Two incidents at EL AL
 

Hi ya.

There are two notes about EL AL in the news.

1.) Near miss at Ben Gurion.

Ben Gurion Airport air traffic controllers to blame for near crash - Haaretz - Israel News

According to released preliminary investigation information from the authorities, two ATC controller are to blame for a near miss of a ELAL and a Lufthansa aircraft at Ben Gurion. According to the Haaretz the distance between the two aircrafts were 200 meters.

2.) EL AL Pilot takes accidentally sleeping pill during flight

El Al pilot accidentally takes sleeping pill during flight - Haaretz - Israel News

After he mistakenly took a sleeping pill in flight instead of a blood pressure medication, the captain of a ELAL 737 became disorientated and fell shortly a sleep. With the help from a cabin crew member, he was removed from the flight deck, while the copilot took over control. After a while, the captain recovered and returned to the cockpit. The flight landed safely at Kiev.

I´m real curios, if we will see in the near future the public release of an incident report from the Israeli CAA, esp. about the near miss.

Regards,

Stubenfliege

near miss at Ben Gurion 12/2009
 

Could the 200m be verticle separation? That would make it less dramatic and more likely. As for the sleeping pill, for some reason it makes me laugh, he will def get a new nick-name for that one.....maybe sleepy dwarf if he's short....

Do El Al SOPs differ from other majors in case of diverts???

Suspect in the ME region, there are places where it might be less dangerous to press on to Israel with technical issues or one pilot than to land in bandit country.

Just a question....do many large aircraft pilots have to control blood pressure by taking pills? It seems rather unlikely to me, but we live and learn.

That's large aircraft, not large pilots, by the way, although I suppose large pilots may be more prone to blood pressure problems.

Considering that 24% of the adult population of the United States has high blood pressure, this is really not surprising.

In the UK it has been allowed to take certain medication to control high blood pressure and retain Class 1 medical certification since the early nineties.

The modern drugs used are completely benign and very effective hence the fact that they are considered compatible with flying.

El Al pilot
 

Or, vice versa, even more embarrassing, he could find himself asleep when he would wish not to be...
daved.

I'm sure that a lot of western airlines have a list of countries around the world, which are known to their pilots and those who need to know, which are preferably to be avoided unless a greater emergency exists.

For example, I'm sure that most airlines would prefer you not to divert to Afganistan ever; likewise if on a flight to Israel, there are certain countries where it is prudent not to go to - as much if not more for the benefit of Israeli passport holders, rather than the airline staff.

In that sense, I'm sure that El Al have their own internal procedures, which may or may not differ from other airlines, but will be well worked out.

I guess that there are international agreements in place that mean an El Al aircraft in dire trouble (fire etc) could land even in an unfriendly country in extreme circumstances and vice versa an Etihad aircraft could put into Tel Aviv if life and limb were in grave danger?

The only area that are considered problematic for any Israeli registered a/c are the southern departures. All 4X- a/c depart to the south towards the Red Sea and fly southbound at 290 / northbound at 310 along the FIR line. In this area, ETOPS is actually used for the section between Sudan and Saudi Arabia. It's an unofficial unwritten rule that is acceptable in the area where contact is maintained only with Jabuti and Addis. Once passed the area and headed eastbound beyond the horn of Africa, they climb to cruising alttitude.
That's what makes a direct flight of 4 1/2 hours from Tel Aviv to Bombay into 7. Gotta love it!

On the other hand, when you have a VP a/c here, it's much more simple. A quick stop in Amman + landing fees, and you're on your way.


With regards to the piloting here... didn't you know, the Israeli pilots have the biggest d!@ks in the world!

And I guess thats why we have co-pilots still! to save the day in case something unforseen happens. As long as humans are involved in anything, siht doth happen once in a while! Thats why we have the back-up person sitting not too far away. No harm, no foul!