What do Airlines do with flight numbers of crashed planes?
Flights
bv_bv63 asked:
I was just watching Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic, and I wondered what happens to flight numbers of crashed planes. I’ll use the famous United Airlines Flight 93 as an example. Is this flight number still being used, or does the airline replace it with another flight number?
I was just watching Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic, and I wondered what happens to flight numbers of crashed planes. I’ll use the famous United Airlines Flight 93 as an example. Is this flight number still being used, or does the airline replace it with another flight number?
October 17th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Caffeinated Content
they either build a new plane and give it that number or repair it.
October 18th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Create a video blog
Flight numbers are not assigned to individual aircrafts permanently. Each flight that is scheduled receives a flight number. The same airplane may be used for another flight (so long as it’s not a connecting flight), and are given a new flight number.
You may be confusing the flight number with an airplane’s tail number.
October 19th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Website content
They usually retire the flight number and give it a new flight number.
As for 93,175,11, 75 the 911 flights, most major airlines stopped using those numbers out of respect
October 19th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Caffeinated Content for WordPress
Airlines are wonderful at mitigating public awareness of the crash (aka spin doctors). After a crash they will 1) Change the flight number the very next day, and update all upcoming travelers passenger records with the new flight number. Sometimes, they will change the departure time by just a few minutes to make it seem more of a legitimate change. 2) Generally, they pull any and all advertising from TV, Radio, and Print for a period of 2 weeks. 3) Give strict orders to EVERYONE (right down to the baggage handlers) to NOT discuss the crash with anyone, unless instructed to do so by management. 4) In some cases, if the plane that crashed is not totally destroyed, they will even quickly paint over the airline logo on the hull of the aircraft. Lastly, the tail number, which is the permanent number painted on the plane, is also retired. However, this number is issued by the government. It’s roughly the equivalent of the license plate of a car.
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:57 am
Caffeinated Content
The flight number is retired as there are many number from which to choose. Sometimes the airline itself has to do a complete makeover….ValuJet to AirTran..AeroMexico to AeroCalifornia to AeroMexico..USAir to USAirways etc If you keep watching those movies, one airline (no longer flying)cannibalized its crashed plane and tried to reuse these downed parts on other planes but got haunted.
October 24th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Caffeinated Content
For the same reason why there is no row 13 the flight numbers of crashed planes are usually retired and not used again because some people are superstitious. This is especially true when the plane crash has become very famous and the flight number is associated with the crash like TWA flight 800 or Korean Air flight 007.