If I'm hired to do this, then where's my paycheck?..... Sorry if I have a life outside of USAviation, and it took me a few hours to bother to read this... Next time, page me if you think my opinion is so damn important. 😉
When this all started, you guys were complaining that the tractor couldn't stop the weight of the 777.
From the incident today, it sounds to me as though that's exactly what happened - it stopped.
Quickly.
Enough that these guys slammed into the windshield......
I've never heard of a problem with the Douglas equivilent, and they've been in use for at least a decade, so the concept of the high-speed gear-lift tractor isn't the problem. I watched them in use at CDG last week, and they certainly weren't trying to break any speed records going between the terminal and the hangars.
So, my original comment stands -- speed is an issue, almost as much as the inferior equipment.
The tractor clearly shouldn't be going 15 mph if it either can't stop, or stops so hard that people get hurt.
If the training and policies/procedures didn't take that into account, the company f***ed up.
If the local safety committee allowed it to continue, they f***ed up as well.
And no, I don't buy the argument of the company or the airport forcing you to go fast.
Nobody should attempt to operate a piece of equipment in a manner they feel will put them at risk. Doing so is more likely to get you into a 29F than refusing to do so.
Even if a supervisor or manager tries to give you a directive to drive faster than you feel is safe, directives become invalid if they involve an illegal or immoral act, or put you, other employees, or customers at a risk for injury. (please use that argument sparingly... you could still wind up in a 29F to explain declining a directive)
