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'Filthy' flight decks

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View Poll Results: What is the hygene state of your flight deck?
I am a professional pilot and my flight deck is filthy
470
43.56%
I am a professional pilot and my flight deck is clean
287
26.60%
I am NOT a professional pilot but I felt like taking part in this poll anyway
322
29.84%
Voters: 1079. This poll is closed

'Filthy' flight decks

Old 28th Oct 2005, 09:03
  #141 (permalink)  
 
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During preflight/security scan one day, I/we found half a pack of sandwiches.
I say half a pack, but the remaining sandwich had been bitten into. But the mould and decomp of the remainder would have challenged any forensics lab to identify the dental pattern.

Put me off eating for at least 5minutes.
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Old 5th Nov 2005, 14:17
  #142 (permalink)  
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It wasn't a "filthy" flight deck, but one time someone had left food crumbs all over the cockpit in a Cessna 172. No problem until the takeoff run, when the vibrations scared the ants in the control panel and made them run up my arms!!!

Disconcerting, but I paid attention to the takeoff, and dealt with the ants later.

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Old 7th Nov 2005, 11:10
  #143 (permalink)  

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Cool

Absolutely fascinating thread which I have for some time simply not bothered to read. I went to Executive Aviation from the Airlines and having come from an Airline where the Captain was treated with a great deal of respect I came to earth with a bump, when starting as an F/O I discovered that I was now together with the more approriate duties to pilots, the baggage loader, cabin service provider, and general aircraft cleaner.
The outfit I began working for was VVIP and carried Royalty and top Government officials. The Chief Pilot was ex Dutch Airforce and an obsessive compulsive about cabin and cockpit presentation, amongst a multitude of other things. Our aircraft sparkled inside and out and the only cleaners were the pilots. Our Ground Engineers never participated in the cleaning duties but we watched them like hawkes when they were in and out of the cabins.
I of course realise that these two segments of Aviation are world apart but having come from and recognising some of the threads complaints I can only say what a pleasure it was working in a flightdeck that was immaculate. Pledge, paintbrushes, special EFIS wipes, yes they do exist, elbow grease, dustbusters yellow cloths and Windex were all part of our kit.
Precariously ballancing out of a 72 side window and polishing a windshield may sound as though it comes from the film "Airplane" but I can assure you not having the bugs and grimy film after a threeday layover in Mexico City does wonders for vision.
While realising that the airline crews jobs neither allow for, nor should they require, flight deck cleaning as part of the duties, a culture of flight deck cleanliness most certainly should be promoted from the Management down and part and parcel of flight deck management and professionalism.
Cleanliness was, in the past, sometimes quoted as being next to Godliness. While many Capt's and F/O's may still secretly consider that their job carries them rather closer to the Diety above, it certainly wouldn't hurt all of us to do just a little bit of cleaning around us and to promote a tidier more hygenic space in the place we tend to spend many long hours inhabiting.
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Old 9th Nov 2005, 10:14
  #144 (permalink)  
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I spent the best part of a shift yeterday cleaning the cocpit of the aircraft I am currently working on. The aircraft is in Heavy maintenance for one of the more in depth checks we carry out. Here is the process I went through

-Remove all debris... crumbs, skin flakes, dust from around the instrument panels

-scrub all the ground in crap off all control knobs and switches with a stiff bristled brush and mild soap.

-scrub all the coffee spills and human finger oils off the control panels with mild detregent.

If this cocpit doesnt impress the flight crew... then I think nothing short of a brand new aircraft will!

(Customer aircraft.... we have to keep them comming back for more ;-)
 
Old 9th Nov 2005, 10:33
  #145 (permalink)  

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Cool

Most not doing that for themselves may sadly not even notice, but one hopes they do, and come back.
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Old 10th Nov 2005, 10:02
  #146 (permalink)  
 
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Reading this thread, a couple of things came to mind:

(1) "How clean is your aircraft?"
(2) I remember about 2 years ago getting a copy of a transcript and some photographs of the outcome of some cleaning staff pushing a few buttons in the cockpit - I understand that there was substantial damage done to the terminal...
(3) That capt and FO who were caught neckid on the flight deck - I wonder who got to sit on those seats next? , and
(4) Quite seriously - one of my friends said that for the first year or so of flying long haul he had constant 'flu, but in the many years since then he's never sufferred from the usual winter bugs. He was quite sure that the crud in the cockpit combined with airconditioning did wonders for his immune system.
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Old 11th Nov 2005, 07:50
  #147 (permalink)  
 
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It's no use complaining that "They" are causing this situation. There are good reasons why cleaners are not generally allowed to clean the flight decks unsupervised. This is down to us as professionals -if the cleaners are there then get them to vacuum under your supervision.

Above all it comes down to common courtesy in leaving your workplace as you'd like to find it.
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Old 12th Nov 2005, 06:26
  #148 (permalink)  
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The Job card that I had for cleaning the flight deck stated that aircraft electrical power be removed first.... therefore, if a switch is bumped of changed, nothing will happen. If a cleaner were then allowed to carry out the cleaning, we would then have to inspect the panels for correct conditions before applying power again.

That's why this job is left to engineering.

Also, personally, I remove some of the control knobs and panels for access to clean properly.... a job that is not really in the scope of a cleaner.
 
Old 12th Nov 2005, 14:08
  #149 (permalink)  
 
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Once I had an FO roarusly fart at FL350, but unfortunatly for him and his underwear it was a rather soggy one. Even from my seat I could hear the "splooch" but stayed poker-faced. So did he!

He sat there for 2 hours to Sai Gon stewing in his slop till at last we parked and he stood up - his butt was welded to the seat! He slowly got up and the breaking of the crust between the bottom of his dacks and the seat sounded like dry selastic stretching and crumbling.

The worst of it was after a hasty trip to the dunney he was just gonna leave the FO seat for the cleaners to discover and wipe up! Thats when I called in a cleaner (a sweet old lady from Pleiku) and got him to fully EXPLAIN to her what he done and what he wanted her to do. She nodded courteusly for a minute then suddenly blew the utter christ out of him and handed him a bucket and rag!
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