Pro gets his gear destroyed by U.S. Airways

[OsmosisStudios]

Saw the story on Consumerist, a consumer-education blog but the original is a forum post on FredMiranda.

Baggage Fail: Photographer Says US Airways Soaked $17,850 Worth Of Camera Equipment

U.S. Airways is FAIL - FM Forums

Photographer seems like a bit of an idiot, but it's still a reminder: ALWAYS carry-on your gear.

[jdepould]

Man, he can't type worth !@#$

Having said that, why was he the only person with a soaked bag?

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by jdepould

Having said that, why was he the only person with a soaked bag?

He speculates that others may have had wet bags, but wet clothes aren't as big a problem as wet electronics.

[beatles2]

I work at the airport in Calgary and have seen first hand how the bags are handled. Never would I let my gear go in the belly of the plane. A test you can do at home is, take your bag and throw it five feet. If you are willing to do that then you will be all right.
Very sad story.

[jdepould]

Originally Posted by dakwegmo

He speculates that others may have had wet bags, but wet clothes aren't as big a problem as wet electronics.

Speculates? I mean, I'd be mad if all my clothes were wet, wouldn't just walk away with it.

[Saralonde]

I think I would have taken some of my equipment out and handcarried it before I would allow it to be stowed under the plane.
Even if the bag was out in the rain, it had that much water in it? Must have been a monsoon!

[Mr Guy]

Unfortunately, I bet I have the same reaction that the customer service reps did in the airport: I tend to assume the raving ranting rage filled lunatic is either lying or mistaken.

Something about his story makes me have a whole lot of trouble trusting him. Maybe it's because I expect someone with that equipment to take at least the same basic precautions I would. Maybe it's because he immediately goes into descriptive attacks on the person instead of arguing against what they actually told him. Maybe it's because he's so pre-emptively angry. Maybe because his story of freaky mist just doesn't make much sense with what I know about aircraft design and sounds like he made it up later.

Seriously, though the bags I carry my limited amount of gear in are water resistant sufficient for a downpour and would probably handle several hours worth of dripping on them. If I was carrying THAT much gear, the only reasonable answer on top of insurance is Pelican cases.

[dakwegmo]

Originally Posted by jdepould

Speculates? I mean, I'd be mad if all my clothes were wet, wouldn't just walk away with it.

He doesn't know for sure, which is why it would be speculation. Most people wouldn't have noticed until they got where they were going and started to unpack. He only discovered water when he did because he was putting the laptop back in his camera bag after it was returned to him at the gate.

[elvenprincessjo]

Man. Whatever really happened, that still sucks!

[deltacsar665]

WOW, i got pissed when i read this, but i hope he was reimbursed.