BA pilot grounded over undisclosed anger

[Mike Flynn]

Looks like he upset someone.


A British Airways (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/british_airways/index.html) captain has been grounded over allegations he covered up a history of sudden bouts of anger.

It is alleged that this would cause him to lash out without warning.

A whistleblower who contacted the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the organisation which oversees and regulates civilian flying in the UK, alleges that the captain's medical history of impulsive anger management failures have been removed from his record.

The man was reported to the CAA in January this year and the body, which issues licenses to fly to pilots provided they do not suffer from any physical or mental condition or illness that might impair their ability to fly, was obliged to inform BA about the allegations who barred the captain from flying while he is investigated.

Although it is understood he has not been formally suspended.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13206599/British-Airways-pilot-grounded-claims-covered-history-anger.html

[Chronic Snoozer]

Looks like he upset someone.You mean angered someone.

The moral police are everywhere.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13204299/British-Airways-pilot-porn-flight-London-Shanghai.html

[Mike Flynn]

You mean angered someone.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13204299/British-Airways-pilot-porn-flight-London-Shanghai.html

The Staines air disaster was the result of the captain’s emotional state.Anger is an emotion that has no place in any aircraft and that applies to passengers and crew.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_European_Airways_Flight_548

[sudden twang]

The Staines air disaster was the result of the captain’s emotional state.
I don’t believe that was ever proven hence the push for the introduction of CVRs.

I know this is a rumour forum but your statement comes across as a fact rather than a supposition albeit a not unreasonable one.

[Herod]

It's a bit unclear as to whether he has failed anger management courses, or this is just the GP's opinion. To what degree does he just "lash out"? I'm sure we have all been angry at times.

[FullWings]

I have met odd individuals during my career that seemed to get more wound up than others over events at work that they had little to no control over. Some ran between aircraft to try and recover the schedule and others went a shade of puce when there were technical defects; there was an underlying current of anger I suppose. These days people can get into a spiral of doom with too much echo-chamber use of social media reinforcing concerns that are mostly of little real impact or even imaginary.

It does seem that the occasional undesirable personality slips through the psychometric net, the “you looking at my girfriend!?” type who could start a fight in an empty room. The level-headed majority end up treading lightly around them - for me the acid test is how much I have to run through what I’m going to say to them in advance of saying it, in case it contains something that might trigger them.

[pax britanica]

Sudden twang

Well done for adding a correction/caution to that.
it was speculated that the Captains state of mind influenced what happened but it was never proven . Essentially he had a row in the crew room before departure but that was all that could be proven. As you point out CVRs are there largely because of this tragic incident

[ETOPS]

I had a long career with BA and, as a junior co-pilot, took full advantage of my "apprenticeship" to learn from the senior flight crew I worked with. The majority were level-headed professionals only too glad to pass on their experience...

However :rolleyes: There were a couple of old school skippers who you had to watch youself with. Shouting matches with the ground staff were always a clue as to how our day was going to turn out. The good side of these poor behaviours was I very quickly learned what worked and what didn't...

[BoeingDriver99]

Sounds like a cabin crew with an axe to grind and there are literally thousands in BA.

Why go straight to the CAA? Why make a conspiracy theory like claim that records have been removed? Why go to the DM of all “newspapers”?

Sounds like it’s a character assassination of a pilot who stood up to a BA mainline purser for once in their life. Sad state of affairs. I hope the pilot involved sues the DM and the individual involved for libel/slander as appropriate.

[hunterboy]

Would be useful to know more background about the case. As for the “soft-porn” link, I think many of us have been watching a Netflix movie when a semi naked body has appeared in the scene. Does that count as viewing soft porn ?

[olster]

ETOPS I could not agree more. A few individuals would lose the plot with other crew or ground staff for to my eyes no discernible reason. The captains I am talking about although few in number were either the light blue leisure airline of yore and then later and subsequently the then UK national carrier. Basically @rses.

[Magplug]

How could anybody get recruited as a pilot in this day and age with 'anger management' issues, let alone pass the rigours of a long command course?

