Now, your Captain is smoking during flight
 

Next in the saga...;-)

Ok, this one is good as well.

You are flying already and your captain (first tme you fly with him) lights up one. You can't stand the smoke.

What course of action is the best?

Your opinions please :ok:

Thanks and Blue Skies

I assume he didn't ask you if you minded first? Anyway, ask him nicely to put it out, if he doesen't quote the Ops Manual at him, then fill in a confidential human factors report if your airline has such a thing. There are many excellent reasons for smoking being banned on aircraft.

so which airline interview are you preparing for?post all your questions at one go . it will be more helpful.

I thought the majority of airlines operated a non smoking policy...I'd turn the fire exstinguisher loose on him! ;)

x

Two things spring to mind.

One: open the check list at the smoke in the cockpit page and ask if he wants you to start the drill.

Two: call him a selfish ? and get your resignation letter ready.

Willfly380 , I am just learning from others.
That's all sorry to bother you ;-)

Have a great day.

Blue skies.:ok:

Hi Guys!

It happened to me not long ago, the captain just had a cigarette in cruise without asking.
I was so shocked that I immediately dropped my beer!:} I asked him to open the window a bit, never saw him again :ouch:

Seriously, I would ask him to tell me next time, never had problems with anyone because of that. I think the tone and the timing are important.

The "ehhh...oh yeah, let me tell you how RIGHT I am and wrong you are" or the smart ar*e way is definately wrong. Remember nobody likes to lose his face, so I guess a gentle "hey, you can fly, drink coffee, talk and smoke at once?" makes him laugh and he understands your point. If not, show him the FAT LADY!

Cheers Joe

There was a rather lengthy thrad similar to this last year from a new FO who wasn't sure what to do.

I remember visiting the FD only a few years ago returning from holidays and the captain lit up infront of me, FO gave him a nice look, don't think he was that keen on it:(

Back in the old days,skippers used to smoke cigars.Used to light them up just before takeoff.Co-pilot wasnt allowed one but the Captain might give him a takeoff or landing every once in a while.Nowadays...well,pilots are like accountants...all this pc crm bs..I tell ya if I had to choose between a real pilot smoking a nice big Cuban cigar and some pc weasel with the SOP manual stuck up his ass,I know who I'd choose...and no,I dont smoke,gave it up when I got the big C.....thats all folks... see ya

I just tell them that smoking in an enclosed area triggers my asthma. :E

I was "told" by a captain in my last job that "he liked to smoke in the cockpit". (First time I flew with the guy). I just looked at him and said "no you won't, I don't like it, it's against SOPs and I don't let any of the captains smoke in the cockpit."

He didn't smoke in the cockpit.

Let the captain smoke(his THE captain).
If is not a safety issue the capt can do anything he,she wants.
Management with the help of guys like you are turning capt's in puppets.
I fly in a company where f/a report capt´s for anything.
Tomorrow you won't be able to upgrade to first class your wife,mother, son because you will be afraid of everybody.
Let's not take captainship from the CAPTAIN.
PS: I HATE SMOKING BUT HIS THE ONE.

Let the :mad: smoke. Eventually you get a faster upgrade:E

In comparing 2 currently running threads, we have a very interesting opportunity to examine pilot's attitudes and priorities.

One thread is for Smoking Captains, and the other is for Drunken Captains.

The first is extremely annoying to some, but hardly dangerous. The other is extremely dangerous.

The 'Annoying' Captains have elicited 11 responses (excluding this one), whilst the 'Dangerous' Captains' have only elicited 8 responses.

Do we have our priorities right?

(You can read anything you like into my call-sign, and you'll probably be wrong)

Regards,

Old Smokey

If he smokes then I'll be sure to eat my wife's five alarm chili the night before!

"There are many excellent reasons for smoking being banned on aircraft"

Like - the saving on A/C filters and lack of ashtrays?

You poor brain drained PC by the book bore...live and let live.

