What do pilots do that 'irk' you?

[ConwayB]

Hi guys and girls,

I have posted three threads along the same lines as this on three forums with the intention of collating the answers and using them as lessons in my CRM courses.

The question is: What is it that pilots do that 'irk' you?

I am sure one of your greatest bugbears is the unserviceability/endorsement on the maintenance release that does not provide enough information for you to chase down the problem.

For example: "Strange noise heard in cockpit."

"What noise? What stage of flight? Whereabouts in the cockpit did you hear it? What did it sound like? Did you hear it over the ICS or through your headphones? A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION PLEASE!

I'm sure there's a lot of instances where a pilot's actions (or inactions) have caused problems - like not reporting overspeeds, or operating the aircraft incorrectly, etc, etc.

Please feel free to vent your spleen. The other forums are in the ATC and D and G Reporting Points and Rotorheads forums under similar titles.

Cheers
ConwayB

[Mr.Brown]

-Using "Emergency" torch's to do their walk arounds. As far as I'm aware walk arounds do not constitute an emergency.
-Entering in the tech log, that a coat hangar is missing from the flight deck!
-Not cleaning up after themselves.
-Being incapable of adding up flight times correctly (there is only 60mins in an hour).
- Entering into the tech log on arrival, "unable to do correct preflight as wheel well too dirty" and yet signing the preflight anyway.

[yachtno1]

Stealing the batteries for the ANR headsets and the wipes for their computers at home !

[TURIN]

Hd a similar thing happen to me. I too stopped mid sentance. Got up and walked off the flight deck. It's not just bloody rude it's damn dangerous.

Any way what irks me the most is when after they have called me "Eng" they get all upset when I call them "Piles".

[Mr.Brown]

I hate when I have to write "ADD already refers" or "already entered in damage charts".
You think pilots could actually read the ADD's first or look at the damage charts before leaving an open entry.

[Fargoo]

Majority of our flight crew are excellent but there are the odd ones who like to keep things short (saves ink from the freebie hotel pen).

Don't need to write War and Peace but a what, where , when does. Mostly it's the ones who just write the what that bug me a little. Helps enormously if we know where in the flight it happened (climb,cruise,descent etc..) and / or when it happened.

Lastly the ones who nab the choccy biccies and leave nowt but an empty wrapper on the flight decks for us engs' - very inconsiderate

[Toolman101]

Most pilots are OK,it's the one who look down on you and think you are one step up from the sewer that give me the hump. Last I heard we where all human.

[Ladytech]

"INOP" systems

I love the guys that call you out on a system not working
that is not even turned ON, or the ones that write up a system
as faulty because they don't know how to do a proper test!
Only in America!

[Golden Rivet]

Anyone who walks past you without even an acknowledgment, oh, and of course, any Australian pilots

[PhilM]

"Are you catering?"

[Chopper Doc Junior]

Should the title not read apart from breathing?

[vs69]

Philm , classic comment! The standard reply I guess would be 'No im in charge of de-catering.....'

[sevenforeseven]

vs69, not a mate of that spannersatvs are we?

[GuppyEng.com]

if something is cleared in the tech log it has been fixed!
a captain said he did not want to take the a/c just in case? I advised him to call dispatch and operations that HE was cancelling the flight. That got his attention!

[SpannersatVS]

Hey sevenforeseven, long time no hear (guess you didn't get the MAN job then, another funny handshake ).

Got to say in defence of the pilot, i'd rather check out ANY of the hosties at VS than talk to the engineer

[pigs]

I know one thing that REALLY winds them up. Telling them to get out of the seat so that you can do engine runs, especially when they have an adoring audience of crew!!

[vs69]

No im not a mate of spannersatvs (though i dont know his/her true identity) but i could be closer to you than you think, if i have interpreted previous posts/id's correctly.....cryptic enough?

[big geordie]

Pilots who call you out to snags that don`t even exist and their superior indifference to you, when my knowledge an qualifications are far superior to his. some pilots ,not all but a minority think they have to create work for engineers like we have nothing else to do.Because they think it`s funny to use a vital resource like us to their own ends.

[Jusdoit]

I've known a few...

Generaly, I feel that most pilots are decent, caring human beings. Like other professions, you run into a few that tarnish the reputations of everyone in that field.

I look for qualities that include that pilots take their job very seriously, as I do mine. The flip side to that is that there are those few who take themselves very seriously, and they are just a PITA to deal with. One G550 pilot I know only calls when he can't fix the problem, and by then I have to go and undo what he did and then resolve the issue. Obviously, he doesn't take his job too seriously otherwise he'd know that, in his position, he's limited to light preventive maintenance issues. Kind'a scary to sign the tech log because I don't know about anything else he might have done.

There is a difference between the professional pilot and the prima dona pilot. If you have worked long enough in aviation, you will know that.

Cheers.

[TURIN]

Big geordie you have it the wrong way around.

I want them to call me out for every tiny little defect. EVERY THING!

Keeps me fully employed.

The ones who leave little bits of paper tieD to the control column with snags that are "need to know for the pilots but not need to know for engineers" get a big fat CHIRP/MOR report.

IF IT'S BROKE, SNAG IT.