The Captain was the subject of a whistleblower report to the CAA from an undisclosed source who alleged anger issues. The CAA have suspended his medical pending investigation and BA have been quoted as saying that the pilot is not suspended. The Captain in question is reportedly undergoing an acrimoneous divorce from his wife' who is also a pilot. After enquiries the CAA may find that the report was either, a) made in good faith, or b) made maliciously. If it is the latter, then the motivation and mental state of the reporter will almost certainly come under scrutiny.

[RatherBeFlying]

The Captain in question is reportedly undergoing an acrimoneous divorce from his wife Don't be giving the medical authorities any ideas. We might end up with medicals being suspended during divorce proceedings for who knows how long :eek:​​​​​​​

[Magplug]

RatherBeFlying

You make a good point about an occupational hazard in our profession. I have 7 or 8 good pilot friends that have suffered divorce, a couple of them divorced twice! It must be said that the majority had the fortitude to endure the process without affecting their performance. One however was in a bad way largely due to the completely unreasonable behaviour of his wife. In the end he was obliged to take out a restraining order against her as she was determined to do him both psychological and physical harm. He quite voluntarily went to see the CP and got a very sympathetic reception. The guy was put on reduced office duties until his head was sorted out. He was not angry, he was just a victim of a broken marriage.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

[king surf]

It must be very difficult going through a bitter divorce to keep focused week after week in a demanding job.

[LOWI]

The BA Captain is married to a pilot? No wonder he has anger issues. She probably sits on the left side of the sofa at home!

[White Knight]

The Staines air disaster was the result of the captain’s emotional state.

Possibly his emotional state exacerbated by angina; which believe me, is an extremely distressing feeling.

Heart trouble was mentioned during the investigation!

[Lookleft]

There is currently a case before the courts in Australia where an airline Captain is accused of murdering two people because they infringed his camping area in the bush. After that was made public there were plenty of anecdotes at the airline about how he would allegedly "lose his sh#$" at the smallest provocation. There was also a high profile manager who had a volatile temper that ultimately cost him his position within a large airline group. There is anger then there is irrational anger and in this day and age the tolerance for the latter is very small. As it should be.

[Mike Flynn]

Sounds like a cabin crew with an axe to grind and there are literally thousands in BA.

Why go straight to the CAA? Why make a conspiracy theory like claim that records have been removed? Why go to the DM of all “newspapers”?

Sounds like it’s a character assassination of a pilot who stood up to a BA mainline purser for once in their life. Sad state of affairs. I hope the pilot involved sues the DM and the individual involved for libel/slander as appropriate.

There is no evidence they went straight to the Daily Mail.In fact the story,which was later used on other news sites,originally appeared in the Sun.

It probably came from an agency as the majority of callers to newsrooms are time wasters.I doubt it was cabin crew crew and would put my money on someone much closer to home given his circumstances.National newspapers do not have the staff or time to go hunting stories and prefer agency copy that is already written and subbed ready to publish.

No names have been mentioned anywhere so there is nothing to sue over.

[krismiler]

A quote from the ops manual at my previous employer. "The sort of person who is frequently involved in disputes isn't suited to flying."

Years ago as a new F/O undergoing line training, I had a safety pilot on the jump seat who was reading a book on anger management. This guy had previously sworn at an air traffic controller who made him read back a clearance. This was at a joint use facility with military controllers and it didn't go down very well. He had to be flown back there at a later date and had to present himself in the commander's office and apologise to the controller involved.

​​​​​

[parkfell]

Possibly his emotional state exacerbated by angina; which believe me, is an extremely distressing feeling.

Heart trouble was mentioned during the investigation!

Capt Keys(?)was a senior captain (ex WW2?)had a full blown argument with a younger pilot in the crew room who was prepared to take him on about whether strike action should occur.
The heated argument clearly raised his blood pressure etc as he was probably not use to young whipper snapper’s expressing their views equally forcefully. Witnessed by his crew that day which set the tone.

[TURIN]

So what we have is a tittle tattle story scooped by the Sun, picked up by the Wail and now gossip being spread on a website forum by anonymous contributors?
Hmmm! 🤔
Edit. Just noted that GBeebies, the Metro and Birmingham Mail have also copy pasted this story.

