My god I thought I had heard it all until I found this thread! The Captain in question should be shot if the story is as reported in the original post. What he did was put his passengers in harms way. What if he had not been able to get the gear down or some other failure had occurred? Then we may be looking at an accident.
The only person in my view who decides how much fuel goes on my aeroplane is my F/O and myself. I will load what I need given all the conditions on the day! I do take Plog fuel from time to time when conditions permit but our job is to protect our passengers and at times the company from itself. Any pilot who does not see that should not be on the flight deck of a commercial aircraft.
The bottom line is this Captain clearly took a risk with his passengers and crews lives, which he had no right to do. Ignoring his F/O's concerns in this way was unforgivable, especially given his other role in the company.
For those who like to quote the rules remember rules are for the guidance of wise men/women and the adherence of fools and there is no place in this industry for fools like this man!
Kaptain M I can only hope you were stirring things up with your tongue firmly in your cheek otherwise please let me know which company you fly for as I shall make a point of never flying with them!
Rant over!
