Incompetence in professional aviation

[jetjackel]

Incompetence is not limited to Africa. While in the Middle East last year, during Ramadannnn, Kuwait tower played some chanting prayer for an extended time, during a very busy time at the airport.

I was with an Arab pilot and, after the prayer stopped and transmissions went back to normal, I slyly selected interphone on the panel and asked "was that Elvis"? The Arab almost had a heart attack thinking I transmitted on tower freq. Said we would "be killed!" Stupidity is not limited to Africa.

[Jerricho]

And the point of this is?

[Squawk7777]

I had an Arab student who prayed in his plane while he was flying solo. Mind you, tower called me and the female sup talked to me like a mad wife!

... or there was the other occasion where a new private pilot though he could teach his wife how to fly.

:suspect: :uhoh:

[JJflyer]

Yip we had a few guys that do the same manouver in the aircraft while in flight. These guys would first snoop around the flightdeck like a cat looking for a spot for a drop. Finally place would be found between the F/E station and CB panel. The whole manouvre would be completed using the weather and flight plan folder as a carpet.
Nothing against different religions but I do not believe in pushing religions to peoples faces. Neither do I believe that flight deck is suitable palce for such activities, regardless of what the religion.

JJ

[eagerbeaver]

during my training there were many arab and north african students at the school. Whenever one of them passed a test or reached a milestone in their training they would all wait on the grass outside the terminal for said student to return from the aircraft. Said student would walk to the group and they would all pat him on the back etc, he would then place flying equipment some distance away and walk into the middle of his peers who proceeded to give him an almighty kicking! very very f:mad: 'ing strange.

[Jerricho]

I'm sorry JJ, but I still fail to see the relevance of the inclusion of "incompetence"

[rotornut]

Speaking of incompetence, I was on an old Indian Airlines 737 out of Bombay for Pune. Everything seemed OK on approach but we did a spectacular bounce on landing - reminded me of my own landings years ago when learning to fly.:eek:

[Young Paul]

Perhaps the pilot was under training? It does happen, you know, and bad landings aren't confined to other continents even if not.

[InitRef]

Speaking of incompetence, I was on a fairly new Air Canada A320 out of Montreal for La Guardia. Everything seemed OK on approach but we did a spectacular bounce on landing - reminded me of my own landings years ago when learning to fly.

[rotornut]

I was on US Airways just out of Toronto for Washington National a few years ago. Captain announced that we en route "over Lake Ontario". We were actually over Lake Erie which would have put us some 50 miles off course!:ooh:

[Willit Run]

No one wakes up in the morning and says " gee beaver, I think i'll screw today for grins and kicks"
My god folks, we are all human, we ALL make mistakes! Grow up!

with that said, there are areas in this world where training seems to be lacking!

[Lu Zuckerman]

Many years ago during the Korean Conflict the Coast Guard recruited ex USN Aviators. We got one that had a total of 272 hours, which was just out of flight school. He was let go from the Navy when WW2 ended and he went to divinity school. He stayed in the Navy Reserve and rose to the rank of Full Lieutenant. Officers that were junior to him were training him and some of them had in excess of 10,000 hours PPC (Patrol Plane Commander).

On one training mission he was being checked out on an UF1-G (SA-16). The plane was at 90-degrees to the runway and being run-up to take off power. The pilot being trained had his head down near his knees when the training pilot released the brakes and told him to take over. He did not respond quick enough to get the plane on the runway and we nearly impacted a stand of pine trees at the edge of the field. Reverse thrust saved our ass.

On another flight in a JRB (Beech D-18) I was flying in the right hand seat. We were going to Cleveland, Ohio to pick up some high-ranking officers and civilians. Just prior to take off he put on his glasses and he told me to remind him to put on his glasses when we were going to land. After takeoff he removed his glasses and the flight proceeded normally. That is until we were flying over Lake Erie. I asked him if he had a green card (Instrument ticket) and he said no. I told him that he had to be instrument rated to fly over water.