[Mike Flynn]

So what we have is a tittle tattle story scooped by the Sun, picked up by the Wail and now gossip being spread on a website forum by anonymous contributors?
Hmmm! 🤔
Edit. Just noted that GBeebies, the Metro and Birmingham Mail have also copy pasted this story.
No smoke without fire and you can slate tabloids they are one of the most demanding newspapers to work on in the world.

I think this story emanates from someone very close to the pilot.

[TURIN]

Perhaps, but as the tabloids are notorious for telling outright lies every day, I'll take it with a pinch of salt until something more reputable picks it up.

[Abbey Road]

No smoke without fire and you can slate tabloids they are one of the most demanding newspapers to work on in the world.
Would that be because tabloid organisations chase stories of salacious irrelevance and fallacious tripe?

[Mike Flynn]

Perhaps, but as the tabloids are notorious for telling outright lies every day, I'll take it with a pinch of salt until something more reputable picks it up.

If they did they would be bankrupt. It’s very rare for a tabloid to be sued successfully.
There are various conspiracy theories about tabloid reporting but worldwide they report complicate details in layman’s language.

But in this case I am sure someone very close to the pilot was the instigator of the story.

[Mr Proach]

The BA Captain is married to a pilot? No wonder he has anger issues. She probably sits on the left side of the sofa at home!
How do you know his wife is a "she"?

[bluesideoops]

Video evidence released on this case https://youtu.be/RW39LEQ-aUA

[dr dre]

Capt Keys(?)was a senior captain (ex WW2?)had a full blown argument with a younger pilot in the crew room who was prepared to take him on about whether strike action should occur.
The heated argument clearly raised his blood pressure etc as he was probably not use to young whipper snapper’s expressing their views equally forcefully. Witnessed by his crew that day which set the tone.

Absolutely. Key had a notorious reputation in BEA as a dictatorial leader easily prone to anger. The argument he had in the briefing room with the First Officer (who was not part of the operating crew that day) was described by witnesses as “the most violent argument they’d ever observed”. Key’s two junior pilots onboard, who were aged just 24 and 22, observed this, and given Key’s reputation were probably too frightened to operate as effective crew lest they be on the receiving end of one of Key’s outbursts.

[dr dre]

How could anybody get recruited as a pilot in this day and age with 'anger management' issues, let alone pass the rigours of a long command course?

They play the game during training, sim checks and line checks. But once out on line when they’re the most senior pilot on the flight deck and with no one watching them over their shoulder they unveil their true personality.

The Captain in question is reportedly undergoing an acrimoneous divorce from his wife' who is also a pilot.

That’s no excuse. Plenty of crew go through relationship dramas, but only those have existing personality issues let their personal dramas affect their work life. I’d wager his anger management issues probably were the prime cause of his divorce.

[TURIN]

If they did they would be bankrupt. It’s very rare for a tabloid to be sued successfully.
There are various conspiracy theories about tabloid reporting but worldwide they report complicate details in layman’s language.

But in this case I am sure someone very close to the pilot was the instigator of the story.
Seriously?
They splash huge misleading headlines across front pages then a tiny retraction on page twelve when they get found out!

[Magplug]

That’s no excuse. Plenty of crew go through relationship dramas, but only those have existing personality issues let their personal dramas affect their work life. I’d wager his anger management issues probably were the prime cause of his divorce.


I worked for a Chief Pilot like you once..... He did not last long

[Discorde]

From 'How Airliners Fly' by Julien Evans:

Human factors

Humans differ from machines in that they do not always perform their activities in a predictable manner. To a very large extent this shortcoming can be overcome by training. In the operation of complex machinery such as airliners predictability is enhanced by the use of standard operating procedures (SOPs). Pilots and cabin crew come in all shapes and sizes and with differing personalities. By following SOPs, efficient and safe operation of the aircraft can be guaranteed regardless of the personalities of the individual crew members.

