Originally Posted by
FlyAirJason
Kind sir,
I am the "weak Captain" you speak of, and it's disheartening to hear that you have such glee that I was fired. It is your opinion, so in that regard, I'll just say that you're entitled to it.
I'll also add that EVERYTHING else you wrote about is incorrect. You didn't get one thing right. If you'd like to have a coffee or a brew, I'll gladly sit down with you and tell you the actual story. My former First Officer from the evacuation would probably join us and get a giggle out of your commentary too.
Please don't misunderstand me: I WANT you to talk about these things. Evacuations, aborted takeoffs- whatever the scenario and whichever airline, it promises to yield educational dividends. As aviators, we're compelled to always glean some sort of sound knowledge from unfortunate mishaps, emergency events, accidents, and allow for that to develop our judgement as the years pass.
Admittedly, I'm troubled to see that your assessment of Allegiant's operational issues stems from "quick upgrade times". I'm troubled because I went through all of the same training that you did, took the same checkride that you did and checked all the same boxes that you did. So, are you comparing your evacuation to mine based on our experience levels? What's more, how do you know that I never ran a checklist, or shut down engines?
The answer is that you DON'T know and sadly, you didn't get any of your story right. You weren't there with my FO and me, so you couldn't know.
But instead of reaching out to me and asking me about it, or even calling just to say, "hey man, been there, done that- know what you're going through", you publicly boast of just how right you got it and just how wrong, in your expert opinion, I got it. Probably feels pretty good to sit back and know that you've got it all figured out, huh? Particularly when you can talk a bunch of smack at my expense, I'll bet. Well, I encourage you to call me or my FO and at least get the story straight.
I'll add only this: I'm glad you're evacuation was uneventful. I'm glad that those 155 folks had your sound judgement to keep them safe. I'm glad that the company allowed for you to act as PIC, that you did so with proficiency and that you weren't "punished" for pulling the trigger on that difficult decision to evacuate.
Let me know if you want to get together sometime and hear the way things really went.
You'll have to pick up the second round, however, because you have a job and I don't- and strangely, even though you don't even know me, you're "glad for that".
FlyAirJason- very well said, sir.
Just remember that you've been shown more support from your collueges than those that try to tell the story like they were sitting in the right seat that day. Then they decide it is their job to criticize your actions as they sit in their over-stuffed La-Z-Boy recliner typing away and stuffing their smug face with some left over galley snacks.
You made the best decision you could have that day. All PICs should be able to back you up by saying they would've done the same thing you did with the information you were given in that moment. What the company should be worried about are Captains, like Jetpartner, that are overly cocky (which is a weakness when it comes to aviation). One day his attitude will not only put himself in harms way, but the lives of everyone on that aircraft. I really hope that doesn't happen. THAT'S what should be criticized, not you and your actions.
When you make a decision based on safety you will always "be right no matter what".