Bomber pilot helped land airliner after captain fell ill
As I remarked earlier, one can only play the situation the way the chips fall on any given day, rules, no rules, or SOP's not withstanding.
This happened.
It worked.
QED.
This happened.
It worked.
QED.
Join Date: Jan 2007
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I've heard of cases before where a flight deck emergency has resulted in a call for a spare pilot, and invariably the spare is given the job of operating the radio and monitoring while the qualified pilot flies the aircraft. (OK, so UA232 was an exception.) She was flying into an unfamiliar airport, so having an extra pair of eyes on things to help with the workload seems an eminently sensible decision.
As for 'failing' his assessment, as an experienced military officer, I'd say his response would have been more to provide reassurance and calm to get the pilot into a better frame of mind for the task because that would have been a safer approach than trying to take over. That's what good military people do, build up the confidence of people on their team to achieve the goal.
As for 'failing' his assessment, as an experienced military officer, I'd say his response would have been more to provide reassurance and calm to get the pilot into a better frame of mind for the task because that would have been a safer approach than trying to take over. That's what good military people do, build up the confidence of people on their team to achieve the goal.
Join Date: Jul 2002
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...who might at least be able to use the radio if I asked him to !
...so if the bean counters are so confident that modern airliners are "safe" with only two crew up front, why did the F/O need any help, couldn't she push all the buttons, send out a Mayday, ... without help ?
But in such circumstances it's definitely prudent to take all the help you can get!
...remember the BAC 1-11 Captain that was nearly sucked out of the window when it blew out at altitude, fat chance he would have had if immediate assistance had been locked behind an FAA "secure" door, he owes his life to non-flight crew hanging on to his legs throught the ordeal.
The rather sobering thought occurs to me that a similar incident in this day and age would lead to fighters being scrambled with orders to intercept and possibly shoot down.
As an aside, and back to your previous point, the One-Eleven introduced a two-person flight deck for short-haul ops in the 1960s, and while it was a brilliant little aircraft by all accounts, it was much more "hands-on" to fly than a 737NG - or even a "Classic". Five-person crews were really a legacy of the old Lancastrian days, were they not?