The Captain of an Australian JetStar airlines flight JQ57 forgot to lower the landing gear and had to perform a go-around because he was texting on his mobile phone air safety investigators have found.
The first officer twice tried to get the captain's attention to set a 'missed-approach altitude' and when he looked over noticed the 'captain was preoccupied with his mobile phone,' an official report into the incident said.
The Captain of an Australian JetStar airlines flight JQ57 forgot to lower the landing gear and had to perform a go-around because he was texting on his mobile phone air safety investigators have found.
If a pilot was texting while on approach, that would be grossly inappropriate, but the report you cite doesn't say that at all. It says that the captain was distracted by an incoming message on his phone [which he had presumably forgotten to turn off] and that he then tried to turn it off. If you're going to summarise the report, at least don't distort what it says, please.
Cyrano, this is what the report says, my underline:
Quote:
The captain stated that he was in the process of unlocking and turning off his mobile phone at that time and did not hear the call for the missed approach altitude to be set in the FCU.
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Who hasn't forgotten to turn off his phone and gotten a message during approach, usually "Welcome to xxx, costs etc". What about simply ignoring it and sort it out once at the stand?
This section of the report appears to summarise the phone part of the incident..
Quote:
Somewhere between 2,500 ft and 2,000 ft in the descent, the crew heard noises associated with incoming text messages on the captain’s mobile phone. The FO requested that a missed approach altitude of 5,000 ft be set into the Flight Control Unit (FCU)7 and, after not getting a response from the captain, repeated the request. The FO stated that he attempted to use the ‘RAISE’8 method from the operator’s Operations Manual to communicate with the captain.
The FO recalled that, after still not getting a response from the captain, he looked over and, on seeing the captain preoccupied with his mobile phone, set the missed approach altitude himself. The captain stated that he was in the process of unlocking and turning off his mobile phone at that time and did not hear the call for the missed approach altitude to be set in the FCU.
and later..
Quote:
Phone records showed that there were no texts sent or answered by the captain during the approach.
Forgetting to turn off a phone is not a sin. Failing to ignore the phone while on approach is a HUGE mistake. Allowing that distraction to interfere with flying the airplane, to the extent of failing to lower the landing gear, is inexcusable.
Add this scenario (and similar ones) to simulator training: Some annoying but low priority interruption during a critical flight stage.
I wonder how many people religiously turn their phones off in the cockpit but might forget in the simulator. All the instructor has to do is text, "Hah. Made you look."
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Mmm, maybe a detailed chat to find out just what might have been coming in on the phone. And then fire him . . . unless it was for example, someone very sick in hospital, or some other really emotionally distracting issue, then some sick leave perhaps.
Hasn't it been a great week for showing off our professionalism on PPRuNe! Snow covered wings, mad CM1's, dazed and confused CM2's, fisticuffs on the flightdeck, pilots failing to notice a large hole in the fuselage and falling thru it and now someone texting on finals, really I think I'll vote myself a pay cut!
You know. A simple warning and something such as CRM and CFIT training wouldn't be enough though now, would it?
He apparently failed CRM and CFIT training already, given the gravity of the situation. He's an allegedly fully qualified Captain, not an FO in training.
I've had 2 FOs in the past month use their cell phones while taxiing out. Both of them were new to the airline, though neither was new to the business. I let them know (individually and privately) in no uncertain terms that it would not be tolerated in my airline, and that was the only warning they would get.
I have NO CLUE why it would be tolerated in ANY airline...
macdo
* Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: uk Posts: 231 Hasn't it been a great week for showing off our professionalism on PPRuNe! Snow covered wings, mad CM1's, dazed and confused CM2's, fisticuffs on the flightdeck, pilots failing to notice a large hole in the fuselage and falling thru it and now someone texting on finals, really I think I'll vote myself a pay cut!
Tsk, tsk, tsk. All these terrible Asian pilots! What horrible standards! They must all be sent to Hamble for real basic training again. It's time airlines employ only real, well trained pilots with impeccable backgrounds, not riff raffs like these. I am sure there are lots of such poor excuses for pilots around and we need to do something about it.
I don't think an Australian pilot was in command of this Jetstar flight, can't be because I heard that they are the best, top notch. Maybe the SIN ATC was at fault for not warning them earlier that they did not have their landing gear down. You know, the SIN tower controller should have them in sight through his binoculars.
Another reason was maybe the VHF communication on SIN tower was so bad he tried using his mobile phone to contact the tower. Don't be so quick to judge, people.
As Denti says just ignore the phone. However something is a bit strange about the timings. I do not know how long it takes to switch off your phone. But descending from 2500 feet to 700 feet would normally take around two minutes. That is a pretty long time to be out of the loop and implies a serious loss of situational awareness by the captain.
GERAGAU, there was no reference to race or culture in my post which was a light-hearted global tsk!tsk! at our profession, as, of course, were the incidents referred to. Please make sure you fully understand a post before accusing someone of Racism.
Have to say, my sheepdog dog Chica, has welcomed me back from a few trips in the past, with a a fine choral barking on finals. Made the F/O question whether dogs were allowed in J Class! Now, on our 777's, I am reminded by the Preflight Checklist.."Mobile phones off" so...no excuse! Far worse than that,... when my daughters secretly changed my ringtone to a very long and difficult raspberry.!...Was nearly thrown out of Borders,.. phone in back pocket..incoming call!...
