Edit: She says she doesn’t have to watch the whole season, just until our dashing pilot gets voted off or ticks her off by acting as stupid at some of the other guys.
A recent headline reads from a ‘respectable’ paper reads ‘FAA Probes Trainer of Commuter Pilots’. The first paragraph reads:
An airline that has trained many of the nation's commuter pilots -- including the captain of the Continental Connection flight that crashed near Buffalo, N.Y., in February -- faces a possible $1.3 million government penalty for alleged crew scheduling and maintenance violations.
From this you might think the article is referring to Colgan Airlines, the airline that employed the captain involved in this crash. Nope. The article goes on to mention Gulfstream Airlines and Training Academy, an outfit that does commuter flying in Florida using 19 seat prop airplanes. How many of the nation’s commuter pilots has Gulfstream trained, one might ask. Less than 0.1%. Ok, so Gulfstream is an approved training program for several commuter airlines in the nation? Again no.
The article does hit the truth briefly before diverting again:
The Federal Aviation Administration accuses Gulfstream International Airlines Inc. of faulty record keeping and substandard aircraft maintenance. Congressional investigators, who conducted their own probe into the airline, allege the company falsified flight time records and forced crews to fly more hours than federal rules permit.
From there, the article goes on to describe the captain who crashed in Buffalo, how many people died in the Buffalo crash, how many tests the captain failed, how the FAA was examining the Buffalo crash and how training may have been a factor. So you might think the FAA is basing part of its fine on findings from the Buffalo crash. Again, no - the NTSB investigation is incomplete and the proposed penalties for Gulfstream have to do with allegations of poor maintenance and illegal crew scheduling. But it is more sensational to bring up the Buffalo crash, so the reporters make the stretch anyway.
The article goes on to state:
Major carriers increasingly rely on commuter airlines to ferry passengers to airline hubs from smaller cities. Regulators and federal safety experts are examining whether pilots at some of these commuter carriers receive sufficient training. They are scrutinizing whether independent training institutes such as Gulfstream Academy produce pilots with sufficient skill and experience to fly the growing number of turboprops and jets at these smaller airlines.
The FAA constantly scrutinizes all carriers and training academies. It is an ongoing process and the current attention they are paying to Gulfstream has nothing to do with recent events. Admittedly, the FAA could do a far better job but they are definitely not increasing the amount of attention they are paying to these types of operations. Could regulators improve safety? Of course. Are you safe flying on commuter airlines? Of course - you’re still far more likely to die or get hurt in a car crash as you drive to work this week. (This holds true no matter how you twist the statistics.)
The article then brings up two previous crashes, one in Lexington, KY and one in Jefferson City, MO:
Pilots in the two previous fatal U.S. commuter crashes -- both caused by pilot error -- also spent time at either Gulfstream International Airlines or Gulfstream's training operations, according to reports by the NTSB.
While all three accidents involve pilot error, each of the pilots were several years removed from Gulfstream’s training program and had passed several FAA approved airline training programs since. A tenuous link at best, but it makes for great print!
Again, if a newspaper prints it, it must be true, right?
Recently I flew with a captain who (we think) got food poisoning after eating country fried steak at Cracker Barrel the night before. We had a 5 am show time that morning and he was busy expunging his body of the offending food from 1 am on. Feeling slightly better, our captain decided that he would be OK to fly that day with the hope his body was finished. Anyone who has had food poisoning knows that the first wave is not the only wave, but our captain was unwilling to create an ‘occurrence ‘ by calling in sick for the rest of the day and potentially the next day. When I had food poisoning in February, I did call in sick and picked up an ‘occurrence’ for being thoughtful enough to provide our passengers with that extra level of safety.
With a certain commuter airline’s sick policy in the news lately, it is interesting to me that pilots still have the possibility of disciplinary action unless we fill out all of the appropriate FMLA paperwork the instant we think we are sick and follow it up with a doctor’s excuse the next day. It’s almost like being back in grade school again!
Well, the captain did give me an out and suggested that we would not do the flight if I was uncomfortable. I didn’t take that out for several reasons, including that we could safely complete the flight, albeit not as easily as when both of us were functioning properly.
