I'm not a military flyer, but I seriously can't think of a flight where there wasn't some sort of deviation from a reg or SOP on any of the flights I've flown on since I started flying professionally... and I hope that you didn't think I was being critical previously...
Most deviations are minor. Maybe you slip up and start chatting before 10,000'. In the airline world, how many folks are doing crosswords (even though the SOP calls for no non-related reading material). Maybe you were fast or low on an approach, deviating from the published stabilized approach criteria - even if briefed, it may be considered a deviation from SOP- especially if something goes wrong. Perhaps you just got tired of wearing on O2 mask above the mandated altitude - so you took it off for just a minute to give your cheeks a rest. Maybe a distraction caused you to miss a critical checklist item that was caught later on when *****ing Betty yelled at you. Maybe you were heads down pushing buttons/programming the FMS when you shouldn't have been. I'm not talking about big things like "let's drop down another 100' to see if we see anything" or "This is the last leg home... pull the speed clacker circuit breaker"- but the fact is we all make deviations (sometimes intentional, but often not). The trick is recognition and recovery from them.
Don't paint a bad picture of yourself in an interview, but if you're asked the question, "have you ever violated a reg" or "tell me about a time your performance was substandard" be realistic. We all make mistakes and from time to time we bend the rules or push the envelope. As pilots we take calculated risks everyday- even on a routine flight. Recognize that, respect it, and consider it during your day to day ops and in an interview.
Originally Posted by
flyn2001
You are flying the 1st Lady from Pt A to Pt B. She needs to be there for some type of super important event. When you check wx, while enroute, you determine it is below mins. Do you break the rules and get her there as directed or do you divert and make the President's wife late or even no show? For the record, I think a person on the receiving end of this type of question is going to get slammed either way, but the interviewers are looking for something...what could it be?
I've never flown or interviewed with the 89th, but I can tell you in my neck of the woods (Fortune 50 flight dept), you can NEVER go wrong with the safest course of action.
Will the boss potentially be unhappy if plans have to change? Sure. But they have NEVER second guessed us or pressured us. Your job isn't to keep the passengers itinerary after they arrive- it's to get them to Pt B, with the utmost consideration for Safety, Comfort, and Efficiency (in that order- although the airlines generally swap the last two variables). When that can't be done, your primary job is to come up with solutions or alternatives to the problem that allows your passengers to recover from the irregular operation as quickly as possible.
If somebody at the 89th felt otherwise, I'd be surprised... Things go very poorly when you start to push the limits just to get the job done. The crash of the Polish Presidential aircraft last year is perfect supporting evidence that safety comes before ANYBODY'S schedule...
Personally I don't care who I'm flying or what they need to do when they get there. My primary and only consideration is when I plan and execute a flight is will
I arrive safely at the end of the flight. If
I make it safely, then by default the plane, other crewmembers, and my passengers also arrive safely.