Originally Posted by
rickair7777
I've known more people get fired for what they said on the CVR vice what they actually did. About half of those were not at fault at all, or flew the plane before the incident crew. If you have an incident that puts you an employment grey area to begin with, gross unprofessionalism or bad-mouthing the company on tape will make it very easy for them to pull the trigger, and the union won't have any high-ground to save you either.
One guy got fired because his CA hit the jetway on on taxi-in that the FO 100% could not see... but he left a running profane monologue on the tape about the company in general and specific managers (all the way from cruise to impact at the gate). The CA, who suffered the tirade in silence got run through the wringer for a year but got his job back and he was the one who hit the jetway.
Your professionalism on the CVR is your best defensive pitch to keep your job.
My guess is, if the FO had stopped his rant at 10,000ft, he wouldn’t have gotten in trouble. I can’t imagine the company could take action if you do everything right, but call a bunch of managers D-Bags while in cruise.
That said, unfortunately, we have to remember that anything we say in that cockpit could end up getting printed in the papers if something goes wrong. On the whole, I agree with you, just keep it professional.