I took on most of the flight responsibilities for that leg as the poor captain made several of the radio calls. There was an edge to his voice on each transmission that broadcast his queasiness - a slight tremble perhaps. We were actually almost to Atlanta when he said apologetically, ‘I’ll be taking that trash bag now, I think.’ Referring to the small grey bag we hang over the arm of the first officer’s seat to throw out cups and old paperwork. ‘Just in case.’
Flying in not a good way to calm queasiness. Fortunately, we landed and made it to the terminal without further incident. Also fortunately, he decided to take the occurrence rather than attempt the next round trip on our schedule.
It’s summer time again and the daily occurrence of pop-up and lines of thunderstorms is again upon us. While cancellations and delays are fairly common during stormy weather, more often than not we (and our hapless passengers) jump into the briar patch and complete our mission. We are well equipped these days with equipment on the ground to provide radar images and wind shear detection as well as radar on the airplane giving us a mostly reliable real-time image of the action ahead of us. We get a nice spectrum of yellows and greens (light rain) to red (heavy) and purple (extreme). Typically, we deal with the yellows and greens and, though we make a good effort to avoid them, the reds just make for very difficult flying. Flying through purple is a good way to bring the trip to an early end.
Heading into Dothan, AL today, we expected a nice line of thunderstorms to be waiting for us because the weather forecasters predicted it. We all believe weather forecasters, right? It did help that we could check the ground based radar and note the current size/intensity/direction of the line. If we had managed to depart on time (foiled by a tire change), we would have avoided the thunderstorms completely. As it was, the line was moving in the right direction and speed to meet us at the Dothan airport as we arrived. Sweet!
After acquiring extra fuel in case we needed to divert to Montgomery, we loaded up the airplane (all 50 seats plus a pilot riding the jump-seat in the cockpit) and began the easy part of our 30 minute flight - leaving Atlanta. (No kidding, it was!) In-route, we rechecked the automated weather in Dothan and found out that there was light rain on the field, thunderstorms in the general area and winds almost directly favoring Runway 14. Within about 80 miles of the airport, we began to get a good reading on the radar, painting a neat curve line of storms moving eastward right at and north of the airport. Montgomery, anyone?
Shortly after that, the local approach control advised us that the airfield was still reporting just light rain but that there was an area of moderate to heavy precipitation just 2 miles north of the field, directly on our final approach course. With that option out, we had a choice between diverting to Montgomery (close enough, right?) or penetrating the line to land in the opposite direction with a tailwind close to our maximum limitations. We decided not to disappoint a plane full of passengers by dropping them off at an airport that they had not requested to go to and requested vectors for Runway 32.
So, we found a nice looking hole in the line of thunderstorms - a narrow green pathway between two angry red blotches - and headed south. At this point the pilot in the jump seat taps my shoulder and says ‘Good luck’ before tightening his straps. Great confidence booster there. Punching through the line was actually uneventful though we did bounce around moderately for a few seconds. The south side of the line was quite clear and we were quickly turned back toward the airport and lined up with the runway for landing. The thunderstorm was still squatting just a mile or two north of the field but the runway itself was mostly clear.
After discussing contingencies in case landing was not possible, we finished configuring for landing and began our descent from the final approach fix five miles out. There was still light rain on the field and the winds were very gusty from the surrounding convective activity. We were primed for action if a wind-shear warning should occur, but we made it to the runway with just a few bumps. Situations like this require good concentration and the more challenging the winds, usually the better I land. Don’t know if that just means I’m lazy when its a more routing landing or what, but this was one of my better landings for the month. It was smooth, not too long and on the centerline!
So, we made it to Dothan but most of our passengers debarked a little grumpy over the hour delay while changing the tire. Well, at least they didn’t end up in Montgomery. Having done enough damage for the day, we made our way to the hotel and enjoyed a nice evening watching the thunderstorms as the rest of the line rolled by.
As part of the Delta/Northwest merger, there has been a ‘realignment’ of staffing to realize ‘synergies’ between the two companies. For my employer (a regional carrier for Delta), this has meant that we have been slowly losing our ground handling personnel, first in Atlanta and now at our outstations, as the ‘new’ Delta has replaced our people with more ‘efficient’ staffing. On average, our people were making around $12/hour while the more ‘efficient’ replacements barely make more than minimum wage.