Another human failing is physiological and psychological variability. Persons unsuited by nature to the roles of pilot or cabin crew are normally filtered out by selection procedures. But even those who are chosen will not perform perfectly every time they go to work. However, professionalism demands that they do their best even if they are tired or angry or depressed, and doing their best means meeting or exceeding the minimum standards set.

Passengers too have a contribution to make. For example, they can take the trouble to pay attention to the safety demonstration before take-off and to read the safety card - just in case. And by reciprocating the courtesy and consideration which the cabin crew extend to them they can help build a comfortable ambience in the cabin, to the benefit of all parties. Remember that the steward or stewardess who is serving you your meal may also be the one who helps to save your life in an emergency.

The trickiest human problem is that of crew fatigue, which can be defined as debilitating tiredness. A pilot who is tired but not overtired will be able to perform his or her tasks properly, taking extra care to compensate for lack of freshness. But the very ability to self-monitor is degraded by fatigue and herein lies the danger. In other words a fatigued pilot might not be aware that he or she is performing badly. There is a degree of protection in the presence of the other pilot in the crew, one of whose primary duties is to draw attention to errors or omissions made by their colleague. If both pilots in a crew are fatigued the implications for flight safety are obvious, particularly if their workload is compounded by factors such as technical problems or bad weather or making an approach into a difficult airport.

For this reason the regulatory authorities set maximum permitted durations of duty period for pilots. These maxima are governed by factors such as the time of day (or night) the duty commences and how many legs (take-offs and landings) are to be carried out. The cabin crew must have similar protections because they too might have to carry out emergency duties at the end of the duty period. For very long flights, the rules demand the presence of an extra pilot in the crew to allow in-flight relief for the other two. Minimum lengths of rest periods between duties are also specified.

[AndoniP]

How do you know his wife is a "she"?

Wives are "she's", husbands are "he's", that's why.

In all seriousness, I've not seen anything online regarding same-sex married couples flying for BA, you'd think their PR department would be all over that.

[Squawk7777]

Sounds like a cabin crew with an axe to grind and there are literally thousands in BA.

Why go straight to the CAA? Why make a conspiracy theory like claim that records have been removed? Why go to the DM of all “newspapers”?

Sounds like it’s a character assassination of a pilot who stood up to a BA mainline purser for once in their life. Sad state of affairs. I hope the pilot involved sues the DM and the individual involved for libel/slander as appropriate.

What are the legal character protections in the UK or at BA? What about accusing a colleague of being alcoholic? Are BA and/or the CAA automatically revoking ones medical fitness?

We're all human and are exposed to various types of stress, which doesn't necessarily only boil down to divorce. When I was MIA based, I have known a few guys who were quite happy to get rid of the other half, so they had complete freedom to enjoy life south of the border.
My biggest personal stress was the unexpected passing of my father. Although it has been almost five years, I am still in the process of accepting his death. I have become quiet on the flightdeck, which some first officers might interpret as me not liking them.

As far as emotional outburst go, you don't have to show angry outburst to be an a$$hole. There are a few pilots at my airline that can attest to that, a common indication though is those characters voluntarily wearing their hat (optional). Some guys are just weird, just before I got promoted to LHS I flew with a few older skippers who believed in the Sasquatch (https://a.co/d/9nFWKTm) and wouldn't stop talking about it every time we flew to MAO. Others believed the mothership was hiding in the CB cloud and requested additional lateral clearance to not anger ... nevermind. But those guys with their weird beliefs turned out to be really good pilots although I am not sure they would have passed the airline psychological exam.

[BoeingDriver99]

There is no evidence they went straight to the Daily Mail.In fact the story,which was later used on other news sites,originally appeared in the Sun.

My mistake; I didn’t realise the torrid tale came from such an esteemed bastion of truth & honour such as the Sun.

[B Fraser]

If they did they would be bankrupt. It’s very rare for a tabloid to be sued successfully.

The UK libel laws are particularly aggressive and this country is known for "libel tourism" e.g. SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). See numerous examples of books published elsewhere, that cannot be sold in the UK due to court orders etc. I still have my illicit copy of Spycatcher somewhere. See also this forum where a particular airline shall never be mentioned in anything but glowing terms.

