All right gals and guys…I’m not trying to defend or prosecute these pilots since we don’t really know what happened and have to go by what the pilots tell us.
However, I just saw a clip on CNN with First Officer Richard Cole and my jaw dropped. It’s the same chap who was a First Officer on the flight from Minneapolis to San Francisco last March/April when along with his captain, Stan, he welcomed me to sit in the Jump-seat. Photo-freak that I am, I took their pictures when we landed and as soon as I saw the CNN clip I was frantically trying to pull up his picture on my computer…yes, it was Richard Cole. A smartly dressed, very professional looking First Officer! He didn’t look good in the CNN clip I just saw. Who would? No one would look good if they find themselves in this predicament.
I have to say this: Of all my experience jump-seating on NWA to SFO/SJC, Richard Cole stood out the most. He was courteous, polite, moved his bags to the side so I could put all three bags behind his seat, asked me if I wanted a bottle of water before the door closes, and gave me a detailed tour of the flight deck even though I had jump-seated on the A320 before. It was his takeoff from Minneapolis and during flight he gave me another detailed tour of A320 FMS, and we talked in details about other avionics, systems, and airline stuff.
He came across as very well-spoken, articulate, skilled, knowledgeable, and polite. Even ‘creamed’ his landing in SFO…couldn’t tell when the wheels touched down! I remember telling my friend in California about crews’ professionalism and based on my jump-seat experience just a week before that to SFO, I couldn’t stop talking about what a great trip that was from Minneapolis to SFO.
I wish I could post his picture here, but I won’t do it without his permission!
Not being biased, but based on my experience on that flight from Minneapolis to San Francisco and his professionalism and skills, I find it hard to believe they’re being accused of ‘sleeping’ on the flight?
I think mabye the lesson here is that No matter How much experiance you have, how professional you are, how serious you take you job and safety, it only takes one momentary lapse, and you could make a mistake. We are all human, if all the issues in aviation this year have proven one thing it is this:
It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere......
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Turbine Maule on floats..now thats a "Wet" Dream...
Well he is a good guy and word around campus is there was no sleeping on the flt. Some poor procedures though.
The unfortunate thing is most of the time the pilot of an aircraft involved in any incedent or an accident, is a good guy and even a good pilot. This should serve to let all of us know that we need to be vigilant at all times and stay ahead of the game....
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Turbine Maule on floats..now thats a "Wet" Dream...
With the merger 100% of Nwa SOP's have changed. Everything. Every two months we're changing again. We are on Phase 5 going into the final Phase 6. Nwa has taken 80% of the changes compared to 20% Dal from what I hear. Some things are similiar but it is very possible they were discussing some sort of operational policy.
Also, Airbus guys are now in Bid Period 5 which is completely new. These changes include Pbs, scheduling, etc. Many changes are happening. Let's wait for some facts.
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I walk under clouds of grey, sphere of storms in my head, I'm trapped again in endless rain.
Hopefully the take away from this event for all the working pilots on the sidelines is a reminder of how the media can frame a story to mix speculation with spin, doubt, and fear.
This crew is now the subject of an intense investigation by the FAA, their company, their union, ...and thanks to a few comments to the media... the crew gets the kangaroo court of (uninformed) public opinion to boot.
All professional working pilots can imagine having a bad day that results in writing an FSAP/NASA report. Use any of the cliches' we all know: "by the grace of god go I", "those who have, and those who will", etc. We all know that that bad things can happen, and they happen for a myriad of reasons.
Point is, is that this crew should be receiving support from their peers. Wait for the findings of the investigation and learn from them. Until then, think about this:
As professional pilots, If we don't take care of each other, who will?
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