Dealing with "Rogue Pilots"

[sunny77]

No doubt we have all come across one or two of these in our time, but how do I, as the Safety Guy deal with this character? Here is a description of him.
Most experienced guy on the type we're flying, most expereinced QFI on the type also.
Runs the ops board (by screaming the rest of our ops staff out of the room then arranging crew to flights PERSONALLY) and therefore the amount and type of hours flown by all crew. (Creates much angst amongst pilots)
Oversees the writing of new procedures etc for the type. Does this well I might add.
Refuses to talk to any copilots and only a few of the captains outside the aircraft, don't even acknowledge other air or groundcrew members exist.
Has the ear of the boss, (who is easily hoodwinked) and therefore is largely unsupervised. Also, to my angst, the boss thinks he's such a good operator that any entries in the safety log and incidents regarding him (almost every flight) are discounted as 'personality disagreements" between him and the person voicing the problem.
He shows scant regard for ops procedures (even the ones he has written) at the most critical moments of flight.
Displays dubious CRM skills, but usually voices his opinion on the benefits of single pilot ops and if the crew are not assertive enough continues the flight without assistance or reference to the crew. SP ops are not done by any other operator in the world!.
Is a fine "stick and rudder" pilot and feels the need to demonstrate this to any crew member with him on EVERY flight. So much so that most junior copilots and other crew are apprehensive to fly with him. What is worse, some of our junior guys who don't have enough experience to know any different (~500hrs) are mimicking his flying style with varying degrees of success!
I know that these types of guys are gradually being weeded out, but this chap is firmly entrenched in the organisation and won't be going far while the boss sees him through rose coloured glasses. I have raised the issue with the boss many times, including a Power Point presentation, but alas, no change.
Any wise advice is appreciated.

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[Golf Captain]

Sunny77,

Unfortunately you do not have an aviation problem that is easily fixed and can only be fixed one way, from where I am looking at it.

Communication is the key, this is not an advertisement for CRM to you but this is the major quality every person should have if they are to succeed in any industry. Therefore a very old book which is world reknown and will provide different avenues and options for someone in you predicament is, wait for it and do not laugh at the title;
"How to win friends and influence people"
by Dale Carnegie

See how you go, if you take it seriously i am sure you will benefit a lot through it.

Best of luck

GC

[Boss Raptor]

If this is a relatively small operation, as it sounds, then I suggest you find a better job...things will not get better and the infighting will turn out very destructive...

Dont believe anyone will stand up to this guy or for you...if there was a character able to do this in the company then they would have done it on day one...and bottom line? If you stand up for yourself you will be ostracized...

Have seen more than one company go this way...worked for one where the new Chief Pilot was just like this...after 3 months spoke my mind and resigned...guy was sacked 10 days after...owner was so demoralised at seeing his company go from something good to something awful that he closed it down soon after!

[hassel]

I had a similar situation one. Could not win did not win. I soon realised that I was wasting my energies in the wrong direction. However, if it should become a safety issue then look outside your company.
Know whatI mean.
hassel

[sunny77]

Thanks for the help! You have confirmed my thoughts as I am already through the draft of my resignation letter. As one of my fellow pilots (who, by the way are leaving in droves due to this chap) stated "at least we can say we tried when we give evidence after he prangs." Let's hope the situation doesn't come to this. I'm on my way out of the company. It will be a shame to see our good name erode due to one person.
Thanks again.

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[Mr moto]

Furthermore, to the sound comments already made, perhaps you could engineer an en masse resignation or at least that everyone cites the same reason for leaving in addition to their new employment.
If there are real safety issues, and I believe this isn't the first time this chap has been featured here, then you can also send a copy of your resignation to the relevant authorities. Your employer must be made aware of this though.
Careful though, your new employer won't want a trouble maker on board.

Good luck.

[Code Blue]

I was attracted to this thread having just acquired a book by the same title, written by Tony Kern (haven't read it yet).

The description in the opening post is strikingly similar to the account of the "Best B 52 pilot ever" in Kern's previous book "Flight Discipline". This expert flew his B-52, crew and all, into the ground at an airshow at Fairchild AFB in 1994.

I think your resignation will be the most important contribution to your becoming "an old pilot".

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[email protected]

[Checkboard]

If your company conducts CRM training, have a word to the facilitator about the next course. One exercise that is possible is for those attending the course to (annonymously) write their impressions of other crew members, and these impressions are passed on (sealed) to the pilots cerncerned - who then may read them at home.

Nothing pulls someone up faster than realising that everyone thinks they are doing something wrong! Usually they are so blinkered about their actions that they just don't realise. Probably his impression about himself is that he is a good manager - strong and direct, not an unecessary terror!

[Squawk 8888]

Have you considered a SECURITAS filing? If this guy is affecting safety it's probably the way to go, and such a report would carry more weight if all of you complain. Some may find it extreme, but I think you owe it to the other people he's putting at risk.

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Per dementia ad astra

[sunny77]

Some good advice from all.

Code Blue, funny you should mention THAT B52 pilot. In one of our CRM refreshers, the video of that accident (the wingover into the ground) is shown. It is quite a good training aid on this type of fellow. When shown, the room was filled with hushed chuckles and pointed glances to our friend. At the end, he stood up and gave us a brief on how to deal with strong personalities!! We were aghast. To top it off, the conclusion to his brief was "if you have th ability to do something like the B52 guy did, do it right." What sort of advice is that??
The good news is that since my first post on this subject, 7 of us have resigned sigting the same reason. That's 7 out of 44. All captains. 3 more are in the process of writing their resignations. That's 25% in a week. Most of our copilots are bonded so can't go anywhere for a few months. The roster is going to be interesting.



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[Code Blue]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">7 of us have resigned sigting the same reason. That's 7 out of 44. All captains. 3 more are in the process of writing their resignations. That's 25% in a week. </font>

You would hope that someone in the Head Shed might just notice that and wonder why :)

Having said that I never cease to be amazed by the severity of Thought Block that occurs in some management structures.

Good Luck and Keep Safe

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[email protected]
edited 'cos this keyboard is illiterate

[This message has been edited by Code Blue (edited 31 May 2001).]

[Genghis the Engineer]

I'd tell the chap, with your personnel hat on, that as the most experienced pilot on the fleet it is HIS responsibility to put nervous lesser mortals at their ease and to train his co-pilots (ground crew, planners, etc.), who desperately need the gently offered benefit of his enormous experience.

Bull****, but effective bull****.

G