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View Full Version : What Pilots Want - after 9-1-1


safecockpit
9th Nov 2001, 04:34
Everything changed on September 11.
The pilot profession is at the epicenter of the "new thinking" aimed at neutralizing terrorist turmoil in the skies.
New theories abound in aviation industry brainstorming sessions since 9-1-1 /2001. And whatever decisions are made will be forced upon pilots just like some of the "emergency" actions taken so far.

12 years ago I was on the initial Boeing engineering team defining the 777 airplane with our 8 key airlines. For 8 years I've been working with airline pilots, flt ops, & engineering groups in technical and safety matters.

Maybe you are a bit skeptical about some of the hijack-neutralizing "solutions" being promoted by industry vocals, some claiming to speak for the pilot community. Is secretary Mineta's Rapid Response Team truly hearing what the pilots really want, or just what ALPA or airline management voices "think" they want ?

In this day of worldwide email instant communications, it'd be simple to obtain rapid yet unbiased and unfiltered feedback DIRECTLY from pilots ! But is it being done from independent sources ?
If worldwide pilots' consensus was known (and statistically valid) for each of the major proposals to ensure cockpit security, energies could be focused within the industry to get there quicker, instead of endlessly debating the issues and/or implementing solutions pilots don't prefer.

A 777 assistant chief pilot at a major airline helped me develop a pilot survey to quantify worldwide pilot opinion on everything from gun-toting pilots (or cabin crew!!) to remote-controlling the airplane from the ground. There is even an opportunity for pilots to input ideas which did not make it to the Mineta RRTeam floor.

If you'd like to make your opinion count on this critical subject, send a blank email to [email protected] with a subject line of "Send Survey" to receive a self-explanatory email survey. You'll also be invited to view the final research results. This is short fused, with an end date of Dec 1, so don't put it off.
[email protected]