In one Alabama city, the replacements guided us into a parking spot a few hundred yards from the terminal late in the evening. This was more efficient than parking us closer because they would then have to move the airplane again later that night. The ramp was not well lit and our passengers were allowed to guide themselves across a ‘secured’ area of the ramp where several jet aircraft were parked for the night. If any TSA agents had noticed, they would have gone bananas over the security breach, not to mention the possible safety hazards for the customers.
In one Tennessee city, after deplaning, we noticed several passengers standing beside the plane staring at the tail section in obvious disbelief. Curious, we exited the aircraft as well and observed the replacements throwing luggage from the cargo bin directly onto the pavement below. When the captain started yelling, one of the replacements asked with a dumb expression, ‘What?’ Pointing to a badly broken bag on the tarmac, the captain replied, ‘You tell me!!’ The replacement just shrugged but he did call another guy over and started handing bags down.
In Atlanta, we arrived on time at our assigned parking place and sat waiting for a crew to come guide us in. We observed multiple replacements scurrying around previously parked airplanes, attending to different tasks. Two even stopped work for a few minutes to stare at us blankly. After five minutes of sitting, another airplane pulled us two spots down and was immediately met and parked. After ten minutes, a lone replacement wandered out and sat down at his assigned post (they normally stand). After twenty minutes, the other three (who were all in view the whole time) gave up on their respective tasks and took up their posts to guide us into the gate. And, yes, the two blank stares were part of the crew.
I asked the captain rhetorically, ‘Couldn’t the first guy have said something to the others?’
He replied, ‘That’s a $12/hour question. These are $8/hour workers.’
When the girls and I arrived at Tractor Supply yesterday to order a fuel line with filter for my weed eater, I discovered that I had thoughtfully placed my wallet on my desk and then left it there. Not far from home, I noticed a school age boy walking down the side of the road toting a backpack. I decided if he was still walking when I returned to Tractor Supply with wallet in hand, I’d stop and offer him a ride.
Sure enough, on the way back he was still plodding along, so I honked at him to avoid hitting him as I pulled into the drive ahead and then honked again so he wouldn’t wander past. He wandered over with a slight look of mistrust while I waved for him to open the door and hop in.
As he opened the door to our mini van, I queried, ‘You want a ride?’
‘You’re not gonna kill me or,’ he glanced to the back of the van where the girls were strapped in their car seats and continued, ‘Never mind, guess you wouldn’t do that with kids. You sure you don’t mind?’
I let him know it wasn’t a problem and determined that he was trying to get to the high school, still a good 3 miles away. While driving, I determined that he was a senior and had missed the bus that morning. He was also very concerned about how missing another day and how that would affect graduation. After my eldest explained how she talks too much and my youngest just stared at him when he asked her if she talked too, I asked him where he had started out from.
‘Statham.’ he replied. This completely boggled me! From where I had picked him up to where he started his hike was at least 5 miles, if not more! The road he was walking on isn’t the busiest road out there, but it does have steady traffic and it blows me away that not one person stopped to offer this kid a ride.
This morning at the library story time, the girls and I were the last ones out after doing crafts. We almost always stay and help Ms. Lisa clean up afterward and out of the 10-15 parents who usually attend, we’re the only ones who do this. It helps that we know Ms. Lisa from church, but still story/craft time at the library is a free function, so why not help with the mess before we leave. While it disappoints me that people bypass such easy ways to serve others, I can at least hope that my children will learn from these little examples (they already enjoy being helpful) and apply it to their lives as they grow up.
In the simulators, an aborted takeoff is usually high speed, quite sudden and filled with tension. “Abort, abort, abort!!” Last night’s aborted takeoff was almost expected and anti-climatic (for us as the pilots at least).
It started out like the first day of every four-day trip I’ve had lately. We were scheduled to fly a round-trip from Atlanta to Peoria at 2:30PM but due to weather in Wichita, our airplane didn’t arrive in Atlanta until nearly 5PM. Nothing like a long delay to start your workweek! On our way back from Peoria, our back-up airspeed indicator did not work correctly. For those familiar with avionics, it only indicated an increase in airspeed when we increased our altitude. For those not familiar with avionics, this is a problem! Fortunately, we have to independent primary airspeed indicators and while the backup is required, we were able to continue safely to Atlanta to get it fixed.
