Airline Pilot Forums

Check out this loser:

Meet Captain Ikeda ANA Check Pilot that can command and review while sleeping. - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pod-tpvBaeo)

In this day and age, there's just no excuse for continuing an approach into windshear. Then to get your panties in a knot because other crewmembers don't want to die with you - inexcusable. Hopefully the Most Honorable Captain will be exploring other career options soon.

It is against JCAB regulations to make any recordings by digital means, unless permission is given by the JCAB and the recording is used for training purposes. A regular film camera is OK, but digital camera is not (we had an FO at my former Japanese airline about get fired for taking pictures in the cockpit with his digital camera and posting them online)

As a result this SO will probably be fired and the check captain will get "reprimanded" (see: no punishment)...

one of those Shoganai moments... and one of the biggest reasons I will not go back to Japan unless it is a Captain only position.

Not trying to be stuck up or anything, but all FO's and SO's in Japan get treated like crap and scapegoats. The Check captain will probably blame the SO for not waking him up "HMMMMMMMM..... Maybe Bad CRM..... HMMMMMMM"

I see nothing in the clip that proves your allegations. The blatant "anime" segments don't aid your cause. If he was giving a check ride, why was he in the left seat?

Not saying this did not happen, but the "film" does not pass my smell test.

N9373M - First off, not my accusation, I'm just re-posting to gain a wider audience. I'm acquainted with one of the individuals on this flight, and while I understand if you don't believe it, knowing the individuals background I'll stand behind his allegations 100%.

I can't say for certain why he chose to edit it in the fashion he did, but I'd venture the guess that he is actually making fun of the Japanese culture with the whole anime thing (I'm guessing the intended audience is Japanese).

As to why the check is in the left seat, this was a check ride to determine if the FO was deemed "worthy" of upgrade (which is ironic, since he probably has twice the experience of Capt. Ikea).

Also, I don't know if it was clear or not, but the windshear incident took place prior to this event.

It is against JCAB regulations to make any recordings by digital means, unless permission is given by the JCAB and the recording is used for training purposes. A regular film camera is OK, but digital camera is not (we had an FO at my former Japanese airline about get fired for taking pictures in the cockpit with his digital camera and posting them online)

As a result this SO will probably be fired and the check captain will get "reprimanded" (see: no punishment)...

one of those Shoganai moments... and one of the biggest reasons I will not go back to Japan unless it is a Captain only position.

Not trying to be stuck up or anything, but all FO's and SO's in Japan get treated like crap and scapegoats. The Check captain will probably blame the SO for not waking him up "HMMMMMMMM..... Maybe Bad CRM..... HMMMMMMM"

Yes, that's what I've heard. FWIW, you'll note that this was filmed in 2011. The individual waited until he was done with ANA and out of the country before posting this so he wouldn't have to deal with anymore of their crap.

From what i gather, he has had enough of the Japanese to last him a lifetime.

To me though, the bottom line still stands: For as fouled up as the major U.S. airlines are, I still think you're hard pressed to find too many other countries that do as well, let alone better at producing top quality aircrews. Yes, plenty of carriers wow people with young attractive flight attendants (because they aren't held to the same fair employment standards that U.S. carriers are), but when it comes to how the crew up from operates, we've quite literally written the book.

As miserable as the service in back can be (due to cost cutting), when it comes to the safety of the ride and trusting the crew, I'll still take a U.S. crewed aircraft any day of the week.

Well Greg glad to see you are still causing trouble. Greg is the pilot who filmed this and used to work at Air Japan. He left on bad terms because he was not given his command on the 767 although he will probably tell a different story. I think most pilots here would agree with the decision. The rumor I hear is that he was also terminated from Skymark and from his posting I would say that is true and he is now seeking his revenge.

Greg had a not so good reputation among the Air Japan pilots. For instance, he left his flight bag in the U.S. when commuting for work. How does he solve the problem? He steals the jepp charts and om from another pilots flight bag. Greg also flew around with a photo copy of his JCAB license and was even dumb enough to show up to a check flight with the photocopy. In another instance, when one of our pilots went to the lav during a cargo flight, Greg thought it would be amusing to disengage the autopilot and abruptly bank the airplane while the pilot was in the lav. There are many other stories but these are the few I can think of right now. Greg wonders why he did not get his command?

When watching this video think about the person who posted and what his true motives are?

Well Greg glad to see you are still causing trouble. Greg is the pilot who filmed this and used to work at Air Japan.

