Richard Champion de Crespigny - QF32 book
 

Your own thoughts on his book aside, there's a burning question I have that at first intrigued me and now annoys me. :confused:

On QF32 he was getting a route check, and said "either Dave or Harry (Check captain's) could end my career that day with a fail on the route check."

Then at the very end of the book, he states that he didn't pass.

Would he have failed the route check because of his actions on the flight, emergency procedures included? Or would a route check on a flight that experiences an emergency and diversion/and or return to land constitute an incomplete check or something similar, with a requirement for an additional check?

Are there items on a route check that can be revisited if not to a satisfactory standard, or is it one in all in - 'end my career' type stuff.

Thanks - Once resolved I can move onto the next trivial, inconsequential matter.

This is one item which needs correcting.

It is the difference between "not passing" the Route Check and "not completing" the Route Check.

In this case, it's the latter. The Route Check has to be completed by the line crew alone, without Check pilot input. They worked as a very successful team of 5 to get the aircraft back on the ground safely, but this is outside the licence requirement. Therefore, the check was incomplete; nobody "didn't pass" or "failed"!!

Hope that helps.

G'day ;)

On this occasion it was not complete but failing a route check is not a career ending scenario. Most people I know have failed a route check or sim check at some stage. Usually it is a case of some training to get back to standard and then a new check. If you made a habit of failing them then it could be career ending. Never let facts get in the way of a story.

Thanks! Nothing like a little dramatisation.

Oh someone failed alright. :}

Let's hope we never meet!

One thing that intrigued me about what was in the book (actually a lot intrigued me including RDC intention to do an Armstrong spiral if all the engines failed!) but Harry was also under check to become an A380 checkie, so I assume he did not complete his check either?

Was one of the crew named Tom? That would satisfactorily complete the meaningless giggle session.....

Lookleft, correct.

G'day ;)

Thanks Feather. Now if you could explain the whole Armstrong spiral thing and why that was even a consideration....:ok:

Only Richard knows the answer to that. Neil couldn't comment! :sad:

Have a look at:

Flight 51: To the edge of space and to the edge of Los Angeles

G'day ;)

Just finished reading QF32 and I really appreciate the honesty by the author and suspect that it's not an easy task to relate personal thoughts to the general public.

Further, the roles that Captains De Crespigny and Sullenberger took on after their respective incidents is difficult to comprehend. To have incidents such as these is big enough for the average Pilot to cope with. To then become open and approachable by the public afterwards is a role that most pilots would be very reluctant to take on.

These two gentlemen have accepted these important post incident roles and as a result we are all better off for the information shared.

Thankyou.

P.S. Our old 1960's farm bike from my teenage years had a kill switch on it. Any chance that the A380 as complex as it is could have external kill switches installed on the engines that are safely accessible to fire crews?

what if that "switch" starts glitching and shuts down the healthy engine in-flight/on TO/landing?

it is one more point of failure (at least) and it is unclear whether it increases the safety and not decreases it, because each point has its own chance > 0 of failing.

Kinda sums up the whole book doesn't it? :E :ok:

Good point. It's easy to argue that they were just doing what they were trained to do, and were in the right place at the wrong time. But in an age where the general public is pretty blasé about aviation and think computers fly airliners, these guys have helped bring some glory back to the airline industry and aviation as a whole.

One of them aimed to promote the industry. The other chose to promote himself. You can probably work out which is which.

Keg,
I'm with you on this one.
Tootle pip!!

Nothing like a little dramatisation

Having a read of the book and it's not a bad sort of yarn, I guess .. a long way in before one finds any meat to do with the mishap, though.

RDC was a guest speaker at an engineering symposium I attended a year or so ago .. his tale was delivered with a tad more drama than necessary for the group concerned but, nonetheless, entertaining ..

As to whether I might find his manner desirable on a flight is another matter.

A shame he ruined what could have been a remarkable yarn in it's own right by his relentless overdramatisation. I was greatly looking forward to his story coming out, however after hearing a couple of his interviews on the radio/net and the over-egging of various puddings (spin training in the Winjeel comes to mind) I took a pass. I eventually borrowed the book to read, made a genuine start and handed it back unfinished. Ruined.