EK Pilots fall asleep
 

Word from the management is that two EK pilots fell alsleep a few months back. They were taking a flight they should not have taken because of a captains seat that could not recline. That is a no go item but the #$%&* (insert your adjective here) captain took it anyway with the promise from the company that they would back the captain up with whatever choice he decided on.
So they left the UK on a another all-nighter and everything was fine until the captain wanted to take a kip in the cockpit. The local FO said he was okay to stay awake but the truth was he was nackerd. The captain told the cabin he was going to sleep and not to call the cockpit under any circumstances and they would call her every 30 mins.
The captain had a good sleep and woke up when the sun came up. He got up and went back to the cabin to relieve himself and the pursur asked frantically if everything was okay on the flight. He said sure and asked why? The pursur showed the captain the moving map display and the airplane was 20 miles from DXB at 40,000FT.
He ran into the cockpit and the FO was trying to raise ATC on 133.4 but since that is the western Saudia frequency no one was answering. After raising Dubai on radio the plane landed without incident.
On further investigation the FO fell alsleep shortly after the captain went to sleep on the Airbus cockpit floor. The last thing he remembers was looking up at the stars then the next thing he wakes up with the sun in his eyes.
Nothing happened to the cockpit crew because they took a airplane that the company should never have aloud to take off. The pursur was sacked because they are required to come into the cockpit and check on the pilots every 15 mins. Who does that but that is what the company got her on.
Funny because we have heard many many times from our own mangement about the NWA flight that overflew KMSP but we never heard word one about our own flight that basically did the same thing. Ever hear about the cat calling the kettle black? But that is SOP in the middle east and especially EK.
Any one have anything else about this incident?

If the headline was 'ONLY 2 Pilots fell asleep' then that would be news.
ah , the beloved egg-timer on my old longhaul fleet.........worked like a charm.

I remembr egg-timers..carried one in my navbag, probably illegal now, but if you could sleep through one of those then you were dead anyway:ok:

This can't be a surprise to anyone. First Emirates pilots being tired and fell alsleep on a red eye flight. Then that Emirates management tried to cover it up because they dispatched an illegal flight.
90 plus hours for months on end is going to get you no matter what kind of shape you are in. Then compound the fact that we do many night flights across mulitple time zones and incidents like this are going to pop up.
Management always tried to cover up items like this whilst quickly pointing out other airlines missteps. The classic insecurity case.
I am sure that there will be more of these kinds of issues in the months to come.

why not keep alarm clocks as std equipment in the cockpit...:ugh::ugh:

Hasn't the Bus got the same 'wakey wakey' aural warning that the Boeing has? I don't care how tired you are, there'd be few who could sleep through the final stage of the Boeing's wake up call. If it has the same system, (which I thought it did), LHR Rain's story seems very unlikely or has grown somewhat in the telling.

Chinese whispers?

No Fubaar, the airbus doesn't have any alarm calls, well thats on the A320 to say the least, I have never heard of them on the A330 or A340. Airbus assumes pilots are just like their planes, machines... So they don't sleep...So no need for a expensive alarm clock....

I'm trying to contain my mirth at the thought of the UAE Air Force scrambling to intercept the errant Airbus in one of their shiny new F16s.

Before 0930 and after 1300 hours local? Highly unlikely. Between the hours of 0930 and 1300 and before the Airbus ran out of fuel? Only slightly less unlikely.

Hmmmmm...

While I'm sure the original story may have had an element of truth, I find this version TOTALLY implausible!

For a start, how did the Capt fall into such a deep coma 'on the floor'?

If it was a night flight from the UK, it could only be on the Boeing, and therefore the 'inactivity monitor would have sounded'.

When the skipper woke, wasn't it a miracle that the F/O woke at exactly the same time? ie He didn't look right and see the F/O sprouting Z's?

Also when he woke, wouldn't he have had a quick glance down at the ND to see where the aircraft was in the space time continuum?

I think Mythbusters (on Discovery, not the Portal) would have a field day with the above version of events..........

Whilst I can't dispute fatigue is a real issue at EK and along with everyone else, I am completely knackered, we need to separate fantasy from reality.

Be real guys, don't believe every bit of crap you hear about!:yuk:

I doubt this story is true.

1- Going to Dubai you would be at 41,000ft not 40,000 as claimed (RVSM/ODD LEVEL)
2- 133.4 would be the main frequency of Tehran control and if they did route over Saudi, they wouldn't get contact with Dubai ATC until passing Bahrain Control which.

My 2 £

Hmmm, seems the original 'story' has a few holes in it, then.
A dead giveaway is the flight level, as already mentioned.

A bit of a stretch, me thinks.
Short haul, maybe...long haul, not likely...unless, of course, you use hotac for other than the designed purpose.:}

Interesting that the recline feature is a no-go item on the bigger buses. Just 2 days ago I flew my "minibus" (A319) on a long 5 sector day with the recline lever inop (actually the cable between the lever and the mechanism had sheared). The MEL clearly stated that as long as the position was acceptable to the crew member, it was not required for dispatch.

Cheers,

OW

Well firstly a NO GO item is JUST PRECISELY THAT!! Besides, as has been pointed out 133.4 is southern Teheran sector and not UAE.
Also the cc should be told to call in if no call out after 30 minutes or so! Would our pursers be that stupid that they don't know when TOD is approaching:D

This sounds very much like a good urban legend Barasti Bar style:}

Heard this story attribuuted to another operator...

I simply don't believe it..

It has to be a legend. However, for the record, seat recline is not a 'No Go Item', 'provided associated pilot positioning is adequate'.

Complete garbage. Mythbusters, where are you?

Hate to say it..but I heard about it on the day it happened..and rejected it as rubbish....but I think it is true

If true, I suspect it has grown somewhat (quite a lot?) in the telling.

The purser was sacked? Once I'd have said 'codswallop'. However, lately, with some of the decisions coming down from on high, I'm no so sure.

Load of crap! Air defense would have been involved well before 'wake up', especially as there was a reasonable chance they came through the Iran FIR, and UAE Air defense just as twitchy!!

Have not heard of this incident...and I would have trust me!

Have no doubt there may have been some sleepy bo bo time, but it was possibly between mains and desert!!

For goodness sake LHR Rain do some research before you make a complete prat of yourself...again!! :suspect:

See post # 8 (above).