Delta: pilot locked out of cockpit

[Sikpilot]

Delta: Pilot Locked Out Of Cockpit In Flight From MN To Las Vegas « CBS Minnesota (http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/01/29/delta-pilot-locked-out-of-cockpit-in-flight-from-mn-to-las-vegas/)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Delta Air Lines flight traveling from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Las Vegas has landed safely at its destination after the pilot was unable to reenter the cockpit, according to the airline.
According to a statement from Delta, prior to the plane’s final approach the captain was not able to enter the flight deck due to a door jam. The First Officer, or co-pilot, was able to then take control and land the aircraft safely without incident.
“A commercial aircraft can be landed with one pilot at the control and Delta pilots are fully trained to do so if the situation were to occur,” Delta said.
The door will be evaluated by Delta maintenance technicians.

[Gulfstreamaviator]

did he sit in econ for landing?

[Exascot]

I know of an incident where the captain was sitting pretty incapacitated on the toilet for the landing. Considering who the principle passenger was that would have made headline news if it had 'leaked out' :E

[Jet Jockey A4]

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - A Delta Air Lines Inc jet ended its flight from Minneapolis to Las Vegas on Thursday with its captain locked out of his cockpit, the airline said.

The pilot, who was not identified, left the cockpit prior to the final landing approach of Delta Flight 1651 but "was not able to re-enter the flight deck because of a door jam," the airline said in a statement explaining the mishap.

The first officer of the plane, which was carrying 160 passengers, took control and landed the aircraft safely at McCarran International Airport, without further incident, the airline said.

"A commercial aircraft can be landed with one pilot at the control and Delta pilots are fully trained to do so if the situation were to occur," Delta said in its statement.

But Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the agency declared an emergency for the Delta crew when the mishap occurred and would be investigating the incident.

Delta said the cockpit door would be evaluated by airline maintenance technicians.


https://ca.news.yahoo.com/delta-air-lines-pilot-locked-cockpit-las-vegas-030447297--finance.html

[Mr Optimistic]

Presumably also remedial training on bladder management?

[Dimitri Cherchenko]

Delta Air Lines flight heading from Minneapolis to Las Vegas was forced to make an emergency landing today after the pilot was locked out of the cockpit, airport officials said.

The call about Flight 1651 came in around 12:10 p.m. and the plane landed safely at McCarran International Airport around 12:25 p.m., officials told ABC affiliate KTNV.

The cockpit door malfunctioned, locking the pilot out of the cockpit, airport officials told KTNV, noting that the first officer made the landing.

"About half way through [the 2.5-hour flight] there seemed to be some talking at the front of the plane. You could see the captain out there," passenger Jesse Dougherty told ABC News. "There wasn't a huge panic but some confusion."

The captain explained to the passengers that the door was jammed and he couldn't get back in, Dougherty said, adding: "It was very, very bizarre."

When the first officer made the landing "perfectly," the passengers broke out into spontaneous applause, Dougherty said.

Because the first officer was accustomed to the controls on the right seat of the cockpit, he remained there, the crew explained to passengers. That meant the only issue was a lack of taxiing controls once on the ground, necessitating a tow from the runway to the gate, Dougherty said.

No one was injured and there were 168 people on board the plane, officials said.

The source of the jammed door was a piece of string that was found near the door by the maintenance crew, passenger Jonathan Thalacker told ABC News.

The aircraft was an MD-90, airport spokeswoman Christine Crews told ABC News.

"There was a door malfunctioned that locked the captain out so the first officer had to do an unassisted landing," Crews said. "We take everything very seriously. This was an unusual landing. He called the airport so that we would have ground response available."


Delta Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Pilot Locked Out of Cockpit - ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/US/delta-plane-makes-emergency-landing-pilot-locked-cockpit/story?id=28590807)

[Voel]

I thought the first officer is a qualified pilot as well. So what was the emergency?

[bobwi]

Voel, if in a multi cockpit airplane you have a situation where either pilot is alone, it is a emergency. If it would have been the fo who would have been left outside it would still be an emergency, because you need two pilots for normal operation.

