I talked to one of the guys in the flight deck of that flight. It was the late 90's back in US when we spoke- he had some years to reflect. The way he described the fatigue was powerful - scary - he said they were essentially incapacitated by it.
Funnily enough because of his honesty & humility he was hired by the FAA as an inspector and passed on his experiences to those who followed, his insight was valued and used to help the next generation learn and improve.
Different time different place.
The Complacency email today was another groan moment in a long line of primitive man mgt that is embedded in the culture here. Yes it was polite and well written but...
One cannot help but feel it's anothr "lazy pilots" moment - which ATC referred to us at that fateful meeting all those years ago that has changed fit ops since.
Moscow was a serious incident and the msg today unfortunately does not bode well for the poor guys caught in the crosshairs regardless of their errors or lack thereof.
Family lives upended - we hope not.
I looked up the opposite of COMPLACENCY the best the web could come up with was yahoo.answers => MOTIVATED
So the third/ninth floor needs to fight complacency by motivating.
You do not do that by:
Downgrading 330 skippers due seat number change
Reneging on the Freighter contract
Offering more money to those outside the property than on.
Flying pilots to the bone for 5 years with a mantra - don't like it leave
Discontinue Housing allowances for those planning to use it
Create a Punitive culture - final warning for operational errors over intentional misdeeds
Delay upgrade for 1 sim repeat - by two years
Neglect to write to the pilots and explain the current education allowance which has been done every July since mid noughties
Neglect to write the pay review letter
Let 100's of the most experienced pilots go without offering a lifestyle roster balance
Fail to keep up with inflation, in fact fall far behind.
Fail to back a skipper over a VIP customer.
Lowering minimums to a regional level
The list goes on.
Correcting the above will cost some money but infinitely less than the consequences if the complacency continues.
The echo that seems to be ringing throughout the halls lately - only a matter of time.
Signs of low morale and endemic complacency are to be found regularly.
Stop shoddy treatment of pilots, respect contracts - motivation will follow - it's called long term investing.
Red carpet @ HQ to MOL here a coupe of years ago - how ironic in today's world.
Last edited by fliion; 17th Sep 2017 at 19:11.