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Old 07-25-2013, 07:21 PM
  #32  
ShyGuy
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Joined APC: Dec 2005
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Originally Posted by Timbo View Post
In both the UPS and Swiss Air accidents, the F/O's were flying.

The Capt's were out of their seats at the time of impact.

Or do I misunderstand what you are talking about?
The FO was PF for the flight, did the takeoff and climb to cruise. After the fire warning/bells went off, the CA became PF - tookover. The CA coming out of his seat came later, but right off the bat when the problem happened, the decision was made by the PIC to be PF............................


18. Two minutes after passing into the Bahrain FIR,Twenty one minutes after take-off there is a fire alert at 15:12 indicating a,FIRE MAIN DK FWD.

19. The Captain assumes control as Pilot Flying, the F.Obegins the FIRE MAIN DK FWD non-normal checklist.



Again, for FO low time in type and/or low to the ground, a CA takeover is appropriate (as was the US Airways Hudson case). But at cruise altitude, with at least some time to analyze options, I would think that the FO remaining in the PF role would be best as the CA can then use his experience and judgement to decide on the best action given the situation at hand. The CA becoming PF doesn't change the situation much... the FO took off, climbed and went to cruise. There was no structural failure so it's not like the FO couldn't do the descend and landing in a plane. Most airline manuals are leaning towards (and Timbo I believe you can confirm what I read in a Delta newsletter) that the strong recommendation is barring things like lower time FOs or proximity to ground, the PF is better off being left to the FO, so the CA can use his experience and judgement to make a decision. For example, if the CA becomes PF immediately, as was the case here in UPS 6, that is one less brain/mind that is evaluating the situation when the first priority becomes flying the plane. It is then the FO who does the PM role. I'm just not sure a role reversal should happen just because a bell goes off. All factors should be considered.
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