View Full Version : Pilot late for flight !! (safe or what ?)
deanofs
14th Dec 2006, 06:48
Flew Easy Jet to Geneva last Thursday evening (from Liverpool) and once we had all boarded strapped in etc, the captain came on and did the usual welcome speech, including that the First Officer would fly the route...and said we were just waiting for one crew member to arrive...once he was here we were off...20 minutes later up the steps came the FO, direct from a taxi from Stansted.
Is this allowed ? I thought the Captn and FO had to do all the pre flight brief together, weather etc, FMC...We pushed back within 10-15 mins of FO boarding
Any answers appreciated
Quite safe and a 'fact of life' with sickness and getting replacement crew. In an airline with 'SOPs' (qv), 10-15 mins is more than adequate for what you describe. I would put your mind at rest. Sounds 'spot on' to me. Captain has everything set up, pre-flight external inspection done; F/O arrives and looks at weather/fuel/route etc; operates sector IAW company SOPs.
TightSlot
14th Dec 2006, 08:19
May I echo BOAC's comments. This kind of thing happens and is managed by those involved. I've seen the same happen with a Captain - after a 5 hour delay on the ground he arrived off call-out: There was a huge amount of pressure from both Operations and Ground Handling to expedite departure. This was back-burnered in favor of a proper (i.e. not rushed) briefing and solid preparation and checks - it was fascinating to watch, and also impressive.
huckleberry58
15th Dec 2006, 18:46
Happened to me. I was on standby and got the call up for a flight to Delhi 50mins before departure time!! Had to hustle to the airport and straight to the plane. By the time we pushed back we were 17mins late.
flybywire
16th Dec 2006, 11:52
It used to happen all the time when I was working for my previous airline. Lack of flight crew meant we also had to delay many flights, even by 15-30 minutes to let the poor sod achieve minimum rest between flights. Bad planning, I know, but it is more common than you think.
It takes one pilot to do the flight preparations and then brief the other pilot before the flight. It happens fairly regularly and SOPs allow for this, so do not worry :ok: