PBL I do.
I gave it way back in post #14 and again by inference in #113.
In case I wasn't clear enough --

Sporty but safe.
A big fuss about nothing.

The airline should have said nothing to the press or maybe at most issued a simple statement saying the maneuver was safely executed by a very experienced pilot. That way the vultures from the press move on to their next 'shock expose' and it would have blown over like these things always do.
Firing him was a disgrace. Management pilots are rarely popular so I guess some CX line pilots are happy to see him fired but that don't make it fair.

And there are always folks who'd love to do something themselves who either ain't got the skill or ain't had the opportunity and just love it when some guy who does get's in trouble.

Some around here sound like they're swell pilots - as long as everything goes according to the book.
I'd feel a whole lot safer flying with a guy like that in a sudden emergency than some posters on this thread who sound like they'd still be checking what the Company Ops Manual says when it's too late. :rolleyes:

PBL - The London aviation insurance market is over capacity and any of the dozens of underwriters that write CX and wanted to come off the CX risk would be replaced by a queue of underwriters trying to get on the risk. CX is triple A business and very sought after. There has been no actuarial change so no need to even consider an increase in the premium.

Bronx,

Couldn't have put it better myself... I've taught pre-solo PPL pilots to fly down the runway at 60', 30' 10'..... height perception is an early gain... FOR VISUAL PILOTS!

This is the 777 CP... I'm sure he knew what height he was at, his RA would've told him so, if his FO hadn't (I'm pretty sure he was at the time). Plus... HOW long had he flown this type for? Enough, I think, for them to make him CP?

This is what pilots do people... you all drive cars, we all drive planes! You do yours, we'll do ours. Yes, agreed, management took offense because he didn't ask them first (or so they say), but he wasn't trying to kill people in the process!

Did anyone pull the CVR tapes yet.. are there any stereo-typical rantings being uttered (usually heard at this altitude?) No? Then I guess it was all just good fun then?

Yes, FAR's, blah blah blah's, it happens at this airfield EVERYDAY.... it's not like every CX flight will start and end with a "fly-past", is it?

Get over it, a professional pilot doing a nice-looking fly-past. Case closed.

Kill the media, kill the management's opinion.... a gross over-reaction to a safe piece of flying. If there is a single (flying) person reading this who hasn't done it... ever... better you be the next Pope! :cool:

It's the same place ! It has both French and German names for it.

And the relevance of that to this incident is what exactly ? Many airplanes have crashed over the years.

PBL

I was about to respond to your post 194, but Parabellum has already done so. He's right; I have nothing to add.

Re the VC10 flyby pic:
I didn't take it. Wish I had, or been standing next to the photographer.
Here's another favourite (again, not my picture), coincidentally flown by a pilot who went on to fly for Cathay after leaving the RAF.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...untitled-1.jpg

Granted it's mil, and he was an exceptional pilot, trained and current in such flying, but there were still some 'experts' and prophets of doom who forecast he'd die one day.
He did eventually, of natural causes aged 77.



Bartholomew I suspect, from reading some posts, that there might be a few who never have and never even wanted to - in any aircraft.


FL

No. Still wrong.

The aircraft in question took off from Basel-Mulhouse (LFSB) for a display at Mulhouse-Habsheim (LFGB).

The other incidents you mention were not flypasts.

Flypast, flyover, overfly, buzzing...whatever, he did it and pranged it.

A330 test flt; well I guess he is trying to show that even with all the exhaustive preparations associated by a highly qualified test pilot and crew something unintended still cropped up.

FL....

I suspect, from reading some posts, that there might be a few who never have and never even wanted to - in any aircraft.
Are you trying to make a point? If so. I missed it (subtle as it was, so supposed to be, perhaps?).

PS What was the point? If you want proof.. you aren't going to get it. Real pilots wouldn't ask, and real pilots wouldn't give. It's a funny game... they stick to themselves.. (selfish buggers).. I guess you'll just have to take their word for it?)

PPS I really like that photo... which site is it on? If you were there, can we please have date, time, location, type, pilot, car type, variation, weather, authorisation... just so we can get "post-authorisation" for said pilot.... just in case someone wants to sue him for over-flight rights and In-Case-He-Crashed rights? A postal code would work????????????

How silly has this become?

Quote:

---

I really like that photo... which site is it on?

---

Here: Link
Lots more, same pilot, various aircraft.
If you haven't already seen it, the video in post 40 of that thread is worth watching.

The guy did nothing wrong!

If his management thinks he did, they must sort it out between themselves.

Sorry... He broke THEIR rules...........

as they chose to read them after the "event". (after seeing it on the Net!!)

But why after the pictures, the champagne, the revelry?

If he was the Shrek of the CX world... why the photos of him delivering the a/c? Why banish him to the Underword?

