Guest blocked pitot Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Sky-High Shocker FT. LAUDERDALE – Fresh from his vacation, this passenger thought he was done shooting home video ... until he boarded his flight to Fort Lauderdale International airport. That was when he captured images of his pilot asleep, and now this pilot could be grounded for good. "Seeing the pilot take his headphones off, sit back in his seat and rest head back, and, before we knew it, he was asleep," says Eric Ballard. It was an eye-opening sight. The pilot of a 17-passenger charter plane getting some shut eye Sunday afternoon, thousands of feet in the air, during a flight form the Bahamans to Fort Lauderdale. "The people in front of me actually noticed him first and pointed it out to us, and everybody was taking pictures, so I got a video camera," says Ballard Eric camera’s capturing the Walker’s Aviation Pilot catching some Z’s with the co-pilot sitting next to him. "At first everybody was laughing, it was funny," says Ballard. A joke until he found out about another Bahamas flight, that very day, crashed into the ocean, killing a little girl and her aunt. That’s when the funny flight gave him a rude awakening. "It’s a 15-passenger plane and, for an hour, you could have a little more courtesy and common sense to stay awake and take more care of our lives for that hour," he says. Walker’s Aviation and the FAA both investigating, reviewing the video Ballard shot. "Sleeping at the controls is clearly inappropriate and a violation of regulation," says Kathleen Bergen, FAA Spokesperson. Meanwhile the general manager of the airline refused to comment on camera but did tell 7 News that they are trying to determine whether the pilot was really asleep. Bill Jones, Walker’s Aviation General Manager says, "His eyes are closed, and he’s not moving. That’s clear to me. But fifteen seconds isn’t definitive." He says he wishes the video was longer, but to those who were in the air and saw it first hand, it’s long enough. Walker’s Aviation is not releasing the name of this pilot but did tell us he has been with them for several years and is an experienced pilot. They also say they’re going to interview all the passengers on this flight, and if it’s determined he was asleep at the controls he could be fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rance Posted July 19, 2003 Share Posted July 19, 2003 Is that against the regs in canada? i thought we had a program if approved that there was "controlled" naps on the flight deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Crow Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 That's why there are two of us, isn't it. Supposedly the other pilot was in full control of the aircraft, so one wonders why there is such a problem about this. Perhaps the incident points towards something wrong with the company, if he was so tired? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stone Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Why is no one questioning why the cockpit door was open? From my understanding it was open for virtually the entire flight. Both the Captain and F/O were aware of this yet did not close it. Is this not a security issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CD Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Why is no one questioning why the cockpit door was open? Because it was a Twin Otter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M. McRae Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Rule seems to only apply to those aircraft with 20 or more seats...... New Standards for Cockpit Doors On Jan. 10, the FAA published new standards to protect cockpits from intrusion and small-arms fire or fragmentation devices, such as grenades. The rule requires U.S. operators of as many as 7,000 airplanes to install reinforced doors by April 9, 2003. The FAA rule sets new design and performance standards for all current and future airplanes with 20 or more seats in commercial service and all cargo airplanes that have cockpit doors. Specifically, the new doors must be strengthened while meeting existing FAA safety requirements. The doors will remain locked, cockpit access privileges will be controlled, and possession of keys to the cockpit by crewmembers not assigned to the cockpit will be prohibited. Concurrent with the Jan. 10 rule, the FAA also issued a revised SFAR requiring operators to install temporary internal locking devices within 45 days on all passenger airplanes and cargo airplanes that have cockpit doors. At that time, about 98 percent of the airlines had already voluntarily installed a Phase 1 temporary fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stone Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 OK, so it was a Twin Otter. Are you saying that it is mandatory to have the door open on the Twin Otter during the entire flight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest M. McRae Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Rule seems to only apply to those aircraft with 20 or more seats which according to the specs for the otter the door should have been locked. New Standards for Cockpit Doors On Jan. 10, the FAA published new standards to protect cockpits from intrusion and small-arms fire or fragmentation devices, such as grenades. The rule requires U.S. operators of as many as 7,000 airplanes to install reinforced doors by April 9, 2003. The FAA rule sets new design and performance standards for all current and future airplanes with 20 or more seats in commercial service and all cargo airplanes that have cockpit doors. Specifically, the new doors must be strengthened while meeting existing FAA safety requirements. The doors will remain locked, cockpit access privileges will be controlled, and possession of keys to the cockpit by crewmembers not assigned to the cockpit will be prohibited. Concurrent with the Jan. 10 rule, the FAA also issued a revised SFAR requiring operators to install temporary internal locking devices within 45 days on all passenger airplanes and cargo airplanes that have cockpit doors. At that time, about 98 percent of the airlines had already voluntarily installed a Phase 1 temporary fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CD Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Sorry about that... Thought that you would be familiar with the aircraft type and the associated rules. For FAR Part 135 operators, the flight crew must be able to exercise aural and visual supervision of the passengers. So, even IF a door was installed on the Twin Otter, it would have to remain open. (Unless, of course, the operator chose to carry a flight attendant and retro-fit the aircraft with a certified flight attendant station, communication systems, fully compliant flight deck door, etc.) The requirement to have intrusion-resistant flight deck doors only applies to an operator that holds an air carrier certificate or operating certificate issued under 14 CFR Part 119 and that conducts operations under Part 121 and to operators of U.S. registered transport category airplanes operated under 14 CFR Part 129. It has also been mandatory for operators under these Parts to have the flight deck door locked since the early 1970's. FAA Regulation and Rulemaking http://www2.faa.gov/avr/arm/index.cfm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stone Posted July 20, 2003 Share Posted July 20, 2003 Oh I get it now. The Captain has to keep the cockpit door open to maintain aural and visual supervision of the passengers. On this flight it appears that the passengers were doing the supervising of the Captain. Oh well, as I understand it he has done the noble thing and resigned. Lots of time for naps now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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