The Staines Trident crash was due to the Captain bringing in the leading edge droops, which was not called out by either of the two junior crew on the flight deck. They either did not notice (unlikely IMHO) or the gradient of command was an inhibiting factor.

[Right20deg]

Agreed. It was also when, during post mortem of the crew, arterial clogging was evident in the Captain and research on cholesterol , cause and effect went into another phase.

[Mr Good Cat]

The Staines Trident crash was due to the Captain bringing in the leading edge droops, which was not called out by either of the two junior crew on the flight deck. They either did not notice (unlikely IMHO) or the gradient of command was an inhibiting factor.

Was this able to be proven though? If I recall correctly the aircraft had a limited FDR and no CVR, and although the droops were found retracted I thought that the scenario of the Captain retracting them was a 'best guess'?

[blind pew]

A lot of rubbish posted re Stan Key..you guys should read the thread.. Staines, UK 1972, June 18th.
It would now be classed as a “training accident” with foolish procedures, an untrained second officer who was forced upon captains at the time under threat of suspension and wasn’t legally qualified.
I was bullied and humiliated by a manager in the middle of the crew room a few months after the accident having asked to be replaced as I was bullied on the flight deck by a little jock ex Sargent pilot who had been posted down from Scotland after 2/3rds of the experienced first officers had refused to fly with him although I didn’t know that at the time.
Part of the problem was ex short service pilots who were never offered permanent commissions running management; it continued for years and those who know the story of an infamous fleet manager suddenly disappearing off the scene aided by a posse of copilots threatening management and the authority with going to the press showed that nothing had changed in two decades.

[Auxtank]

The Staines air disaster was the result of the captain’s emotional state.Anger is an emotion that has no place in any aircraft and that applies to passengers and crew.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_European_Airways_Flight_548

And the absence of an abilty to question or contradict seniority. Thank goodness it was one of events that CRM grew from.

[hunterboy]

Well, these managers were still alive and well in BA until fairly recently….i remember getting shouted at in the middle of the crew room by a senior Flt Ops Tech manager for the crime of parking in a car park that he deemed me not to be worthy of. The look on his face when I fished out my temporary car park pass was a sight to behold. Skipper told me later I should have walked out of the room and taken it further . Life is too short though. Funnily enough, he didn’t last long either.

[Discorde]

The Staines accident is examined in detail in this thread:

https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/488300-g-arpi-trident-tragedy-40-years-ago-today.html

[blind pew]

ttps://www.pprune.org/showthread.php?t=647322&referrerid=337296
thanks discorde but this is the later thread where I added another observation after a mate died paragliding with a heart condition that mirrored what I saw in Stan the day before papa india..don’t know how to post the link properly
https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/647322-staines-uk-1972-june-18th.html

[bean]

The UK libel laws are particularly aggressive and this country is known for "libel tourism" e.g. SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation). See numerous examples of books published elsewhere, that cannot be sold in the UK due to court orders etc. I still have my illicit copy of Spycatcher somewhere. See also this forum where a particular airline shall never be mentioned in anything but glowing terms.

The Staines Trident crash was due to the Captain bringing in the leading edge droops, which was not called out by either of the two junior crew on the flight deck. They either did not notice (unlikely IMHO) or the gradient of command was an inhibiting factor.
There is no proof of who retracted the droops whatsoever

[Mike Flynn]

And the absence of an abilty to question or contradict seniority. Thank goodness it was one of events that CRM grew from.

The days of arrogant former military people still adopting their rank and attitude in daily life are thankfully long gone.I can imagine Keys struggling to come to terms with junior ranks daring to question or indeed argue with him and his blood pressure being through the roof.I grew up in the fifties and sixties in country villages where those who didn’t have a peerage or knighthood would use their ex military ranks such as captain,major and colonel to embellish their status.

In some parts of the world the attitude that you’re not allowed to question your elders still exists

That of course was the reason for the One,Two,Go Flight 269 disaster at Phuket,Thailand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-Two-Go_Airlines_Flight_269

Asia has an issue that elevates respect for seniors .The Korean culture has two features—respect for seniority and age, and quite an authoritarian style," said Thomas Kochan, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "You put those two together, and you may get more one-way communication—and not a lot of it upward,"Executives of South Korea’s Asiana Airlines (https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/.FKRX300/) say they’re altering its pilot training program to encourage communication among senior managers and subordinates, after a July plane crash in San Francisco that killed three people and injured dozens.