I've read some time ago a US safety study that said that is less riskier to allow a smoking pilot to smoke than to forbide him to smoke during flight.
They said the need for smoking can impede with the pilot's abilities to focus during flight.
I'm no smoker,i never smoked,but when i know the f/o is a veteran smoker,and sometimes i see that he realy needs one,i tell them to have a cigarette.It won't kill me,is good crm,we set full ventilation and it's ok. Of course,this is done only at cruise.
And the thing about telling the cpt-'I won't allow you to smoke"..:} , ya,right! Why won't you tell him "you'll be PNF for the rest of the flight,I'm the capt now!"..
If you think is normal to say such a thing,or to report your captain for such a minor thing,...then I would like to see how you'll think when you'll become a captain yourself. :ok: I guess you never was one.
Redsnail,you made me laugh..But maybe you're right,especially if the cockpit is so small as your's plane seems to be (from the pictures on your site).
But ,if you'll tell me you're not allowing me to smoke in the cockpit I'll start smoking just to show you who's the captain ! ;) ...just kidding of course,I won't smoke ,but next time we won't be flying together.(you're bad CRM,making me nervous during flight :D )
I hope there are not many smoking cpt in you company :),or you will soon fly single pilot airplanes....

I decide to smile and stay pleasant, but one of our guys is known for politely asking out to toilet. And return no sooner than in fine minutes. Seems to work and does not destroy the co-operation. Eventually, many of the smokers (and the total percentage is very low, for those who cant wait after flight) started to ask everyone wheather we would perhaps go and have a chat in the forwar galley for 5 minutes.

Fair play on both sides...

FD.

alexban,

You make several extremely good points (as usual). There is a mountain of evidence (just ask any smoker if you want to do your own research) that a well addicted smoker loses focus, mental function, physical co-ordination, and a host of other undesirable attributes occur after 3 to 4 hours without a cigarette. Do we want this in an operating crew member? For me, absolutely not. If my F/O is a smoker I make it well understood that he / she is allowed to smoke as necessary. If I am a passenger and I know that the crew are smokers, I sure as hell hope that they're having a couple of sneaky drags.

None of this is meant as a justification of smoking, it's a filthy dangerous habit, and the correct answer is that aircrew should give up smoking immediately, BUT, if the affected crew member has not yet 'seen the light', there is a genuine safety consideration in allowing this leeway.

I may be old, I may be grumpy, and I might have a lot of bad habits, but INTOLERANCE is not numbered amongst those bad habits.

Now, for those who want to drink and fly, or use drugs and fly, where do I get my queue number for the firing squad?

(As said before, you can read anything you like into my call-sign, and you'll probably be wrong)

Regards,

Old Smokey

I had this happen to me several times quite a few years ago.

My first line was to politely point out that it was against the rules and that I did not wish to endure it either.

If that didn't work, I would get out of my seat and go down to the back galley, leaving instructions to call me when he had finished and the cockpit was smoke-free. I would do this at any stage of flight.

Gosh I love this quote :

"If is not a safety issue the capt can do anything he,she wants."

Ahem, this is the CRM forum!

As per the OP question, it really depends whether the Flight Deck is smoking or non-smoking. If it is permissable for the Flight Crew to smoke in there (are there still airlines out there that allow this?) then basically the other crew have to sit there, shut up and live with it. As much of a filthy, disgusting habit that it is, it is his/her right to smoke in that environment.

HOWEVER if the Flight Deck is non-smoking then the Captain is not abiding by SOPs and then this is an issue. By all means, address the issue to him/her directly before running off to management. Be aware that this direct approach may cause friction between the two of you and you may end up suffering the consequences of "speaking out of school" - however in the interests of good CRM then you must do so, and are perfectly entitled to! Make sure that it is followed up by the appropriate paperwork in order to get the issue addressed and reconciled.

The days of the Captain being this God-like figure are over. S/he is a professional in their field but is also human! Humans make errors in judgements, and a good Captain will recognise this.

Best Wishes
SG
:D