This^^^^^^ + a bunch

Are we allowed to be a part of the 30 day comment period for the Delta/UsAir swap?
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Thursday, February 11, 2010

LONDON — Can you really be bored to death?

In a commentary to be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology in April, experts say there's a possibility that the more bored you are, the more likely you are to die early.

I'd be nervous if I was a 777 pilot, we'll have to start calling that flying super duper hoover a death trap...
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I plan on being on this thread into my late 80s, corresponding with Clamp and ACLs grandson on the Latest & Greatest. I'll probably have 200,000 of L&Gs 2,000,000+ posts. I'll probably also talk trash and have full conversations with the great beyond and a supposedly mythical person named Satch and cause many to put me on their hide list.

As 80knotsclamp & I pointed out, Deltas underwriters already had involvement in Comair 5191 and Colgan 3407. Instead of 10 million, adjust your thinking to something in the neighborhood of 10 Billion.

As Delta employees, we want our employer to be insulated from these risks and we prefer that the contracting carrier pay whatever fines the government might impose.

If an alter ego, like Republic, were to be fined, who do you suggest the fine be passed along to? Republic Holdings, United, Delta, Chautauqua, Mid Atlantic, Shuttle America, MidWest, Frontier, or US Air? It would be a mess to allow fines to pass through the Certificate where the penalty was initially assessed. Also consider, the FAA want the fines to stick as a deterrent and we sure don't want Delta Inc. to be out of pocket for their subcontractor's screw ups. (arguably we are since costs are eventually passed through to us - but that's getting off point)

While the show held up the idea that “making the Major responsible” could be an answer to reign in outsourced flying, the premise is incorrect. To review:

• Plaintiffs can already recover from the major carrier in many venues under both Statute (as in Texas) or under Common Law (Joint and Several Liability) depending on the venue
• Airlines have insured and mitigated these exposures
• In many cases the regional airlines risk has been pooled with the major's insurance program. As with fuel and other commodities, the parties can get a better deal buying in larger quantities (the justification for “pass though” costs.)
• As employees, we don't want Colgan to be in a position to bankrupt Delta.
• The FAA wants fines to stick to specific Certificates as a way to deter future errors

Bottom line – ALPA has to do its own heavy lifting on alter ego outsourcing. While the show provided an opportunity for ALPA to provide some lip service to ending outsourcing the reality is that ALPA negotiated and ratified the very contracts that facilitate this outsourcing. If anyone has the power and the inclination to do something about this, it is us. We have decided other parts of our contract are more compelling than scope and negotiated accordingly.

Very good.

Thanks Bar.

Is she? I've seen both sides of the FAA, where they have done very poor work and where they have done a very good job at enforcing regulation to get at the heart of a safety issue.

Some regional airlines tend to abuse the concept of the FAA's granting of immunity for voluntary disclosures. In most cases the regional self discloses in such a way that their operational error falls on their Captain's Certificate and not on the Company's. They use self disclosure primarily to protect their company's Certificate at the expense of their pilot's Certificate. (and usually they hide, to the point of flat out lying, their involvement in the screw up)

A lazy, self absorbed, Inspector might be inclined to take these pre packaged enforcement cases and run with them. In contrast a good guy who's willing to dig a little finds common threads in the self disclosures and learns the systematic threats. They then act to interrupt, or fix, the chain that results in the errors. It probably would not be appropriate to name names here, but I've been impressed by some of the FAA Inspectors. The older, worked for a couple of airline types, with flight experience, tend to be VERY good.

Self reporting has proven itself as a very useful tool to improve safety. Yes, it can be abused, but over and over again this partnership has proven to be worth the effort.

Hey, I am not that much older than you. If you are in your 80's I will be in my mid 80's. I will probably give up my APC habit though. I got my eyes on a nice beach a few hours south of the US of A.

If my wife has my way my children and her children will have nothing to do with this career. This job needs to become the career it once was for her to even think about allowing my children near anything with wings.

ACL - that Lizard looks lonely on the beach by itself.

118 hours worth of trips in open time for the 13th. Come on over and get you some, find a mate for your lizard !

The FAA, like the Department of Homeland Security does not have the luxury of being 99.999% successful in their mission when it comes to safety. If they fail once, people might die. THAT is an unacceptable situation IMHO. Ms. Sciavo called them on that, and she was right. I am not condemning the inspectors of which you speak. I know some of them too, and you are correct, they are very good. But like most folks out there in the trenches, they... we... all do our job to the best of our abilities. It's the management.. bureaucrats that are always in CYA mode. Those are the folks that set policy, make decisions that make the entire organisation look like the Keystone Cops. It is a function of the tort laden society that we find ourselves in...

As far as the self-reporting tool: If you can defend it in one breath, and note how there might be a propensity for abuse at the regional level(I have zero knowledge about this one way or the other) isn't that a condemnation of the system as a whole? I'm just asking the question...

Um nope, going to enjoy the weekend at home with the Mrs. Well that is unless a GS comes my way.

My advice is live in base, bid the senior jet and sit at home on reserve in a bath robe. The more senior the better, as the beard has a better chance to fill out! :D

No, it is not condemnation of the system. It is just the reality that some people will see a good system and exploit it to cut a corner.

For the most part (at least 80% of the industry) participates as intended. ASAP is a great safety tool.

A lot of relationships rely on the good faith of the participants. I've never seen the FAA anywhere near my personal airplane, never had the FAA inspect it's logs or give me a check in the Part 91 world, but everyone I know at our local airport has a perfect safety record. For the most part you CAN trust folks to do the right thing. Safety statistics bear this out.