I must say that i find this thread a bit worrying. I fly in a medium size company where everybody knows everybody, and often on so intimite details that you can't tell about it to your wife when home
We do have SOP's to cover for most cases, (flyingwise that is) but the company in general have the attitude that there must be room for the individuals. This have done so that half the workforce now develops their own SOP's, with the same excuse as used by a lot of people in this thread: "you can only cover 99% with SOP's. If you don't deviate in the last 1 % it will get dangerous".
What a load of crap guys!!!
I agree about the 1%, that when the **** hits the fan and the SOP's no longer cover, then fly the bloody thing and save the lives onboard, do what is required and get the thing on the ground asap. - I will never question the deviation from SOP when it is NEEDED in the interest of SAFETY. - That is even required by law.
I just find it amazing - as said by another before - that so many tries to intervent flying all over again. How many times are you guys in situations in daily flying where it is nessesarry to deviate due to safety of the a/c? And when you do, is that not actually covered by most SOP's anyway?When everybody starts to deviate because "we are trained to think and act as pilots, and we know much better than the procedures, - and, - sadly that someone sticks to SOP's just to cover their arses", then everybody is working away from each other and who knows whereabout you are and what you are doing??
I am not religious with the books at all, but i often fly into very difficult places in bad wx, and it is just a nightmare with a Captain that knows much better than the books. Experience is good, and mixed with good airmanship and crm I will claim that 999 out of 1000 flights can be done safely without having to be the new Chuck Yeager as so many seems to try and be. And if the company want to be configured in 1000' above, then what is the problem?? - I really dont see it. We also have a term with us stating " non-standard...bla bla bla " and that is still within the SOP's if it is used in the correct manner. So that gives room for different scenarios with busy approaches ect ect. They pay you to do a job and you accepted that when you signed the contract.
We are robots guys. If you want to FLY, then join the military or by yourself a biplane, because now when in the civil world with 200 paying pax in the back, then it is not about having fun enroute. It is about being a busdriver bringing self loading freight from A to B in the safest possible manner. THAT is what you get paid to do.
As I see it, then yes, break every SOP written in any books if that is what is required to come down in one piece. But if you became pilots to have freedom and manouvrespace as individuals, then you are 30 years too late into this business. May i suggest to convert to become building contractors then. They can intervent new methods as they go along , - not pilots
And Now I will have a massive attack for this post from 200 new testpilots
"climb higher, we can almost make it"