Originally Posted by keenster

Just my .02. In riding numerous jumpseats on numerous different carriers and ours as well I have witnessed time and time again lip service to the check list especailly when it is a read and respond by one person. Just reading the check list and saying the response by one person does not do much good especially when that person is not verifying his responses. This is a serious business that we are in and they're no room for simple mistakes i.e. look at the result of not setting the flaps in DTW. We have a job to do and we get paid good money to do it right. Would like to make more money- come on contract 2012.

Bottom line for me, if it is a safety of flight item it should be challenge and respond for both pilots and verified by both pilots. Also, I am not a big fan of ckd. I much rather use the position of the switch, number required or setting rather than ckd,ckd,ckd,ckd. Whether it is true or not I certainly don't know, but we keep hearing that these are manufacturer recommended checklists. If so, Boeing has vast experience at designing and building aircraft, but comparatively little experience at flying them in multi-crew operations. It's easier to be a bit looser when the same company test pilots fly together, the same guys all the time. But when you have thousands of pilots, who have never met nor worked together, again the music needs to be played more precisely. Every checklist item should have a specific response, forcing the pilot to state it by viewing it, rather than a generic "checks," perhaps without even viewing it. It is just another layer of safety net, meant to catch errors. The philosophy of "we are professionals, we shouldn't make those kinds of mistakes," is a less effective substitute. Next time you are riding jump seat, watch their checklist disipline and ask yourself about yours. In the mean time fly safe. My wish is for a safer checklist for the entire operation in the future. I understand that they are looking at it.