Poor Airmanship? Pilots reading non-relevent material in the cockpit during flight.

[John Citizen]

To answer your question, I think you a relic of a bygone age.

Relax, chill out and try to make the job more enjoyable for everyone

[parabellum]

We take our headsets off in the cruise,

Why? Much safer to keep one ear on and the inboard ear uncovered.

The idea that both pilots flying on speakers alone in the cruise is OK is questionable.

I don't see any harm in reading the paper when the work load is low.

[John Citizen]

I take my headset off in the cruise only because everyone else here does it.

I occasionally leave it on, especially when dealing with foreign ATC.

I usually let the captain take the lead (headsets on/off) and just go along with him/her.

[GlueBall]

I don't allow the "thunderstorm/daylight" lights to be on at night; if and when I read at night, it's with my map light only. I don't allow cockpit speakers to be used in flight, and everyone keeps on their lightweight headsets.

[GlueBall]

126807 and IGh . . . tell us the correct, professional protocol about what to do for 11 hours in cruise, besides sitting up straight, looking out the window, scanning the dashboard, and talking on the radio . . .

[Agaricus bisporus]

If a capt would ask me to put down my newspaper, I would not have a problem with that, but I would ask him/her as to their reasoning behind it (good CRM!).

Questioning instructions "Good CRM?" Hmmm. I wonder.
Depends on how it was put, surely? "Stop reading please" is probably not good CRM, neither is questioning it after, " I think we ought to be paying a bit more attention, would you mind?". However after the second missed Rt call the first option may be perfectly good CRM on its own.

Clearly there's a huge difference between mid Pacific and central Europe, just ass there's a difference between skimming a newspaper, getting engrossed in a novel and bunging your mind up solid with a sudoku to the exclusion of all else.

All a matter for judgement, surely?

[IGh]

Check for one "PF" and one "PM", you to the crew-bunk

GB asks about the difference between a pilot's duties, and a passenger's recreation:

"... the correct, professional protocol about what to do ... in cruise ..."

Maybe there might be one Pilot Flying, and one Pilot Monitoring (if that is defined in your company's regulations). Once you've got that problem solved, then go back to the cabin or to the crew bunk (don't distract the pilots).

[126807]

Thanks for your opinions...

Sorry I couldn't reply beforehand but I was away working. I thank everyone for their inputs and opinions. I would just like to reiterate some of the provisos from my first post and defend myself against some of the more "colorful" replies.

My post concerned, firstly, reading during short-haul flying on the A320 and, secondly, reading without declaring it. I have had three occasions in my career in short-haul commercial aviation in Europe when the simple act of looking out detected non-controlled military aircraft and meteo ballons passing in dangerously close proximity (yes, reports were filed). Thirdly, the only co-pilots I've ever asked to actually stop reading were those who started reading whilst the plane was still changing its vertical mode, either climbing or descending. Otherwise I simply ask my colleague to take the company-approved "fatigue management break", an up-to-40 minute break with which they can read or close their eyes, I don't care, but which has the added bonus of legally covering us should an incident occur (won't help much if an actual mid-air collision occurs but you get the point...).

Chief-pilots don't hold exclusive rights on best airmanship practice. It is the responsibility of each and every captain to determine how best to conduct his flight, how safe is safe enough. What someone might call a "relaxed" flight-deck, others might call slack. I personally know which type of pilot I would rather have my family flying with. By the way, I'm also a firm believer in the "sterile cockpit" and I also feel obliged to give any cockpit jump-seat riders a proper safety briefings before push-back too. I even take repetitive checklist work earnestly. In other works, I take airmanship seriously. That doesn't make me a nazi (actually I'm an Aussie). Perhaps surprisingly for some in these forum, the vast majority of feedback that I have received from my F/Os on the line has been overwhelmingly positive, that they appreciate such conscientiousness. Maybe even a good impression might have been made on some, like some of my many captains made on me during my years in the right-hand seat.

In any case, after reading some of the comments posted here, I have to admit that I actually prefer being a relic of a bygone age, when pilots really were pilots and not apparently just bored (Air)bus drivers.

What prompted me to write this thread was simply the growing tendency I have noticed of new F/Os reading in the cockpit. I have now come to realise that just because everyone else might be doing it doesn't make it any more correct... I for one do not intend to lower my standards to their level.

[parabellum]

I don't allow the "thunderstorm/daylight" lights to be on at night

Glue Ball - The USAir Force produced a thick tome all about pre flight rest, eating habits pre and during flights and cockpit lighting. The entire study was intended to reduce fatigue caused through night flying as it affected their B52 crews, on constant patrols, a lot.