A U.S. hearing into the crash revealed one of the pilots said he did not feel he had the authority to abort a low-speed landing as individuals at a “higher level” had to make that decision, .


https://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/10/asiana-airlines-to-pursue-cockpit-culture-changes-after-us-crash.html

This is an interesting discussion and I wish to point out we know nothing about the BA captain who may well be the victim of a malicious attempt to ruin his career.

[Right20deg]

MF : Agreed. It is one of the reasons Cathay Horrific was populated by young British airline pilots in the late 70s and early 80s. The local talent habitually deferred to authority. Not good.
Major UK airlines commenced their own CRM training using NASA, Bob Helmreich and James Reason to push for the correct attitudes and behaviours. Medical teams looked at what was going on, but stubbornly remained about 20 years behind aviation until the last decade. Now it is mandatory to have Human Factors training. Just took so long.

[Blackfriar]

Sudden twang

Well done for adding a correction/caution to that.
it was speculated that the Captains state of mind influenced what happened but it was never proven . Essentially he had a row in the crew room before departure but that was all that could be proven. As you point out CVRs are there largely because of this tragic incident
Wasn't the heart attack a bigger contributor to the crash?

[Prob30Tempo TSRA]

Anger is a fairly standard human emotion within limits . I’d consider this reporting crossing the line

[dr dre]

Anger is a fairly standard human emotion within limits . I’d consider this reporting crossing the line

But not anger directed inappropriately at co-workers. Given the propensity for the Captain to “lash out without warning” this would have a detrimental effect on safety.

[B Fraser]

There is no proof of who retracted the droops whatsoever

The extract from the AAIB report reads.....

"(1) The abnormal heart condition of Captain Key leading to lack of concentration and impaired judgement sufficient to account for his toleration of the speed errors and to his retraction of, or order to retract, the droops in mistake for the flaps."

Trident I G-ARPI: Main document (fss.aero) (https://www.fss.aero/accident-reports/dvdfiles/GB/1972-06-18-UK.pdf)

[Mike Flynn]

The extract from the AAIB report reads.....

"(1) The abnormal heart condition of Captain Key leading to lack of concentration and impaired judgement sufficient to account for his toleration of the speed errors and to his retraction of, or order to retract, the droops in mistake for the flaps."

Trident I G-ARPI: Main document (fss.aero) (https://www.fss.aero/accident-reports/dvdfiles/GB/1972-06-18-UK.pdf)

Added to the fact the culture at the time resulted in the junior crew not taking action themselves to immediately question what was happening until it was too late.Similar to flight OG269 at Phuket,Thailand.

[stiglet]

If as Mr Good Cat implies in #39 that PI did not have a CVR, which is what I recall, and no one survived, then where is the information that the captain either retracted the droops or called for them to be retracted by mistake? The order in which the scenario unfolded, which no one really knows, is surely crucial to who did what.

[Mike Flynn]

If as Mr Good Cat implies in #39 that PI did not have a CVR, which is what I recall, and no one survived, then where is the information that the captain either retracted the droops or called for them to be retracted by mistake? The order in which the scenario unfolded, which no one really knows, is surely crucial to who did what.

The buck stops with the captain who was a very experienced pilot and in charge of that fatal flight.

[stiglet]

Absolutely Mike, I wasn't trying to apportion blame anywhere. The comment was made that the captain actually did something or called for something that was complied with, maybe he was not 'in charge', or more likely 'in control' because he was incapacitated by a heart attack. My point was that if the first issue the crew had was a captain becoming incapacitated then everything that followed and who did what is unknown. This inexperienced crew had the misfortune to be confronted with multiple issues, one likely influenced by another, at the worse possible time in the flight.

