TuiFly 737 - Pilot incap/Stewardess Assisted Landing - Report Released

[configsafenot]

A TuiFly fright from Hannover to Mallorca late last year experienced issues when the copilot passed out after going to the toilet, in a nutshell, the pilot was assisted in landing by one of the cabin crew and the plane landed safely.

Flugzeugführer fällt im Flug aus: Stewardess springt für Kopiloten ein - n-tv.de (http://www.n-tv.de/panorama/Stewardess-springt-fuer-Kopiloten-ein-article19769167.html)

[Octane]

I'm sure it would make interesting reading, sadly I don't speak German...

[Denti]

Not much information. An FO had a low blood pressure episode on an early PMI flight in french airspace after he went to the loo. A flight attendant took his seat and read the checklists while the flight ended with a normal landing at the destination. Apparently the flight attendant had some "flight safety" training internally and will receive a thank you gift from the company. And VC stresses that pilots are perfectly able to fly a jet solo if needed and that that is part of their training while TUI said that the safety of the flight was at no point in danger.

The FO proceeded home on the next day.

[noflynomore]

Never understood the rationale behind getting cc involved in reading checklists.
They are not familiar with them, often don't know where to find them on the card, stumble over reading/pronunciation and have no idea if the response is correct or not (beyond what is written which is merely the verbal bit and not in any way a check that the acton has in fact been executed), can have virtually no input in monitoring anything at all and are thus surely more likely to increase the PH's stress levels than doing it himself, unless it is to make him feel less lonely.
I wonder if it is more a product of doctrine that checklists are only "safe" if two people are involved rather than a practical aid to a single pilot landing when surely you can rely on the remaining pilot to be at max alertness in getting things right?
I always found it a severe pita when handling this exercise in the sim.

[john_tullamarine]

.. which is why some of us always made sure the intake/initial command pilot didn't leave that first endorsement program without demonstrating a practical and appropriate (to seat) single pilot emergency recovery competence.

Even the 200 hour cadet could be worked up to a level of confidence and competence to get the aircraft back on the ground without too much difficulty in adverse conditions.

Usually involved a bit of grovelling to the sim techs to get some extra time in the box ...

Certainly allowed the instructor to go home and sleep peacefully.