Pilot Toilet Break
 

In case the experts get all upset and say can't discuss this I wont identiffy the airline or route etc

Recently on a flight of less than 3 hours I would assume there would be 2 pilots
Now there could of course be a check or training pilot as well

However on both the out and return flights I noticed that the cabin crew guarded the cockpit door while the pilots took turns to visit the toilet / stretch legs however no cabin crew replaced the absent pilot each time

I appreciate that this may be down to the airline and replacement may not be 'required' by the governing bodies, and it all down to 'risk management'

I would have thought that to help keep the SLF feeling secure, well the nosey ones like me that notice these sort of things happy that airlines would ensure Cabin crew replace Pilots behind the locked door?

I guess you mean 'remained in the flight deck to call the other pilot if the pilot flying became incapacitated'.
I see your point but, in two crew flight decks, I've never known it done that way.

Nosey like you I notice various things as well.
On a certain Irish airline the toilet break is always proceeded with the Seat Belt warning sign being illuminated and then the swap of the Flight Deck member for a CC member.

You're right, it certainly shouldn't be discussed in detail. I think it is safe to say that what you witnessed is one perfectly legitimate way of taking a "break".

Well I never. I always thought flight decks were provided with buckets...

I thought that's what the styrofoam coffee cups were for.....

Many many years ago a Captain friend of mine use to do the following. He would come out of the flight deck wearing his cap. Invariably there would be a long queue for the forward loo. He would survey the line of passengers and then ask " can anyone fly a 737". You can imagine the sight of passengers fearing the worst. Then he would say "In that case I better use the loo next".......

Now that would be an interesting concept with pilots from the distaff side.

MV - Google She Wee.

That will go over well with the Cabin Crew,"Can you take this urine filled bag and put it in the galley bin please." The best way to ensure there are two pilots always on the secure side of the cockpit door is to make the forward toilet only accessible to flight crew. That will require a redesign by the manufacturer and that is not going to happen anytime soon.

I'm confused on this one that is in the OP

does the FA guard the door from the inside or outside and is the door closed or open?

That will require a redesign by the manufacturer and that is not going to happen anytime

Oh yes it has. Many years ago I flew a model of the 747 that had a toilet built at the back of the flight deck, only cabin crew knew about it, in addition to the pilots of course, no passengers allowed. Easy. Course, I guess now some airline has worked out that they can get another 10 passenger seats in that space ?

Cabin crew used to use it for a crafty smoke. What ? No smoking in the toilets ? Yeah ! Right !

Thread drift.
The 747 was deisgned with the upstairs lounge area, to be used during flight but not for take-off/landing as it only had sofas and chairs.

Which didn't last long.

The title of this thread cracked me up


Pilot Toilet Break

If toilet broken you must write it as U/S in the log
otherwise it will not be rectumfied

The late Captain Toby Alleyne of East-West Airlines (F27s out of Sydney)
had occasion to go back to the toilet where a woman was trapped inside
due to failure of the door lock. The large emergency tool did not work
so Tobe fetched the crash axe and calling at the top of his voice
GET WELL BACK IN THERE proceeded with a couple of hefty swipes with
the axe to demolish the door.

On arrival back at Mascot he had the FO write in the 14/1 (maintenance
log) TOILET DOOR U/S

When I was doing single pilot freelance air taxy work, I'd some inebriated oilies who used plastic bags en-route Bergen-Glasgow. The bags failed to function as desired by the drunken drillers and the contents ended swilling around the floor. Thanks, guys :*

Having had the good fortune to periodically end up in first class - I've seen variations on this several times on US domestic flights.
Typically, the Flight Attendants will move a galley cart between the lav and the passengers, with a FA standing between the cart and the passengers doing their best to look intimidating. Then one pilot will step out of the flight deck and use the lav. When finished, they'll pick up the intercom to get buzzed back in, typically a minute later the second pilot will also visit the lav.
While I've occasionally seen one of the FA step into the flight deck when one pilot stepped out, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

On a trip to Las Vegas, the FA who was standing in front of the galley cart, trying her very best to look intimidating, was a very pretty, rather petite young lady, and she was failing miserably at the 'intimidating' part :E. I had a good laugh with her about it when she came by a few minutes later to ask if I wanted another drink :ok:

Slightly o/t, but on our recent holiday flight I was contemplating joining the toilet clue as the need was arising and the queue was quite long. At that precise moment my rather clumsy wife swiped my (full) drink off my tray in to my lap. Thanks love:mad: Dilemma, do I sit there crossed legged, and dry out, or risk coming back from the bog with soaking wet shorts?:ugh::{

You did, of course, briefly hold the moral high ground - that is, if it wasn't 'Really YOUR fault'. ;)

Back when I was actually aviating (as opposed to pontificating about it), there were always two on the flight deck. When a pilot stepped out for a comfort break, a cabin crew replaced him/her. Simples really; and safe.

Presumably that is why the windows in the cockpit slide open. Got to have somewhere to empty the bucket...