Originally Posted by
Sniper
Not according to Bombardier, Colgan, Transport Canada, or NASA (who all testified today).
A couple things I noticed in the hearing (biased, b/c I do recognize the pilots were likely @ fault, but I think Colgan is trying to avoid any responsibility in the matter):
- the accident crew set the power to 75% during their attempted stall recovery. The procedure calls for 90% as outlined by Bombardier, and followed by Colgan
- Bombardier Q400 Chief Test Pilot said (I'm paraphrasing) 'altitude has nothing to do with stall recovery'. It became VERY clear that Colgan's CA Prior (who has 25 hours TT on the Q400, yet is responsible for Q400 sim training) did not agree with this philosphy. His initial comments reflected the Colgan procedure at the time ('maintain altitude", otherwise known as ZERO altitude loss), but then said they now expect recovery in 100'-200'. One of Colgan's sim instrutors reported that 75% of the pilots he sees pull BACK when they encounter a pusher - just like the accident crew. Perhaps the standard to "maintain altitude" has something to do with this?
- Colgan DO will forward all irregularity reports , including sterile cockpit violations, to the FAA, pull the pilot off line, and refer them to training/standards (No ALPA pro-standards, pilots could call a 1-800 #, or use ASAP to avoid punative treatment)
- Colgan issued a memo saying if you return to the gate due to pilot error (switch position), you will be subject to training and a letter will be put in your file. Member Sumwalter questioned the Colgan DO ‘does this mean this is punative?’ The DO said ‘no, that's not how he reads it'. Sumwalt responded 'it reads it exactly that way to me'
- DO says: if you get sick within 2 hours of your show, he thinks it is most appropriate to call fatigued, not sick
- overall impression is the DO and CA Prior were the most pilot unfriendly of the group by far (CA Prior did not compare favorable in Q400 knowledge when compared to the Chief Test Pilot for Bombardier, who testified with him
Colgan pilots - what's the deal with your sick call procedures? Do you really not call in sick when your sick, but rather fatigued?
I'll hit part of this real quick. First of all, Colgan does have an ALPA Pro Standards Comittee and it is up and running. Our committee was not formed until the week after the crash due to circumstance, not the crash. We voted in ALPA in late nov, and didn't have an up and running MEC until Jan 09. The ALPA training was scheduled for late FEB 09 to coincide with the new officer training. Bad timing for us. The fact is, we have one up and running now. Colgan MGMT has refused to meet or acknowledge us until 1 week before this hearing. If you are a colgan pilot and need Prostans help, e-mail
[email protected]. If not, let's move on.............
I'm not a Q pilot, so I can't reference the stall recovery procedures. However, we are one of the majority of airlines that teaches stall recovery with minimal altitude loss. We do not train to the pusher and we do not train in unusual attitudes like the former head of training said. How do you train unusual attitudes in an aircraft that is part 25 certified and isnt certified for unusual attitudes???
Sick policy? here is the skinny. If you call in fatigued, you are removed from the line and in the chief pilots office. Period. If you call in sick even 12 hrs prior, the company can ask for a doctors letter. If you don't produce one, guess what? Missed trip. When do they ask for a doctors note? It's up to the discression of the crew scheduler and the chief pilot. Can you use sick time for personal time? no. Does sick time go away if you don't use it? bet your hind end it does.
If you do a gate return at colgan or air return or whatever, expect to be scrutinized hard. Some of this if from BS write up's or the normal stuff. However, if you are the CA, you are wrong until you prove yourself right. Example, My left main didn't come up one day. I did an air return, and the DO had already left me a message, and the MX boys were checking gear pins before I could even open the cabin door.
Old school colgan is showing it's face in this hearing. With ALPA help, and the hearing, hopefully most of the old school tactics and bs will go away. My .02