Bomber pilot helped land airliner after captain fell ill
 

I believe this is the original piece of writing: http://www.afspc.af.mil/news1/story.asp?id=123412412

Nice "good night story" by the U.S. army, thanks. BtW, is there any rule since 9/11 forbidding anyone else but crew on duty to enter the flight deck?
Just asking...:D

Never mind that, I wanna know how old that heart attack person was.

Bomber pilot helped land airliner after captain fell ill
 

In all cases, access only to crew, and other people on captain's prerogative. Or first officer's if the captain is otherwise occupied.

I wonder what went through the first officers mind when the person replied to what do you fly with the words "B1-B"


"After they moved the pilot, I was asked by the first officer, 'are you a pilot,' which was quickly followed with 'what do you fly,'" said Gongol. "I knew she was in a serious situation and that question gave her five seconds to judge if I would be useful. I also had about five seconds to asses her, 'was she panicking, or was she OK to fly the aircraft?' We both finished our silent assessments, she made the right judgment and told me to close the door and have a seat.""

"she had never taxied a 737 before"

WTF????

I noticed that and was wondering the same thing.

captain side tiller only, usually
 

I'm not a pilot, but think I've learned that most 737s are delivered with the tiller used for nose-wheel steering installed in a place where only the left-seat occupant can reasonably reach it.

Are there airlines where first officers get a familiarization exposure to taxi operation, "just in case", or is it common for first officers in types lacking right-side tillers to lack taxi experience?

Not uncommon at all.
Most of the 737s & 757s I flew only had a tiller on the captains side.

look, its like this.

the F/O most certainly could have landed the plane without aid. current CRM thinking is to use all available resources to ensure the safe outcome of a flight, especially in an emergency. (crew illness is an emergency)

a request for another pilot is prudent.

as to taxiing. the first officer can easily control the plane on the runway with the rudder pedals which actuates nosewheel steering.

but the amount of nosewheel steering in this manner is somewhat limited and might prove insufficient for tight turns into parking/gate area (apron or ramp, not TARMAC).

it would be normal for the F/O to continue to fly the plane from the right seat to landing. after the plane was safely stopped on the runway, a decision based on available resources is the prudent way to act.

portable stairs for the paramedics to meet the plane on the runway and a quick shutdown of the number one engine (port) would get medical help to the ill person the quickest.

after the medical help had taken care of the ill person, a decision to move the plane would be made.

either:

wait for a tug (most prudent, except for time)

start the engine again and have the person in the left seat taxi the aircraft (the copilot could switch seats) or allow the acting pilot in the left seat to handle the controls (not what I would do). go to the gate.

There is a possibility that the plane went straight to the gate for medical help in which case taxiing by the first officer in the right seat would be prudent, allowing for the temp/acting pilot in the left seat to use the tiller in tight places.

Remember, many gates have a straight in approach for some distance and it could be handled by rudder pedal steering.

details would be helpful.

If you're the F/O on an airplane that lacks a tiller on the right side your normal duties would not include taxiing the aircraft. Therefore there's not going to be any taxi training.

Glendalegoon, is it really that arduous to put a capital letter at the beginning of each sentence? :suspect:

The article is Post No. 2 states that the FO changed seats to taxi.

I wouldn't let anyone I didn't know personally and professionally into the cockpit anymore.



Not that big a deal to divert and land by your self in a modern two pilot aircraft and I don't see how much help a B1 pilot would be even if he was able to 'assess' the remaining crew member :rolleyes:

Yeah, or just taxi on one engine:rolleyes:

So why can't the FO taxi the aircraft with the rudder fine steering and a little differential braking & thrust ?

You might not want to park on a terminal gate line that but you can get it off the runway and on to a parking area.

You can get off the runway if there are high speed exits, 90° or tighter turns are pretty much out of the question in my experience. And yes, in years gone by we could do complete role reversals on the 737 which included taxying by the FO as far as it was possible. However to be honest in pretty much every turn the captain had to help with the tiller because those turns would have been impossible to do with the other means available.

From the second link posted it appears to have been a very professional work of all parties in that incident, well done by all concerned.

Poor co-pilot! The armchair quarterbacks are out in force. End of. I reckon the chances of Al Q waiting for the Captain to have a heart attack and then obtaining f/deck entry are not high, personally, but some obviously feel worried.

I reckon having a second living human being with you would be a significant help in a very stressful and disturbing situation. My vote is well done both. We have a safe result and a good stab at 'CRM'.