I'll reiterate, since you didn't comprehend it the first time I said it:

I AM NOT THE ONE WHO FILMED THIS! DID YOU GET IT THIS TIME?

I am an acquaintance of the individual, but I'm not one and the same.

Now if I had, I'd be more than happy to claim ownership of it, but it's not mine. That said, I did choose to pass it along, so feel free to blame me for that if you want.

When watching this video think about the person who posted and what his true motives are?

Well, to be honest, I wonder the same about you.

I'll reiterate, since you didn't comprehend it the first time I said it:

I AM NOT THE ONE WHO FILMED THIS! DID YOU GET IT THIS TIME?

I am an acquaintance of the individual, but I'm not one and the same.

Now if I had, I'd be more than happy to claim ownership of it, but it's not mine. That said, I did choose to pass it along, so feel free to blame me for that if you want.

My apologies. I can see from my first sentence that it implies that you are Greg but that it not what I meant.

Well, to be honest, I wonder the same about you.

First of all, this individual opened himself up to these remarks by posting the video on You Tube. My only motive is to show some insight into his character.

My JCAB checker fell asleep and started snoring while giving me my type ride. No video of it though.

First of all, this individual opened himself up to these remarks by posting the video on You Tube. My only motive is to show some insight into his character.

However, I note that you only attempt to discredit the person who filmed this, but take no issue with the actions of the Check Airman. What about the character of a pilot who continues an approach into a microburst? That seems like a much greater safety hazard than anything you've alleged! And why can't this guy stay awake on a short two-hour flight? If he's that tired, don't you have the ability to call in fatigued over in Japan?

Or is this a case of the check airman "old boys club" sticking up for each other? Perhaps, since you guys are supposed to be the "top guns" so to speak when it comes to professionalism, you would be better off to clean up your own house first rather than come on here and impugn the character of someone who out's one of your buddies dirty laundry.

Again, the fact that you defend this sort of behavior from Capt. Sleepy does not speak well for the integrity of the ANA check airman cadre.

My JCAB checker fell asleep and started snoring while giving me my type ride. No video of it though.

At least he was in the fwd obs seat. I had the same JCAB checker for my sim ride and my JCAB flight check. It was NRT-HNL, he pounded me with questions for the first three hours, went to his seat in first class had his meal, then came back to pound me some more. Didn't tell me I had passed until the debrief in the hotel. I was more brain-dead than usual,but I had a good night at the ShoreBird. This was the culmination of 6 months of training.
On the way back I was deadhead and asked him how my partner was doing on the legback. He said " I don't know, we are not finished yet" Not a whole lot of humor with the JCAB.
I dealt with them in Moses Lake and they weren't much fun there either.

However, I note that you only attempt to discredit the person who filmed this, but take no issue with the actions of the Check Airman. What about the character of a pilot who continues an approach into a microburst? That seems like a much greater safety hazard than anything you've alleged! And why can't this guy stay awake on a short two-hour flight? If he's that tired, don't you have the ability to call in fatigued over in Japan?

Or is this a case of the check airman "old boys club" sticking up for each other? Perhaps, since you guys are supposed to be the "top guns" so to speak when it comes to professionalism, you would be better off to clean up your own house first rather than come on here and impugn the character of someone who out's one of your buddies dirty laundry.

Again, the fact that you defend this sort of behavior from Capt. Sleepy does not speak well for the integrity of the ANA check airman cadre.


You are really clueless about Air Japan. I am not Japanese therefore I can't be a check pilot. I am not defending one of my buddies. Every airline has these types of pilots but the solution to the problem is not posting videos on You Tube and having guys like you repost them on this forum when you do not know all the facts. You want to talk about professionalism, posting this video is far from being professional. As a professional pilot is this what you are going to do every time you have a problem with another pilot. I am sorry but Greg is the one who is not being professional and needs to grow up and realize the problems he has created are his own fault.

You are really clueless about Air Japan. I am not Japanese therefore I can't be a check pilot. I am not defending one of my buddies. Every airline has these types of pilots but the solution to the problem is not posting videos on You Tube and having guys like you repost them on this forum when you do not know all the facts.

Well, since you want to go there...

For instance, he left his flight bag in the U.S. when commuting for work. How does he solve the problem? He steals the jepp charts and om from another pilots flight bag.