This stinks of Fine Young Cannibals "They Drive Me Crazy"...

Okay, not the same lyrics, but close enough, and the emotions are very close. What are these guys up to? "How to entice new pilots 101"

Nah, you need to better than that dudes!

The fly-by is an approved maneuver and was performed in textbook fashion.If he didnt get ATC clearance,he should have.He doesnt need clearance from the CEO.On board the aircraft he outranks the CEO.

The CEO really missed his opportunity on this one.After the flight,he should have fired him(just to let him know whos boss on the ground) and then immediately re-hired him with a raise(to show he has a GSOH).

This thread’s grounded itself on a well-charted Pprune shoal. On one side those who would see any expression of individualism, anything slightly beneath the nanny state bar, as suicidal and likely to take half humanity with it, versus those who see a flyby with the combination of verve,finesse, experience, intimacy with the machinery as an excellent way to promote the corporate image. Perhaps even to consolidate a good working relationship with some key people at the factory, not the management but the people who’ll remember and do the little special things you need on the next aircraft.

Why not assume to begin with that the flyby was approved by ATC, that there was a thorough briefing that began on the ground well before the flight – speed, flap setting, how low to go, what if and all the rest - and that everyone on board was informed beforehand that a flyby was to be performed? Why not, for that matter, give the man the benefit of the doubt and assume that he checked with the tower for bird activity beforehand?
Would it be too generous to assume that the flyby might even have been rehearsed in the sim before the event itself?

I for one find it difficult to imagine a seasoned captain doing it any other way, much less tearing around and doing an impromptu, unrehearsed, unauthorised farewell buzz of his own back. With the brass on board? Get real.

As a footnote, my background is shipping, slower in knots but not dissimilar in the cross-section of individualists, perfectionists, corporate politicians and blind post-facto opinionists. The personal reading is that whatever went wrong happened in the in-house politics afterwards. To me, at least, the whole episode reflects poorly on Cathay Pacific leadership.

Just to be complete:8


The speed limit in any airport airspace Class B[and transition corridors therein],C or D=200KIAS or 230MPH

not sure if he busted speed or not?---- as to all journos all aircraft are moving at 500mph:}

It was like that
 

Quote from broadreach:
I for one find it difficult to imagine a seasoned captain doing it any other way, much less tearing around and doing an impromptu, unrehearsed, unauthorised farewell buzz of his own back. With the brass on board? Get real.
Unquote.
Actually that appears (from Fragrant harbour) to be exactly what happend! No sim, no brief, just ego perhaps

It's not the 1st time CX did a low fly pass upon delivery of a B777

http://blog.seattle-deliveries.com/2...-delivery.html

But how come the captain who flew B-KPC didn't get fired?

JA

If that's really the case, HKJunkie, the assumptions I've suggested above can be crossed out one by one and the captain can eventually be found guilty beyond reasonable doubt etc. What's difficult to stomach is the hasty assumption of guilt here, on Pprune. With apologies for not having read up on Fragrant Harbour before posting. :ouch:

The Captain of KPC was the B777 Deputy CP.

There are rumours floating around CX that the fallout from the Flyby may not be over yet...

What ever arguments you want to make for or against the fly past, one thing you can't argue about is CX's PR department, top class. They sure made sure the word got out, as with the celebrity mantra, any publicity is good publicity, or so they say.

Pratt get Pratted?

The story made CNN International this morning (Hong Kong time)
The (female) anchor used the word "moronic" in respect of the conduct which resulted in the dismissal and a top gun caption below a still of the aircraft .
The comment reminded me how banal these anchors are and for the first time I had to agree with that segment of posters who refer to JOURNOS and their "scoops" in less than flattering terms.
Was the 777 in a special livery??
If so will CX repaint lest it attract a certain fame or infamy ??

Quote Mr Q:
The story made CNN International this morning (Hong Kong time)
The (female) anchor used the word "moronic" in respect of the conduct which resulted in the dismissal and a top gun caption below a still of the aircraft

Earl:
These reporters are sinking to the lower levels everyday.
Would love to see this Captain grant CNN an interview and put them in there place.
One thing to report what he did may have been wrong, but this was a really bad choice of words and about as unprofessional as you can get.

Google: Moronic,
mo·ron (môrn, mr-)
1. A stupid person; a dolt.
2. Psychology A person of mild mental retardation having a mental age of from 7 to 12 years and generally having communication and social skills enabling some degree of academic or vocational education. The term belongs to a classification system no longer in use and is now considered offensive.
mo·ronic (m-rnk, mô-) adj.

Did he set QNH when he should have set QNE (or the other way around depending on conditions on the day...)? It would have been a weak defence though. Still, no one can take away the fact that he was the man that done it :E I know he shouldn't have and all that, but you can't help but feel a bit jealous that he did it, and I didn't...