US Airways Captain Escorted From Airport
 

I'd love to be a fly on the wall.....

US Airways Captain Escorted From Airport

Do you have any facts whatsoever to support this claim, or did you not have enough paper to push in your cubicle today?

Carl

I don't know what actually happened, but I can vouch for CFM about USA Today. I couldn't believe it when I flip to page 5B and saw the full page ad (which looked basically like a simple ASAP report)! Needless to say, I'm sure it got the attention of MANY people.

Ummm. It's Saturday. No cubicle, the view isn't as good as a cockpit, but I have a peekaboo view of the water past the trees. Big picture windows and a nice reclining leather chair. Short walk down to Starbucks too :)

OK. I'll take that as a NO then when I asked you whether you had any facts to back up what you said below:

When you make these kinds of baseless accusations against an airline pilot, it makes you sound like a jealous wannabe pilot. We've got enough of those here as it is.

Wise up please.

Carl

Flight crew brought the airplane back to the gate with a problem, refused it after what looks like a pencil whip by maintenance . Second crew refused the aircraft, finally a third crew took it after maintenance had done more work. Looks to me like the potential is there for a mechanic(s) to get a violation.

30-year A330 CA? At Airways?

lidarheadache, escorted from the airport is shorthand for fired. It's that kind of workplace. Why do you think Capt. Sullenberger got the hell out at his first opportunity?

Truth is, there are fewer and fewer competent mechanics. Most are just parts changers and paycheck cashers. Your mileage may vary.

Very sad. The Captain has every right to refuse an airplane for mechanical issues. When I was a Captain in my other life, I refused a few due to them being broken. Can't imagine being fired for trying to keep the public safe.

And USAirways Response:


July 22, 2011

Dear Fellow Employees,

By now some of you may have seen an advertisement in today’s USA Today paid for by our pilots’ union, USAPA. As you know, USAPA has been embroiled in an intra-union seniority dispute for several years and is also working to negotiate a joint contract. Those efforts have been severely complicated and delayed by their inability to resolve the seniority dispute, and because of this dispute, USAPA has embarked upon a smear campaign that in reality is all about contract negotiations, not safety. Today’s move is simply the latest in a series of misguided efforts to put pressure on the Company as part of those negotiations, and while we are disappointed that USAPA has chosen to use safety as a negotiating tactic, I can tell you unequivocally the union’s claims are outlandish, false and a disservice to the 32,000 hard-working employees of US Airways.

Safety has been and always will be the top priority at US Airways, as it is at any airline. On the specific issue that the advertisement focuses on, I’d note that USAPA’s account is highly inaccurate and its claims about the aircraft in question were wrong – it flew that day and performed flawlessly, and has done the same ever since.

Simply put, our safety facts stand for themselves:

* US Airways has just passed the International Air Transport Association’s highest worldwide standard for safety and security – the IOSA audit – with flying colors. This audit, the airline industry gold standard for safety, shows that we are in compliance in every safety area.

* Our safety team also knows how well we are doing on all safety measurements. Our Flight Safety Index, which measures how we’re doing in all areas, is at the highest level in the history of the company. Aircraft damages are 50% better than industry average, and deferred maintenance items are at an all-time low.

* The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cited US Airways as the model for other airlines to follow with our significant investment of time and resources into the voluntary Safety Management System (SMS) program. We are one of only two airlines to implement SMS in every area of the airline. We also are the first U.S. airline to have our SMS program validated by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

That exemplary record is due to you – the 32,000 outstanding aviation professionals of US Airways who put safety first every day. Please keep that focus and don’t be dissuaded by the misguided and outdated negotiating tactics of a labor union. We will continue to work with USAPA to get to a joint contract, but as they well know, they must resolve their internal seniority dispute before that can happen. We are attempting to facilitate that effort, but expect it will take some more time. In the meantime you will likely hear more defamatory and baseless language from USAPA, but please consider the source and keep doing your jobs in the exceptionally professional and safe manner that you always have.

We have a great team of aviation professionals at US Airways and I am proud to work with you. Thank you very much for all you do and please keep up the great work.

and...

July 22, 2011

Earlier today we issued a communication related to an ad by the pilot’s union, USAPA, that ran in USA Today. We also felt that the following statement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), regarding the incident mentioned in the ad, would be informative for employees:

The FAA manager assigned to the US Airways certificate reviewed the June 16, 2011 incident. The APU shutdown the aircraft experienced is a failure that pilots are well aware can happen and that they are trained to recognize. The battery apparently was depleted by attempts to restart the APU. Flying an aircraft with an inoperative APU is not an unusual event and normally poses no safety issues when proper limitations are applied. The Captain simply chose to exercise her pilot-in-command authority of not accepting an aircraft. Our information indicates that US Airways followed their approved MEL procedures, and all maintenance procedures were followed in accordance with the operator’s approved maintenance program. We found no violations of Federal Aviation Regulations.

They REALLY should have stopped while they were "ahead". I'm not familiar with the A330 ETOPS requirements, but I'm assuming the APU is one of them? If so, then NICE JOB posting to the entire world that you have NO IDEA what equipment you need to dispatch for an ETOPS leg.

Second, BRILLIANT stating that the Captain was simply exercising her pilot-in-command authority of not accepting an airplane..... and then escorting her from the airport and docking her 3 weeks pay.

