Ernst

I did intend to point out that this crew faced the worst of scenarios with the least amount of resources: no engineer, no IRO, no jumpseaters, no flight attendants. The engineer position was eliminated by technology; however, the safety equipment was not then re-engineered for the resulting lack of manpower (and womanpower). Flight attendants are not likely to be added to cargo flights. IROs and jumpseaters are currently a matter of chance, depending on the schedule and the day one draws the wildcard of a fire onboard.

Therefore, the only fix in the cargo world, on flights over areas where one can not make an emergency descent and land in 20 minutes (when the statistical fire is uncontrollable), is to add a third pilot to flights that do not currently have an IRO because they are less than 8 hours. I know it's a radical idea, but until the current generation of safety equipment is incorporated into Part 121 aircraft, an extra body is the best resource to find a fire that can be fought and to look over the pilots' shoulders to maintain situational awareness when they are juggling a bag of snakes with checklists and rapidly changing altitudes and airspeeds.

Al Haynes credited his jumpseater for a large part of UAL 232's arrival at an airport, rather than at an off airport location with 100% casualties. We all train to bring whatever CRM resources we have to bear on a problem. Unfortunately for our friends, they had none when they were needed most and the system that should have regulated and invested in proper safety equipment left them defenseless.

I saw a Discovery Channel type show recently on the largest container ship in the world. I forget the dimensions, but it's ginormous. On a ship that the Navy would staff with 800 - 1,000 sailors trained in firefighting and damage repair, this cargo ship had a staff of about 18. If an explosion in the engine room takes out 6 people, now they have 12. It's like the Titanic with too few lifeboats. It was a good idea at the time on paper to a slide rule wielding designer, but in retrospect ... At least if a container ship the size of a battleship goes down, it's not on top of a city. That was probably part of someone's cost benefit analysis in the design.

On many occasions, our industry flies jumbo container ships over sparse areas with all of two people, both of whom are required to adequately control the ship. I hope when my number comes up again, I have someone on the jumpseat to help me keep the fire at bay with our caveman tools while we work to land ASAP. I hope our friends' legacy will be children that bring their mothers joy and changes to a stagnant government and corporate safety culture.