Originally Posted by
mikewil
Great safety culture there...I wonder if a comment like that would influence a young pilots decision making upon encountering unforecast weather enroute causing him to subsequently enter IMC for fear of the 'consequences' of turning back.
Bearing in mind that 40 years ago there was little understanding of CRM, TEM etc, I think that the boss mentioned above was actually quite progressive. By telling the new pilot that there would be no repercussions if a flight was cancelled or delayed due to weather, but a boot in the bum for departing into unsuitable conditions, he was applying an early form of 'just culture'. Quite reasonable of him to want to minimise losses due to turnbacks. But it is more likely that such an enlightened boss would accept unforecast bad weather as mitigation for a turnback.
Reminds me of when I first started flying DC3s to the Shetlands. After a minimal training period (6 sectors) I was turned loose with a low time F/O. I had no experience of North Sea flying conditions, and got caught out by sea fog at Sumburgh and had to turn back. Next day, same thing, missed approach and back to Aberdeen, yet a couple of French chicks in a Falcon jet had landed just ahead of me. But not a word of criticism from the Chief Pilot - presumably because sea fog in those parts back then was not accurately forecast. When I finally did scrape in, I heard that the French lady Captain had crossed herself fervently and went for her rosary beads when the fog cleared enough for her to see just how gnarly the terrain around the airport was. She had never been there before, whereas I at least had seen the place during those initial six sectors and was suitably fearful of going more than a couple of hundred feet below minima (I know, naughty naughty, but that's what we did back then) while she must have drilled down almost to the runway without seeing a thing.