Emergency vehicles on the scene of Pistons' charter flight

Hoping it's not Stuckey again.

 

Wow. Hope everyone is okay. Could it do with Stuckey? I know he had health problems last year.

 

Looks like it was some sort of hydraulic issue.

 

HOUSTON—A plane featuring the Detroit Pistons logo landed without incident at Hobby Monday after sounding an alarm for a hydraulic issue, Houston Fire Department officials said.

Forty-four people were on board the plane. No injuries were reported.

http://www.khou.com/news/Detroit-Pistons-plane-lands-safely-at-Hobby-distress-call----137448708.html

 

I don't get this recent use of 25-30 year old planes to shuttle around NBA players.

Reminds me of that scene from Major League where the pilot is placing tape on the propeller.

 

the NBA cant afford better planes because of the smaller market?

 

it looks like an MD83 or an MD-90 , not that Old compared to our planes. Allegiant,American,Delta and other european carriers use them. Its not that bad of an airplane, and since they are in DET, they dont have to worry about range like LA or NY who need planes with over 3,000 NM range.

 

http://www.aviongoo.com/faa_info.php?nnum=N880DP&

 

Good find, built in 88 isnt that bad for a team like DET. Looks like they fly out of KPTK which is about 10 miles from the stadium.

 

Quick question: If you scroll down, there's another reference to a plane with the same tail number (N880DP) but a different serial number, manufactured date and model. Any idea what this is about?

BTW, it seems the Pistons may own their own planes-- the registrant's name is "Roundball LLC" located in Auburn Hills, MI.

 

Before the MD-83 they had an airplane with the same registration the airplane was a BAC-111

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Unti...0208940/&sid=51bd32b4c8cecd04a27dbfa4a7c8eadf

 

Its just the name they use however they use Pentastar based in Waterford,MI.
http://www.pentastaraviation.com/pentastar-aviation-teams-up-with-detroit-pistons.html

 

Does that mean Detroit flies a machine with hot parts?

 

That's not really so old for a plane. Judging from exterior pictures the plane looks pretty nice. Mechanical issues happen. I work in corporate aviation and our Gulfstreams rarely return from trips without squawks.


Nothing to see here.

 

I think most of the planes flying are 30+ years old, if I am not mistaken.

DD

 

For Most Sports Teams it ranges between 8-30 Years (Big Gap I Know), the younger airplanes are the ones that are usually charted by Legacy Carriers (Delta,United,American). Before the COA-UAL merger Continentals average fleet age was 11.5 Years, Americans is 15.6 and Deltas around 14. The Oldest plane flying out of all the legacy's is the DC-9-50 which still flies for delta, they were built in 1967, but other than that Deltas oldest plane is the MD-90 which was built in the late 80's, Continental's is the 757 Early 90's, United is the 320 (Late 80's Early 90's) and American with the MD-80's (Late 80's). If any airline has an average fleet age of more than 20 years they need to consistently need to be reviewed by the FAA for methods of inspections.

 

If I remember correctly, the Pistons were one of the first NBA teams to own their own plane.

 

Is there a real difference for the players of a team owning it's own plane versus charter ?

 

It really does not matter for the team, but more for the Owner. For people like Mark Cuban and and Mickey Arison its beneficial because in reality they are business men, so it helps them around without having to buy all of first class or travelling commercial, and then when season is around, the plane is used and chartering a plane for a whole season is not necessary(DAL fly a 767-200). Teams like OKC use Delta, the problem with this is that once the season is over the plane will return to Delta, go back into retrofit with regular passenger configuration. This process it tedious and the FAA have to re certify the airplane, wait and balance etc, and because of all the costs plus the cost of Delta loosing that plane for about 7 Months and having to either increase frequency of a flight with smaller planes or leasing another airplane., these will be passed down to OKC. It depends on the teams structure, but OKC dont mind paying these fees for 7 months because if they wont use it for the other 5 whats the point? I know a 727(the plane we use) costs about $11,000 an hour to operate, but i know with Les using the plane year round and having used Paradigm Aviation for some time now, the fee must be a lot less. Teams who used Delta will receive a 319/737/320 and before the season starts they will submit dates and travel options to the airline, the airline will come back with the estimate. Im pretty sure OKC are paying around 8-10 Million just on the airplane based on the operating costs of the aircraft and fees, but to them its better then buying or leasing an airplane for 12 months and paying storage,hiring 3rd party mechanics,pilots,Flight Attendants,fuel,maintenance etc.