Originally Posted by
sixtysevenhertz
And speaking of fatigue, according to "O", every fatigue call will be investigated....and the few we've gotten lately are suspicious.
Gee, I sure won't think twice about calling in fatigued after reading that. Safety first. End of sarcasm.
Well, thinking back to the "good old days", i.e. 20 to 25 years ago, when a Captain, or, any crewmember, for that matter, made a decision, wether it be calling in fatigued, or diverting, or refusing a flight for weather, mechanical reasons, or whatever, it was never questioned. Ever. And as a result, pilots never had to bring into their decision process, the possibility of being 'investigated', for that decision. The Captain's word and decision was final, and unquestioned. So for 99.9% of the pilots, it was a valid call with no intention of trying to 'get over', or screw the company, or anything like that. If someone did try to abuse that policy, well, I guess the company probably figured that having .1% abuse, was better for the overall safety and performance of the system.
Also, back then, I think it was damn near impossible to get fired. Crews could concentrate on their work, without thinking in the back of their mind, gee, i hope I don't make a human error, or a bad decision, cause they will fire me at the drop of a hat. "Shoot, squeeze, aim", and I'll have to fight my way back onto the payroll after proving my innocence.
And, surprisingly, back then, Fedex had the best safety record in the industry. Not just the cargo industry. In the entire industry. We never bent metal. We used to make jokes about Korean Air and their record, and refused to deadhead on them.
Then something happened. So what changed? The pilots? Nope. Same group, same pool of resources. So if it's not at the bottom, you have to look at the top. It funny, but just about every line pilot you talk to, will tell you that fatigue is a huge problem. But the people at the top, absolutely refuse to look at that, or even accept the possibility that fatigue is a factor, along with the culture here at Fedex.
Very sad. And until they do, we all know that the safety record here is not going to improve.
You get what you pay for, and there is price to be paid, for everything.
On my next rant, I'll comment on the flip flop policies of hand fly/full automation, etc. (i.e. you can stay sharp by practicing on your time at work, and take away the features that were designed to help relieve the workload on the pilot). God forbid we add more training time to sharpen your skills, practice procedures, etc. That would cost money, and we certainly can't do that!