Junkflyer:
I've chatted with two pilots who were 727 Captains at Champion, others flew years ago at Connie (Learjets) etc among many others. It sounds like few Captains had the backbone to tell Dispatch that 13-15 hours on duty was enough. One guy said that Dispatch yelled at him over the phone when he decided not to fly an extra leg and get the plane approaching a Florida city refueled and fly back to PHL or such.
As for the apparent nature of many bosses, never mind worrying about keeping your job if a Learjet engine flames out and you decide to 'declare an emergency' at FL 350...the boss would not be happy at all about the paper-work required for the FAA, and documents on engine maintenance...most pilots simply demanded a lower altitude with 'Center' and did a restart. In one episode, all three DC-8 crewmembers and the mechanic stood together, in order to convince Mr. Kallitta that there was no elevator hydraulic pressure and the plane would not rotate unless repaired.
One lady pilot told me that a young, intimidated Captain she worked with years ago somewhere else briefly considered a 1-engine takeoff in a small 2-engine cargo jet! The other engine would not start, and he was almost afraid to create problems by grounding the jet!