If you have an engine failure you also declare an emergency, despite the fact that the airplane can fly on the remaining engine....

[susier]

Re cause for alarm, wouldn't an initial concern be that the FO could have taken some sort of action deliberately to exclude the Skipper? (taking your point seriously Phiggs)


I mean it was probably fairly obviously not the case and established as a technical glitch within moments, but I imagine malfunctioning doors are in themselves almost as unusual as a hijacking.

[lincman]

Odd, and almost unbelievable, the copilot, after coming to a stop, didn't set the brakes and move to the LH seat and taxi the aircraft to the gate.

Reminds me of a US wide body to be delivered to a UK airline with only LH seat steering tiller. The CAA requirements at the time (early 70s) were for both LH and RH tillers to be installed, so the aircraft had to be modified before delivery. One of the few CAA requirements/differences that made sense.

[fireflybob]

Odd, and almost unbelievable, the copilot, after coming to a stop, didn't set the brakes and move to the LH seat and taxi the aircraft to the gate.

He probably wasn't qualified in the LH seat. Insurance implications if he biffs anything on the taxi back to the ramp?

[JW411]

And, in some aircraft it is not possible to set the park brake from the right seat.

[mseyfang]

Odd, and almost unbelievable, the copilot, after coming to a stop, didn't set the brakes and move to the LH seat and taxi the aircraft to the gate...


I'd say he (or she) knew when to quit while they were ahead. Successfully handling a solo landing makes one a hero; successfully making the landing and screwing up the taxi makes one a villain with poor judgment. A good call IMO.

[DaveReidUK]

what type was it

See post #1. MD-90.

[rhanson]

Not understanding why they wouldn't just kick the plate. Where was the axe? Of course the FO can land on his own. But surely a broken door with 2 able crew would be better CRM than Captain standing in the hallway for an hour, no?

[con-pilot]

Odd, and almost unbelievable, the copilot, after coming to a stop, didn't set the brakes and move to the LH seat and taxi the aircraft to the gate.

Reminds me of a US wide body to be delivered to a UK airline with only LH seat steering tiller. The CAA requirements at the time (early 70s) were for both LH and RH tillers to be installed, so the aircraft had to be modified before delivery. One of the few CAA requirements/differences that made sense.

I do not believe that taxing into a cramped, very busy ramp to a gate with just one pilot in the cockpit would be a very wise idea. Also most likely against company operations specs.

No matter which seat they were in.

[KenM]

Well, he wouldn't have to taxi it all the way to the jet bridge, but maybe just off the runway and sorta near the gate?

[Armchairflyer]

And if anything goes wrong there, he or she will probably be severely b******d, maybe even considerably more so than if the entitled left-seat person has a mishap. IMHO good call regarding the convenience-safety tradeoff (even if maybe mostly safety from legal hassle*).

* and of course from a PPRuNe sh*tstorm in case something had gone wrong during the "improvised" taxi.

[The Dominican]

For the life of me I can't comprehend all this arguments about why he didn't taxi to the gate nonsense....! Simple, because he is a professional pilot, that's why!
The airplane is safe on the ground, his emergency authority is done, and he is NOT certified under the part to operate the A/C from the left seat, besides the fact that all companies have strict language about abandoning the seat while the A /C is being operated so how is he going to do that? With the engines running? That constitute the A/C being operated and him abandoning the seat even if it is only for a few seconds....., I know that these are rare events but I hope that every F/O out there that is reading these discussions understand that if you find yourself in a similar situation due to pilot incapacitation or anything like that, coordinates with his ops. to bring the A/C to a stop, shut the thing down, and don't undertake any additional liability that you are not certified for..., that is just plain stupid :=

[Guttler]

Surely Insurance worries go out the window once the Emergency is declared. If it was a normal situation, then sure the insurance companies would have a concern as to why he was in the Left, but not they wouldnt have a leg to stand on in an Abnormal situation

[The Dominican]

The abnormal situation and the emergency authority ended when the a/c was safely on the ground..! Emergency authority is very specific:=