Looks like your geniuses are almost as smart as our geniuses

That's what I was thinking. That can't be right, she has to be an FO

I believe A330 has a HMU so the APU can be MEL'd for etops 120.

SO do our ERs at Delta, but according to our Op Specs, we cannot dispatch for flights outbound from the US with an inoperative APU. We can dispatch to the US with one though.

I know airways has high seniority but 30 years seniority cannot hold a 330 capt position there?.

You are probably right about that. Being a DC-9 capt I am assuming your former NW so you most likely got a first hand taste of incompetent mechanics oh I would say right around August 2005.

Your right, I misread it

Yeah, I was wondering about that for USAirways.

Either way. I wouldn't have taken the airplane either.

I want to know who "corporate security" is and their authority to arrest someone!!

A) I notice you never responded to the request for facts.


And on a separate note . . .


B) As has been shown time and again just because the FAA says a carrier CAN do something is not the same as saying that it is the BEST idea.

Dispatching over water in a 2 engine aircraft with an inoperative APU is NOT safe in my opinion. Fixing the APU prior to departure is NOT that complicated. The article is accurate and the obfuscation of the corporation and the FAA is appalling!

Every pilot who reads this should agree and if you don't then YOU are the problem with our industry.


Joe Peck
UAL IADFO-76/75

My last airline, Arik Air, also passes an IOSA. My respect for IOSA went to zero on that day.

FAA and Airlines involved in heavy back-scratching agreement

Just curious. Did you quit Arik Air, or just fly out your contract? Saw a Arik Air A340 in JFK a few weeks ago. Was there a chance for you to go to that eventually, or were the domestics ops run separately?

I'm surprised this hasn't been picked up by any of the TV News services.

I'm sure USAPA has a plan to defend Captain's Authority.
After all, an "Independent Union" has so much more clout!

This really shouldn't even be a union issue. Three crews refused to take it until it was fixed. That's saying something.

;)Remember folks, all BAD things begin at Airways and then trickle throughout the industry (loss of pensions) etc. Captains AUTHORITY, should and WILL be protected at all cost. Today its US tomorrow will be YOU..Its not about contractual issues, its about managements attempt at stripping the Captain's authority with intimidation and harrasment. CAPTAINS AUTHORITY, The last and final hindrance at maximizing profits at the expense of SAFETY..

Exactly!.......................................... ...............

I wouldn't go on an Atlantic crossing at night without an APU. No way. Forget it.

I'm out on loss of medical, so I don't know what happened. It's just really unfortunate it had to go so far as making it in to USA Today.

A position that clearly separates you and some others here from the keyboard geniuses who have never made the crossing...day or night.

OSHA will have her job back within 90 days.

Isn't she only suspended 3 weeks?

Only an opinion but I think that she was not escorted out/fired/whatever because of refusing the aircraft, any pilot has that right. She was escorted out for the PAs she made both in the aircraft and in the terminal. No company would stand by and allow an employee to do that sort of thing in public.

I quit, but not like you might quit a normal airline (or company, for that matter). You see, if you gave them notice, they would just stop paying you.

So, I got a job in Iraq and worked there, and was successful in getting a final pay check from Arik. I didn't like the job in Iraq (hopefully, that doesn't need a lot of commentary, but it did pay a lot).

The A330 was repo'd, and the two A340's are operated by a contract airline, HiFly of Portugal. No chance to go there. We did fly everything except New York with the Boeing / Bombardier fleet, so not just domestic. The furthest I flew was Dakar, Senegal, and we sent the CRJ to Germany for maintenance. B737 did London and Jo-burg, in addition to domestic / west africa regional.

They had a shortage of FO's on the Boeing 737, so I volunteered to go to that airplane, even offering to pay for the type rating. Denied (no real seniority system).

They kept hiring new captains off the street above me, leaving no place to grow to, at an airline that will likely fail soon:

-A330 - Repossesed in JNB due to failed lease agreement
-2 B737 Classics -In Storage (Norge/UK)
-1of2 Q400's - In Storage (Maastricht) Maintenance Fees unpaid
-2of2 Q400's - AOG (Lagos) due to non payment of SAMCO/GEN mx
-1 737NG - AOG (Enugu) Engine MX, A/C currently being scrapped by LH
-1 737NG - AOG (Dakar) Unpaid Senegalese Auth. Fees
-1 of 2 HS125 - Out of Country undetermined period

Where are these supposed comments, PAs, etc.? I have not seen anything of substance on this...........

How is OSHA involved in this???

My opinion is that she had a DUTY to do exactly what she did. The FAR's mandate that any PIC has a DUTY to report and make authorities aware of any issues of safety. Telling the passengers on and off the airplane EXACTLY what happened is the best way to have handled it. It's my experience that passengers can handle most anything if they're told the truth. Even if it's ugly or embarrassing - tell the truth. She did that. She was right every step of the way IMO. USAirways stands no chance in hurting her in any way. Her time off will be at the very least a paid vacation. And possibly, a very nice payout indeed.

Carl

That is a Delta requirement not a MEL requirement. Delta feels that the APU is safety backup system. If the jet is in the US and it can be worked on then they want it fixed before it goes across the pond. They allow one flight home from overseas if it is inop per the MEL. USAIR does not have the same APU requirement and can dispatch without it on 120 minute ETOPS flights.

If it is legal, it must be safe.

The mantra of airline senior management.:o

Thanks for feeding my curiosity. Hope all is well. :)