We headed for Toledo and in the process consumed a lot of fuel. I asked him if we could land at Toledo to pick up fuel to get to Cleveland with the necessary reserves. He said we had enough fuel to make it. Cleveland was socked in and the closer we got to Cleveland the ceiling was dropping at an alarming rate. Since he was not rated for instrument flying I asked him if we could return to Toledo and wait until the weather got better. Again he pressed on.

He asked for landing instructions and Cleveland put him under GCA control. They vectored him to his final and he could not get aligned with the runway. This was repeated several times and 1) we were running low on fuel and 2) GCA would shoot us down if we missed it again. All of this time I was busy looking for other traffic and in the process I forgot about reminding him to put on his glasses. When we finally made it to the end of the runway he had forgotten to lower the flaps. We hit so hard that I thought the landing gear would come through the engine nacelles. We bounced about fifty feet and then he lowered the flaps and we ballooned down the runway. We finally got down and taxied into the parking area he asked me why I didn’t remind him to put on his glasses. I told him I was busy looking for other traffic. I asked him why he needed his glasses on takeoff and landing. He replied that his depth perception was not what it should be.

The flight back was just as bad. We were flying at about 10,000 feet and when we entered into an ADIZ he forgot to file in. We were jumped by two Air Force F-89 Scorpions. As we got closer to the base he maintained his altitude and made a “Big hole approach” diving from 10,000 feet to get into position to land. My mastoids hurt so much the pain was unbearable and the same was happening to our passengers. I was grounded for over a week and the pilot was transferred eventually to Alaska where all of the flying was done off of water and mostly under instrument conditions.

Now that is incompetence.


:E :E

[Agaricus bisporus]

IMHO the great majority of incompetence in Professional aviation is to be found in the office.

Here is an exception. Stupidity and incompetence seldom reaches such a peak!


http://members.roadfly.org/johnodrake/heloTowJob.wmv

[Bubbette]

Yikes was everyone alright?

[Agaricus bisporus]

Don't know Bubbette. Doors were all off so egress would not have been too restricted. I'd love to have heard what the crewman said to the pilot afterwards though!

[Onan the Clumsy]

I was on a flight once where the cabin crew wore nice tan uniforms. Suddenly one of them sprouted a dark stain in the pelvic area...


...oh sorry, "incompetence"




AB I'm speechless.

[Agaricus bisporus]

Onan, the boat was apparently perfectly serviceable too!!!

[FestusSlowPok]

Robert Milton has taken a somewhat perfectly good airline and driven it into the ground....incompetence.
The Board of Directors at Air Canada have not yet fired him....incompetence.

[Earthmover]

A hundred years ago (well, seems like it) a Captain flew me below Decision Altitude ('height' in those days of QFE) in fog on a manual ILS. I was very new to the game, but even with a certain new-boy timidity and deference I was getting very vocal - "It's OK -I have the lights" he responded, and even though I certainly didn't, I was fool enough to believe him - until he proved his black lie by throwing our 50 seat turboprop into a rapid left bank to land on the runway which was now sliding past on the left hand side of the aircraft. Typically, the landing was an utterly undeserved greaser. He then looked at me, crimson-faced through his bushy beard and had the effrontery to say "Well done!" - to me - who had taken no active part in this lamentable display whatever.

I have kicked myself ever since for not taking over at DA, but I think that was easier said than done for a brand-new two-striper.

There were some great characters in those days, some of breathtaking flying ability - but there was also a little group of these types, who seem, thankfully to have gone completely - I hope.

Now that's incompetence!

[M.85]

His incompetence was due to the fact that he decided to fly below DA or that he drifted off to the right ??:E
I may have been one many times..I wont say for which of the 2 reasons...:cool:

M.85

[pigboat]

Heh heh....it is, after all, an Instrument Landing System ;)