On the cockpit lighting side they said that, during the cruise phase of flight, it was recommended to lighten up the cockpit as much as possible as this could reduce fatigue by up to 75%, if the surroundings are darkened down then the body naturally wants to sleep.
At night the human eye will focus about nine inches the other side of the windshield unless it latches onto something, so maintaining a dark cockpit won't always improve lookout, especially if one is reading a newspaper at the same time! Just for what it is worth.

[John Citizen]

I for one do not intend to lower my standards to their level

Why do you have to be so different if every one else does it and finds it acceptable, including the chief pilot ?

You just want to proove a point how much better you "think" you are than everyone else ?

Ok, so in your own opinion, you don't want to lower your standards you say. However it sounds like you are very unenjoyable to fly with due to your petty demands. Are your proud of yourself ?

Maybe you are proud of yourself, for enforcing your own "unique" standards and you see everyone else as a slack.

You don't seem to care about making the day enjoyable for the other person but seems like you like to use this as an opportunity to "beat your chest" (I am the captain, I am better than everyone else because of my unique demands).

Reminds me of a few other captains I flew with and no one enjoyed flying with them. They were also mostly old, as you say, relics of an older generation.

However, I do agree with you, that one should definitely not be reading a paper whilst in climb/descent.

[bArt2]

I remember one flight up and down to Tenerife, 4,5 hours up 4,5 hours back. The captain was telling stories about himself during the whole cruise (two times 4 hours in a row). As he had some accent it took some concentration to understand him.
At the end of the flight I got so exhausted because of the long concentration that I considered to give him the controls for the approach and landing. I didn't but I should have because at the end my performance was crap.

[Piltdown Man]

Just how complicated is it to fly an A320 shorthaul? I am sure that there are times when both people have to work hard, but I would suggest that once the hard work bit has passed, one of you could wind down a bit. And while on the subject of airmanship, there is also another very important aspect to be considered: Does your attitude piss people off so much that you create a split cockpit on an aircraft that requires two crew? Should you ever be involved in an incident you will be given feedback whether you want it or not. You'll also find out on your leaving do when your friends come and say farewell. I don't know if you need to start checking your brakepipes before you drive home, but I would lighten up a bit.

PM

[John Citizen]

Well said Piltdown Man. Exactly how hard is to fly an Airbus in the cruise ? It probably requires less than 10% of a normal pilots brain capacity. Do you really need to apply 100% attention and concentration to the task ? Is multi-tasking beyond your ability ? Maybe your age has something to do with it.

If you need to apply 100% concentration to handle the workload in the cruise, then how do you handle the abnormals and emergencies in the simulator ?

[IGh]

? No Standard ? Or NO "buy-in"? Select-out individuals?

Pilot (PF? and PM?) READING during flight:

Merely an Ethical choice?
Is there a specific company "standard"?
Any Regulatory "standard"?
An element cited in the Code of Ethics?

Responses, so far, there are about 30+ comments in this thread (with one guy offering a half-dozen statements against any standards of pilot- "professionalism").

-- Several comments suggested that neither their company, nor regulatory agency, offered any specific "standard" banning any form of READING (non-essential).

-- OR, perhaps the pilot simply did not "buy-in" to that specific "standard" -- feeling that the captain can arbitrarily ignore that standard.

-- Some comments suggest that it is OK when FO asks if the CAPTAIN would consent to his (FO) violating the specific "standard" (?shifting the blame to the captain?).
Should this question even be tolerated in an airliner cockpit?

-- One comment states that his company has a "standard" permitting ONE PILOT to read during a specified "fatigue management break", of limited duration.

-- Several commenters perceive NO RISK of delayed-recognition [seemingly ignoring seven-decades of regular airliner inflight upsets].

-- Is this cockpit housekeeping item (choice) left to the Captain? Can you get any help from the "Professional Standards" guys??? ASAP-feedback to the slacker from Pro' Stan'????

Literature was recently expanded with a USA- NTSB's
Professionalism in Aviation Forum: NTSB - Symposia

FSF reprinted excerpts from that "Professionalism" forum:
Out of Bounds (Expanded Version) | Flight Safety Foundation

From that Forum, there a sense that "professionalism" qualities should be a focus BEFORE employment -- some individuals should be "selected-out" before they get near an airliner.

Once hired by an airline, whether a Captain or an FO, the forum cited the human's choice on specific "standards":
Out of Bounds (Expanded Version) | Flight Safety Foundation

Getting Buy-In
"One of the NTSB’s questions about the “Generation Y” flight crew demographic concerned reports that these pilots may expect others to obtain their personal agreement or “buy-in” to comply with regulations and SOPs; in particular, that some captains may not actively enforce rules they consider arbitrary. “Buy-in is … one of the essential parts of what we are trying to accomplish ..."

