Full text of the article in the South China Morning Post
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Double standard denied over manager's flying error
VICTORIA BUTTON
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A Cathay Pacific manager who last week demoted a pilot for misreading his roster was recently involved in an incident over landing gear - but received only an informal verbal admonishment.
The airline yesterday confirmed that general manager, flying, Captain Rick Fry, had failed to notice before flying a plane that a pin fastening the gear in the down position had not been removed.
Cathay's director of corporate development, Tony Tyler, confirmed the incident had been subject of a written notice to all pilots, a video and a report to the Civil Aviation Department.
In this case, a flag attached to the pin had not been visible from a distance as was normal, he said.
He added that the May flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur had proceeded without incident, with the landing gear down all the way.
The Aircrew Officers' Association general secretary, John Findlay, said rank-and-file pilots felt they would have been sacked in the current climate for such an error, but Mr Tyler denied any double standard. The airline generally avoided using disciplinary procedures to deal with flying mistakes to encourage pilots to be open about - and learn from - them, he said.