[hec7or]

If I recall correctly from reading the Staines AIB report, Captain was assumed to be PF and the wire FDR readout indicated that several attempts were made to fly the anticipated pitch attitude for flap retraction but this produced a descent due to the LE devices being retracted which the crew would not have expected and a higher than normal attitude was adopted to maintain at least level flight which resulted in a loss of airspeed. PF was clearly confused but not incapacitated, normal SOP would require PF to call for PM to retract TE/LE devices.

[Magplug]

The power of social media is utterly amazing...... The number of guilty verdicts that can be extrapolated from one, unsubstantiated report, is quite breathtaking.

[bean]

The extract from the AAIB report reads.....

"(1) The abnormal heart condition of Captain Key leading to lack of concentration and impaired judgement sufficient to account for his toleration of the speed errors and to his retraction of, or order to retract, the droops in mistake for the flaps."

Trident I G-ARPI: Main document (fss.aero) (https://www.fss.aero/accident-reports/dvdfiles/GB/1972-06-18-UK.pdf)
No. There is no way of knowing who moved the droop lever other than it was one of the three pilots. you have not read the report thoroughly

[Mike Flynn]

No. There is no way of knowing who moved the droop lever other than it was one of the three pilots. you have not read the report thoroughly

That’s true. However looking at the experience of the crew we can draw our own conclusions.
Captain Key was aged 51 and had 15,000 flying hours (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_hours) experience, including 4,000 on Tridents. Keighley was aged 22 and had joined line flying a month and a half earlier, with 29 hours as P2. Ticehurst was aged 24 and had over 1,400 hours, including 750 hours on Tridents

Key would have immediately noticed the problem unless he was incapacitated.The other two were far too inexperienced.

[Thud105]

I wouldn't call 1,400 hours TT, and 750 hours on type 'inexperienced'.

[ETOPS]

Yes but if he was operating as SPO and the new chap as P2 ?

[krismiler]

There was a theory that the Captain still had his hands on the controls which were moving because the autopilot was flying the aircraft. Because of this it may not have obvious that he was incapacitated.

There was also some sarcastic humour going around concerning how a copilot was supposed to know that the Captain was dead.

Modern SOPs with challenge and response calls, and CRM training hopefully mean something similar won’t happen again.

[OntimeexceptACARS]

Some years ago I spent a career break working as a dispatcher in Scotland, where we got to know a lot of the based crews well. One particular one, known to us as 'Stormin Norman', a captain with a now defunct Gash 8 operator, had a particularly brusque and unpleasant manner with many of us.

One day he had a go at me for no good reason, and I have to admit that I bit. "Listen Norman, I don't have to do this job. I like it, but you don't get to speak to me like that. I have a college degree and more than 20 years management experience. Now change your attitude or I am walking off your flight and you'll be late home. Again." Or words to that effect. Uncharacteristically, I managed that without profanity.

Y'know, he was a pussycat after that. I just hoped his CRM was better than his attitude to ground staff. Everyone is just trying to make a living, after all.

[Magplug]

I find that First Officers are rarely shy. If they have recently flown with a Captain that is a bit of a nightmare they are never slow in coming forward with their stories when we fly together. Trouble is, being a Captain I have never flown with any of them on the line so I cannot judge for myself. The few skippers I know that developed a reputation I have always found very pleasant away from an aircraft. I can only guess the added stress of sitting in that LHS can turn some quite reasonable people into CRM nightmares. I think it is a question of how easy you find the job. A guy that is not very capable or is poor at prioritising is likely to be spending most of his day sat at the very edge of his seat, whereas the more capable guy is able to chill and process tasks in a much more relaxed fashion.

[Bergerie1]

Magplug, I believe you to be right - at least that was my experience.

[MerseyView]

I remember flying whilst going through a divorce, Luckily, I had a non-flying accident at home which resulted in a broken bone and a couple of months off work. If it hadn't been for that, I'm sure something very unpleasant would have happened. I shouldn't have been anywhere near an aircraft at the time without counselling/help, and neither should anyone else. An individual under intense stress is the last person to realize it.

[rigpiggy]

http://www.quickmeme.com/img/af/aff2b3538b7ba57204e9ba9de6674829daa99446725bad4655e97d49c169 8697.jpg