Originally Posted by
Alan Shore
I was serious in my question to 88Driver. He was accusing me and my fellow pilots of failing to act responsibly and/or comply with the FARs regarding fitness for duty unless we are somehow prevented from doing so by the FAR.
The point of the question was to ask him just how far he thought that should go. As out there as it sounds, there have been those in the past who have advocated exactly such a scenario regarding the policing of every pilot's actions prior to report. My view is that we are all big boys who do not need the the gubmint to lead us by the wrist to do the right thing.
His mileage has clearly varied.
Total BS. That's not at all what I said or implied, and I think you know it.
Typical DALPA political strategy of attacking the integrity of the messenger instead of debating the actual points. You should be ashamed.
Originally Posted by
Alan Shore
Other than that, it's been about engaging folks like 88Driver who seem to feel that the gubmint is here to protect us from ourselves and each other.
Not at all what I said. CDO's were originally invented as a way to get around the INTENT of the FAR rest requirements. Then the folks who wrote FAR 117 took it to a whole other level by putting language in that actually addressed CDO's ("split duty periods") and made it legitimate. Big mistake IMO. Those things should have been banned a long time ago.
If you think that most pilots assigned CDO's are going to sleep 8 hours during the day in preparation then you are incredibly naive. As I've stated several times before, that's NOT what happens. The track record is very clear on this. Therefore, the way MOST pilots do CDO's IS unsafe. That flight in the early morning is being operated the vast majority of the time by a sleep deprived (fatigued) crew. You're not going to see me or my family on one of those flights, and I will not accept a trip like that because I could not sign the release for the morning flight signifying that I and my crew are properly rested.
I'm not generally a fan of "gubmint" being involved in our lives to much of an extent at all. But where do you draw the line? We need to have some kind of rules about how much rest we have to get, don't we? Or are you suggesting that they do away with FAR 117 and any other regulations that would mandate rest requirements and just rely on everybody to do the right thing and show up for their trips rested? Every man for himself... it's the wild, wild west for airline pilot scheduling. Give the airlines Carte Blanche to schedule us however they want to and leave it to the individual to use the fatigue card when necessary. No rules. Is that what you think should happen?