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Worst Airline Blunders of 2011
“I had to fight to keep my eyes open” are words you never want to hear from your pilot. But two British pilots were so fatigued earlier this year that they admitted to falling asleep—on the same plane. (www.travelandleisure.com) المزيد...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I've read all the comments here and didn't see any saying a pilot knows when to take himself/herself off the roster. Which comment was it?
In all the articles I've read about Pilot sleep deprivation they without exception "blame" the company for all the problems. Pilots know when they are eligible and therefor when they may be tapped to perform. Some of the problem and therefor the solution rests with us. Part oft he preparation for doing our job is to make sure we have adequate rest and understand how the body reacts to fatigue and lack of sleep. It ain't all the dispatcher. If your eligible to fly it's the responsibility of all of us not to give in to the temptation to fight boredom by staying active. That might mean not going to an ANG meeting or putting in mandatory time while your liable to be called for a flight. It might mean not going to an amusement park for 12 hours with the kids when your on call. It's the pilots responsibility to maintain his or her own readiness and not put those 12 to 400 passengers behind you at risk when you are drowsy and not on top of your game. When you gamble with your time you gamble with peoples lives. I've had the opportunity to talk to some "over the road" and local truckers and they have some lessons to pass on to all of us. Hours of service and enforcement are foremost in their world and they understand what it takes to stay ready. Today's equipment all but flys itself, but stuff goes wrong like it did for AF447. It seems at least one pilot was fatigue enough to be off the flight deck. As it happens he was the command pilot.
I don't know about SWA corporate culture but I have flown Soutwest a lot and almost all of their crew act like they enjoy being there. As compared to say United.
Just did coast to coast with Continental/United via LAS. Operational folks all very professional and pleasant...highly skilled. That ends at the jetway however as they are achieving new lows in customer service primarily from the out of sight functionaries. Had to feel somewhat sorry for most of the "customer service" folks that actually had to deal with angry passengers while receiving no support from above. Incredibly, I ended up back at RSW with six different confirmation numbers for five legs and no ability to access any information except by E-ticket number and none answering telephones.
Blame it on the unions. It is imposable to fire these guys. I can tell you horror story's about the baggage handles and some mechanics. You won't believe them and you will say "fire them" but the union will back them up each time.
Journalism 101: Who, What, Where, When, and Why?
To the guy who says pilots should know when to take themselves off the roster: Where have you been? How are they supposed to make a living under the current circs? Eh?