Is this behaviour normal in the industry?

[Standard Toaster]

So, I was watching a Youtube video of a Tap Portugal landing --> TAP Portugal cockpit landing Lisbon - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HleZvoyQHM&feature=youtu.be) , and, for my surprise, the pilots were chitchatting before, during and after the landing... Is this normal? What about the sterile cockpit rule? Or is that rule only on paper and in reality it isn't followed by the majority?

During this critical phase of the flight, shouldn't they be 100% focused on landing the plane?

Regards.

[SpringHeeledJack]

The few times that I was in a cockpit for landing the pilots were very formal with another, there might be a bit of commenting on something, but it was all about the checklists and procedures.

Perhaps the ultimate conclusion, although in the cruise, was the midair disaster over the Brazilian rainforest some years back when the pilots were more involved in a football game over the radio than conflicting traffic.



SHJ

[Hartington]

Does anyone know what was actually being said?

[Standard Toaster]

Does anyone know what was actually being said?


They're speaking Portuguese.

Basically the commander was gossiping about a colleague, saying he doesn't deserve to be a pilot, he is a mo****er, his wife is like him, that during the training he *****ed up is colleagues so they didn't pass and things like that...

I'm surprised that they didn't even care someone was filming, and they just kept on talking and talking even during and after the landing.
If they do this in front of a camera, what will they do when someone isn't around? That's why I asked if this normal across the industry, despite the rules that prohibit such behavior.

Regards.

[kharmael]

I don't know how widespread the sterile cockpit rule is over the entire aviation community, it's obviously quite common amongst airlines. In the UK military there's no such rule! The crew can speak whenever they want, silence tends to fall on the take-off roll and short finals but other than that it's chit chatty. People learn to listen out for the callsign on the radio, and when the tone of voice changes to run checklists or perform a mission-based task everyone goes quiet before resuming conversation post-event. No need for such 'draconian' rules!

[Standard Toaster]

I don't know how widespread the sterile cockpit rule is over the entire aviation community, it's obviously quite common amongst airlines. In the UK military there's no such rule! The crew can speak whenever they want, silence tends to fall on the take-off roll and short finals but other than that it's chit chatty. People learn to listen out for the callsign on the radio, and when the tone of voice changes to run checklists or perform a mission-based task everyone goes quiet before resuming conversation post-event. No need for such 'draconian' rules!

If this kind of behavior does not interfere with the job, fine by me.

But by the looks of it, chitchat during this phases of the flight has already caused some lethal accidents...So pilots should avoid engaging in non essential-conversation during take-off or landing, don't you agree?

Is it so hard for them to keep quiet and focus during take-offs or landings? They have the rest of the flight to chitchat.

Regards.

[Piltdown Man]

Is this normal? What about the sterile cockpit rule? Or is that rule only on paper and in reality it isn't followed by the majority?


Chit-chat is fairly normal. It's more of a concept except that in some very "happy" companies, it's a hard rule. In many companies it's not enforced with much vigor.

But it's reasonable to have a discussion on the the value of "sterile cockpits". Some believe that aircraft are so difficult and complicated to fly that safety can only be ensured by nothing less than total concentration, all of the time. I'm sure that these are the same people who also believe that nothing other than documents relevant the flight are read in the flight deck during flight.

The extreme opposite are those chat the whole time, watch videos, listen to music, read comics and newspapers and play silly games.

Now you would have thought that there would have been a difference between the safety record of the "professional" crews and that of the "gash amateurs". But I can't find one. I also fail to find any differences between either types of crew in their reaction to unexpected events. Both appear to handle the "startle factor" equally well (or poorly).

Personally, I believe you have to have an appropriate level of arousal at the appropriate time. Total concentration is a poor as none and during each phase of flight a different level is required. Therefore, I'll suggest that a very non-precise "enough" level of concentration is required. And some crews are able chat at times when others have to shut up because they can't fly and talk.

PM

[+TSRA]

Not that I speak Portuguese, but it would be highly irregular to still be having a conversation that deep when the RAD ALT calls out 2,500' - never mind that much discussion into the flare.


I've always found that the guys and gals I fly with are pretty good about the Sterile Cockpit rule. We all recognize as a group that there is a difference between flying in severe clear conditions to sitting in solid IMC from take-off to minima, so we adjust accordingly. As Piltdown Man alluded to, total concentration can be very tiring to the point of becoming unsafe in certain conditions.