[John Citizen]

I for one do not intend to lower my standards to their level

You lower yourself to someone who is a complete pain in the ass to fly with. You proud of yourself ?

Maybe you just don't have the mental capacity to multi-task like most other pilots easily can

It looks like even flying straight and level in the cruise at flight levels on autopliot is all too hard for you, and you have not got any spare brain capacity to do something else simple like read a paper

[choppingmotion]

I would have thought that someone who was engrossed in reading material was almost by definition no longer situationally aware, and would be at greatly increased risk of missing visual and even aural warnings. How many times, reading my paper or magazine, have I missed my stop on the London Underground despite knowing the route blindfolded and receiving a succession of aural cues as station stops are announced?

So, before deliberately disengaging oneself from instrument scanning and general flight deck monitoring activities, I would have thought it prudent to seek and obtain the consent of one's flight deck colleague. Failing to do so is surely inconsistent with the principles of vigilence and diligence that are of the essence of good airmanship, and in my view amounts to a wilful neglect of one's duty to pay due care and attention to the condition of the aeroplane.

On short haul sectors in congested environments like western Europe, I think it is reasonable to expect that both pilots would have their eyes peeled and be actively monitoring RT, flight instruments and externally for the duration of the flight.

I am researching air accident causation at the moment (for a degree, not a news article or book, don't worry!) and it is shocking how many fatal accidents begin as recoverable flight upsets or gradual departures from controlled flight (gentle bank or pitch excursions that went undetected) but the recovery was botched through a combination of late detection and inappropriate flight crew response because of lack of situational awareness.

[sunset_contrails_10]

I read my newspaper while shooting an approach to minimums in a twenty five knot crosswind in snow and icing conditions. I would never have lasted for eight thousand hours of single pilot operations otherwise. I guess some guys are not capable of dividing their attention while at the controls. Wonder how you can run an emergency checklist without reading?

[Piltdown Man]

Choppingmotion: I think you are wrong. The human brain is capable of processing a whole variety of inputs at the same time while still remaining situationally aware. Furthermore, with one or two exceptions, when things go wrong it is important to QUICKLY DO NOTHING. Too many fools start pressing buttons, moving knobs & levers, read checklists before they have even considered what the real problem is. Also, I'm sure many of us here would appreciate the name of your assessor so that we can put them right once you have finished your paper.

PM

[HOMER SIMPSONS LOVECHILD]

If we are to banish distractions from the flight deck there are much better places to start than this.
The vast bulk of my pre flight prep is now spent wrestling with various deficient and user unfriendly systems and procedures. These are mostly management "Gold star on my cv" schemes or "CYA" catch-alls from the latest training meeting.
It's a real strugle to find time to actually think about flying the aircraft . I believe this is the single largest distraction in today's operation and is behind the bulk of Config warnings/performance errors/ track violations/ level busts etc.
We are all to some degree aware of and willing to exercise the Commanders authority to delay things if we percieve a rush, but the SOP's must be in place to facilitate the process within the allocated timeframe. This is simply not the case in many companies. Management know this but refuse to confront it. It's easier to play the "He allowed himself to be rushed" get out card when faced with the results.

[Chesty Morgan]

There are clearly two different opinions on this subject.

1. It's ok to read a novel/newspaper/magazine.
2. It's not.

I'm not an advocate of getting engrossed in a novel whilst I'm flying and neither do I expect my F/O's to do it. But I fly European short haul and our longest sector is about two and a half hours.

If you are doing your job properly on these shorter sectors then you shouldn't really have the time to get bored in the cruise, which is about an hour and a half at the longest.

There are plenty of chores you should be doing to keep yourself busy. Keeping yourself in the loop is an essential part of the safety system.

How are you going to cope if you've had your head buried in a book for the last half an hour and then your engine falls off? Where are you? Where are you going to go? What's the weather like there? Don't know because you haven't got the weather yet!

A delayed reaction time at best.

And how do you keep yourself ahead of the aircraft if you aint paying attention?

You're there to do a job and my opinion is that you can't be doing it properly if you have time to read a book.

How can I cross check the instruments when you've got the Telegraph spread out over half the flight deck? I can't so you're not reading it.

We have one (not) fine chap who pulls out his latest novel as soon as we get in to the cruise. No courtesy of asking either. I give him a minute or two then I ask him to get the weather for all the enroute divs I fancy. That keeps him busy for a while, then I brief him for a while, then he gets the ATIS etc. then we're at TOD. If he's PF his choice is PF'ing or reading.

Long haul is a different matter.

Finally, does anybody remember the first rule of airmanship?