I was curious about this as it seemed out of character, so I emailed and inquired. It seems he has a slightly different take on this story, and is willing to back it up with the name of the pilot he borrowed the Jepps from (with said pilots knowledge and consent) after AA lost his bag positioning over. Now on the one hand I have someone who I know to some extent willing to give the name of who he borrowed them from, as well as video of a check captain snoozing away in the left seat. On the other hand, I have you, who is very eager to descredit him at all costs, yet does nothing to criticize the actions of said checker in either instance.

Something seems out of balance here - to paraphrase Shakespear, "Methinks he doth protest too much..."

Do I know all of the facts - no, but apparently neither do you, and you still haven't addressed the core issue here of the integrity of the ANA check cadre, which I find interesting.

At least he was in the fwd obs seat. I had the same JCAB checker for my sim ride and my JCAB flight check. It was NRT-HNL, he pounded me with questions for the first three hours, went to his seat in first class had his meal, then came back to pound me some more. Didn't tell me I had passed until the debrief in the hotel. I was more brain-dead than usual,but I had a good night at the ShoreBird. This was the culmination of 6 months of training.
On the way back I was deadhead and asked him how my partner was doing on the legback. He said " I don't know, we are not finished yet" Not a whole lot of humor with the JCAB.
I dealt with them in Moses Lake and they weren't much fun there either.

Not taking away from your comments, but that appears to be the left front seat to me, not the observer's seat.

Based on my experience and conversations with very experienced check airmen at several carriers, there is no reason besides sport for that sort of grilling for 90%+ of candidates. If you can't determine their competency in a couple of hours, then the checker isn't qualified to be in his position.

This is sort of the idiocy I point to with to many non-U.S. carriers. They are very concerned about making certain a crewmember could build a radio from scratch, but tolerate or even promote a cross-cockpit gradient of authority that completely destroys CRM and synergy.

Well, since you want to go there...



I was curious about this as it seemed out of character, so I emailed and inquired. It seems he has a slightly different take on this story, and is willing to back it up with the name of the pilot he borrowed the Jepps from (with said pilots knowledge and consent) after AA lost his bag positioning over. Now on the one hand I have someone who I know to some extent willing to give the name of who he borrowed them from, as well as video of a check captain snoozing away in the left seat. On the other hand, I have you, who is very eager to descredit him at all costs, yet does nothing to criticize the actions of said checker in either instance.

Something seems out of balance here - to paraphrase Shakespear, "Methinks he doth protest too much..."

Do I know all of the facts - no, but apparently neither do you, and you still haven't addressed the core issue here of the integrity of the ANA check cadre, which I find interesting.

Out of curiosity, why isn't this other pilot posting here?

Well, since you want to go there...



I was curious about this as it seemed out of character, so I emailed and inquired. It seems he has a slightly different take on this story, and is willing to back it up with the name of the pilot he borrowed the Jepps from (with said pilots knowledge and consent) after AA lost his bag positioning over. Now on the one hand I have someone who I know to some extent willing to give the name of who he borrowed them from, as well as video of a check captain snoozing away in the left seat.

Do I know all of the facts - no, but apparently neither do you, and you still haven't addressed the core issue here of the integrity of the ANA check cadre, which I find interesting.

I have to add my two cents on this one. I also know the person that he "borrowed" the jepps from. I actually flew with him right after this event happened. In his telling of the event, this person "borrowed" his jepps without his consent. It wasn't until after the jepps had been "borrowed" that he found out about it. By then it was too late to say yes or no. So what should he do? What could he do? Say ok? I guess when someone says ok after the event has already happened then it is with their consent.

Sounds like you guys need EFBs.

You have obviously never worked overseas, especially in Asia. They do things differently than in the U.S. and just like any training program you have to cooperate to graduate.

You want me to address the check airman I will. Most of the Japanese checkers we have are good guys and sure there are a few that can be difficult. Show me any airline that is not the same. So why don't you give your check airman friends a call and ask them if every check airman they work with should be a check airman.

Look at the safety record of Japanese airlines and you will find they have one of the best safety records in the world. Must be doing something right.

I am good friends with the pilot who Greg borrowed the Jepps from and the story you hear from Greg is a lie.

As I have stated before my problem is the way Greg is handling the situation which you refuse to address. You continue to believe his lies and defend him here. Greg was forced to resign from one airline and terminated from another. At Air Japan many western pilots refused to fly with him and was always creating issues which have been previously discussed. Greg is the problem.

This is my last post on this issue because trying to argue with stupidity is frustrating and you can never win.

Mod Note:

What the .... !?!