExpressJet stranding incident

ExpressJet Holdings' flight crew "was not at fault" for the Aug. 7-8 incident in which passengers were stranded overnight on an ERJ-145, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday, instead pinning the blame on a Mesaba Airlines local representative at Rochester (Minn.) International who "improperly refused" to allow the passengers to deplane.

Continental Airlines Flight 2816, operated by ExpressJet, departed Houston at 9:23 p.m. Aug. 7 and was scheduled to arrive at Minneapolis-St. Paul at midnight but owing to weather was diverted to RST, where passengers were forced to remain aboard for 5 hr. 32 min. "with only pretzels provided by the carrier to eat," according to the US Dept. of Transportation, which Friday released the preliminary findings of its investigation into the incident (ATWOnline, Aug. 20).

"We have determined that the ExpressJet crew was not at fault," LaHood said in a statement. "In fact, the flight crew repeatedly tried to get permission to deplane the passengers at the airport or obtain a bus for them. The local representative of Mesaba Airlines improperly refused the requests of the captain to let her passengers off the plane. The representative incorrectly said that the airport was closed to passengers for security reasons, which led to this nightmare for those stuck on the plane."

Mesaba is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines that operates as Delta Connection. It formerly was owned by Northwest Airlines, which was acquired by DL last year. DOT said Mesaba was "the only carrier able to assist" at the time the diverted flight arrived. Neither ExpressJet nor CO operates scheduled service to/from RST.

DOT said the Mesaba representative told the ExpressJet captain that the airport was closed to passengers overnight owing to the absence of TSA screeners. "In fact, TSA procedures allow passengers to get off the plane, enter the terminal and re-board without being screened again as long as they remain in a sterile area," the department said.

While it said the flight crew did all it could, it stated that "more senior personnel within Continental or ExpressJet should have become involved in an effort to obtain permission to take the passengers off the plane." DOT said its Aviation Enforcement Office "is considering the appropriate action to take against Mesaba."

CO Chairman and CEO Larry Kellner said, "While the result for the customers was clearly unacceptable, it is evident that the ExpressJet crew worked through the night to resolve the situation and was frustrated with Delta Connection's failure to provide reasonable assistance." DL CEO Richard Anderson said he has "personally reached out to [Kellner] to ensure we fully understand the facts of this unfortunate incident. Delta is working with Mesaba to conduct an internal investigation."

ExpressJet President and CEO Jim Ream added that he was "pleased that the DOT findings support ExpressJet's belief that our crew made exhaustive efforts to help customers through this weather event."