By the time we arrived in Atlanta, we were already 30 minutes past our original departure time for Montgomery. Add another 45 minutes for the mechanics to arrive, drain a pint of water from the backup airspeed probe and we were ready to go again. Our first clue all was not well was when both mechanics commented on how they had never seen that much water in the probe before, but they tested it (we think) and cleared it for service, so who were we to argue? Not quite an hour and a half late, we boarded all 50 passengers and taxied out for takeoff.
Even though Montgomery is a very short flight (30 minutes or less in the air), with thunderstorms in the area, the captain and I agreed that we would discontinue the takeoff unless the backup airspeed indicator behaved perfectly. With our takeoff clearance, the captain advanced the thrust levers and we began to accelerate. The primary airspeed indicators usually come alive instantly but the backup is tends to delay until we pick up more airspeed. As we increase speed, I monitor the backup. At 30mph, no indication. At 40mph, no indication. At 60mph, I call out “60 knots, standby airspeed inop”. The captain sighs heavily, we both shake our heads and at 90mph with no indication on the backup, he pulls back the thrust levers and applies the brakes.
At this point, I automatically call the tower to report the aborted takeoff and then make a quick announcement to the passengers –
In my best radio voice, “Ladies and Gentlemen, as you may have noticed we are no longer continuing our takeoff this evening. We have had a failure of our backup airspeed indicator and in the interest of safety have decided to return to the gate. Please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until we have parked the aircraft and turned off the seatbelt sign.”
Then, clear of the runway we called operations and found out that there was actually another airplane available and they were going to have us park at the gate beside it and simply transfer everyone over. This is a minor miracle in itself. Unfortunately, it was now 11:30PM and there was only one ramp crew covering 20 gates. Usually not a big problem, but they actually had four aircraft to work with so it took about 20 minutes for us to get parked at the gate.
While we waited, we called back to our flight attendant to ask how the passengers were doing – she replied they were looking restless and unhappy (almost hostile). As our poor passengers exited the aircraft, you could see with the slumped shoulders and dour expressions that they were not pleased with this additional delay. Our flight attendant did her best to smile, apologize and say ‘thank you’, but the crowd was tough and largely ignored her.
It was looking like the flight was going to be a sour experience for all 50 passengers, so we took a couple of steps to ease our passengers’ pain. It’s really amazing what simple gestures can do to turn the mood of a crowd around. For starters, the captain made the following announcement just after everyone got on board: “Folks, we’re sorry about the delay – usually we don’t advertise this, but with delays this long we offer free drinks to anyone who asks, so feel free to ask!” He wasn’t referring to the coke/juice/water variety either.
The flight attendant expanded on her usual announcement as well saying, “Ok people, I know it wasn’t fun having to come back to the gate and I don’t know what the problem was well enough to explain it to you but we’ve got a great flight crew up front and they really have your safety as the highest priority. It doesn’t matter to me what the problem was, but it does matter to me that we get there safely.”
Then, with a mischievous smile and a light hearted tone, she continued, “Now, I have news for you people. We don’t normally serve drinks on flights less than 250 miles and at 125 miles, Montgomery just does not qualify. But, I am going to serve you people on this flight so have your drink orders ready when I get to you. I don’t have time for you people to think and still serve you so decide now what you want or I am going to skip you!”
Usually, my takeoff announcements are brief, but I added in a bit this time – “Ladies and gentlemen, this late at night, we are the only aircraft vying for the runway and are #1 for takeoff. It’s still a little stormy tonight, so please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened for the entire 30 minutes of flight. And please be nice to Sharon (our flight attendant), she’s already had a very long day and none of this mess is her fault. Thanks again for flying with us!”
When we finally landed in Montgomery, everyone was smiling and saying ‘thank you’ as they exited the airplane. And only three people accepted the leaded variety of drink, so the alcohol couldn’t have had much to do with it. This doesn’t just apply to airplane passengers, but it’s amazing how simple gestures can take 50 guaranteed complaints and turn it into 50 satisfied customers.
