US Airways Captain Escorted from Aircraft

[aviatorhi]

And the Feds say.......????

The feds can't be reached at this time, they ran out of cash to operate.

[Molokai]

Bravo!, Captain Valerie Wells! You certainly deserve our respects and adulation.

To quote clockwork :

9. The MEL does not anticipate the effects of combinations of apparently unrelated unserviceabilities or allow for situations where systems are made inoperative for special purposes such as demonstration, test or crew training. Other provisions may apply to positioning of ferrying flights but these may not necessarily be included in the MEL.
10. The decision to operate the aircraft with multiple unserviceabilities should only be made after due consideration of possible inter-related or additive effects

There always hidden dangers and unforseen risks involved with dispatch with multiple failures, especially the scarebus! I read of a Malaysian guy who took an A330 despatched with an wingtip breaker problem down to ADL only to have the aircraft AOG over there after the f/o messed with the aircraft clock. Even the Airbus technical rep was flummoxed not realizing the undocumented tie between the cockpit clocks and the maintenace computer time base. It pays to tread carefully with the scarebus!

[glhcarl]

And .. aren't MEL's required to be endorsed by the manufacturer?

The Minimum Equipment List (MEL) is written by the operator!


It is based on the Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) which is written by a committee made up of the manufacture and operators, then approved by the regulatory agency that certifies the aircraft. The MMEL is part of the aircraft certification.


The operators MEL must be more restrictive than the MMEL.

[fokker1000]

Fireflybob's post [#4] is spot on.

If I had an aircraft with a few, or mulitple faults that, however unconnected they may seem, I feel could possibly cause a problem in the air, then I wouldn't take it. It's my neck up there aswell as the crew's, pax etc.

And I'm very glad to say I know I would get backed up by my management aswell without a shadow of a doubt.

Especially so as it's an Airbus. Well done Valerie!

[Airbus759]

All good comments regarding Captain authority and MEL, but this thing has very little to do with either and everything to do with the seniority battle between USAPA and the former America West pilots. The unfortunate thing is that if/when there is a legitimate safety issue in the future, USAPA will be the little boy who called "wolf."

[SLFguy]

"The issue is about the Capt being frog-marched off the aircraft by security officials."

Link to this info?

[His dudeness]

@SLFGuy: first post:
www.USAirlinePilots.org/SafetyFirst

Relevant line in my post (bottom) on page one:

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/4...ml#post6591507

And the escorting was also confirmed by the airline:

Airline spokesman John McDonald said the incident is under investigation. He said "the fact that [Wells] was escorted off the property had nothing to do with safety," but declined to elaborate. Ray speculated the airline did not want Wells to tell the replacement crew of the problems she had with the aircraft.

(Thats in the second link of the first post.)

In fact this is even worse than everything else, NOT to have the crew tell the next crew about the defects. WTF? They should fire whoever is responsible for that and make sure he/she is not able to work in aviation again (Station Manager? Chief Pilot? Who does decide these things in US Air?)(yes, I read the speculation bit...)

[clunckdriver]

Airbus 759, what total nonsense your post is, the two issues are in no way conected, this is another case of the "bean counters" degrading flight safety and the Captains decision making authority, lets not give them any chance to obscure the real problem here by introducing a total red herring!

[SLFguy]

Apologies if I'm missing it, (it's Monday morning sigh), but neither of those links show me where the "Capt was frog marched off the aircraft".

[J.O.]

All good comments regarding Captain authority and MEL, but this thing has very little to do with either and everything to do with the seniority battle between USAPA and the former America West pilots. The unfortunate thing is that if/when there is a legitimate safety issue in the future, USAPA will be the little boy who called "wolf."

That's a very strongly worded first posting. Pilot unions usually aren't in the business of using operational safety issues as an excuse to win their seniority demands. Maybe I'm thick but I fail to see the connection. Care to enlighten us?

[erwolff]

I am merely an occasional passenger on commercial flights.

What a relief to know that captains still take their responsibility seriously - and what a worry to see that management wants a crew to fly against their better judgement ...

[SLFguy]

"Apologies to you too if my use of words was not included in the report.

Poetic licence and all... "

No problem - I only asked because that would've opened a whole diffrent can of worms.

[atakacs]

Is that the same Valérie Wells ? Flying Above the Glass Ceiling

[matkat]

MEL is written by lawers, whilst airmanship is the "common sense on the air" whe should all have.

Well no it is not! the MMEL is written by the manufacturer engineering of the relevent TC holder and passed on to the NAA of the relevent Country for approval, the Operator then looks through the MMEL and ammends it to suit their particular operation it is then submitted to the Authority of the country of registration for approval, this is very simplified but that is how it is done.

[clunckdriver]

JO, Im glad Im not the only one who finds the Airbus 759 post a little fishy, a member since 2006 and one post, methinks that this has all the signs of a management "Lurker", tracking the IP location gives me further cause to think this may be the case, care to coment Airbus 759?

[SassyPilotsWife]

If it's about revenue

Dear US Airways,

Your actions were foolish.....

Sully lands on water... the public has restored faith in air safety with US Air. Well trained and experienced Capt. who posesses the skills to think smart, adapt and make crucial proactive decisions = safer flight ( in our eyes).

Valerie refuses a flight, not only did she refuse, the crew following also refused.

Instead of backing your crew, you argued and tried to force a flight that other professional crew refused. Then you had the audacity to have her escorted and removed?

What does the same flying public think now? How many seats will you sell as this story grows ( and it will). Do they want to fly with a carrier who allows bean counters to determine safety? Be proud you have great crew members in charge. Let them do their jobs.

I hope she tells US Air to kiss her very qualified and experience a**. Let us know where you wind up if you do Valerie, we will follow.

Regards,
John Q. Public

[VFD]

After reading the linked article it is interesting that the replacement crew had the same failure twice before giving up.
The incident sure not looking good for USAir trying to dispatch with multiple electrical problems and no comms.
One sure gets the impression of pilot pushing.
While not aircraft related the article also commented about the GSU not working either.
Mx does not appear to be one of this airline's strong points.

VFD

[Piltdown Man]

It appears that US Airways aren't brave enough to publicly state that crews who decided not to accept this aircraft were out of line and pointlessly over cautious. I wonder why? As an organisation they will have to accept that every now and again crews may refuse to take an aircraft which may be legal to dispatch but in the crew's opinion, unwise. But that's what you pay captains for. But as ever, I'm sure there's more this story than meets the eye especially as it looks like the aircraft returned to the gate. Personally, I wouldn't like to take an electric aircraft which had just had suffered multiple supply failures without a good explanation from an engineer or Technical Pilot.

PM

[Johnny767]

Randy Babbitt has sure been a huge disappointment, in support of the Piloting Profession.

The question for the USAPA is; why did any of your Aircraft operate the next day?

Instead of sitting around whining, the only way to get the attention of these little office monkeys is...

Set the Parking Brake!

[aterpster]

Johnny767:

Randy Babbitt has sure been a huge disappointment, in support of the Piloting Profession.

Sort of like when he was president of ALPA.