I was a passenger on a flight from LGA to FLL last night and not long after we departed I started feeling a bit queasy. Needless to say it was a rough 3 hour flight. I started to think though, what if I was up in the flight deck, working and I came down with a bad virus or something and needed to be in the bathroom for a while. Are there any limitations on how long you are allowed to leave your seat? Is a pilot allowed to be alone during all phases of flight? Has this ever happened to anyone here?
Getting sick while on duty
- Thread starter JrsyGuy
- Start date
RightSeatGirl
KA'PLAH BITCHES!
We are allowed to leave the flight deck as necessary for physiological needs. But certain phases of flight, typically defined by what defines sterile cockpit require both pilots to be present. If the situation was bad enough, then both a flight emergency and medical emergency would have to be declared and the healthy pilot would have to solo the aircraft in.
Clocks
Well-Known Member
Plus immediate notification of the NTSB under part 830.
RightSeatGirl
KA'PLAH BITCHES!
Yep, and trust me, unless you are dying, if you want to keep your job you better suck it up, finish the upchuckin or high pressure expulsion from the other end and get your butt back in the cockpit ASAP!
Take care of what you have to take care of. If you've got to land short because you're incapacitated, well, do it!
FlyChicaga
Vintage Restoration
Same here. Twice, in fact. Both times due to something I ate the day/evening prior. It was NOT a pleasant experience. Luckily, both times it was my last day. Unluckily, I commute.
We're human beings. We travel. Stuff happens. You just try your best to keep healthy, and should you get sick, take the proper precautions and remove yourself from duty.
Oh man, I've spent 30 minutes in the lavatory once. THAT was not fun.
*knock knock*
"You ok?"
"Yes..."
*knock knock*
"You ok?"
"YES! There was something wrong with the shrimp, I'm working it out of my system"
*knock knock*
"You OK?!"
"Yes, just give me a bit, tell the cockpit I'm having some problems, but I should be ok shortly"
*knock knock*
"You ok?"
"No! I've got a loose bowel and now I'm pissed off because you keep bugging me!"
*knock knock*
"GAH!"
*knock knock*
"You ok?"
"Yes..."
*knock knock*
"You ok?"
"YES! There was something wrong with the shrimp, I'm working it out of my system"
*knock knock*
"You OK?!"
"Yes, just give me a bit, tell the cockpit I'm having some problems, but I should be ok shortly"
*knock knock*
"You ok?"
"No! I've got a loose bowel and now I'm pissed off because you keep bugging me!"
*knock knock*
"GAH!"
PeanuckleCRJ
Poodle Wrangler
Got food poisoning 2 years ago from the quiznos at Vegas before flying to JFK for a late night arrival. Hit me the next morning flying from back to LAS...
JFK-LAS is around a 5 hour leg, and from FL180 on climb to descent I made probably 10 trips to the bathroom to "expunge the toxins from all outlets." The first round the FA called the cockpit "um, Denny is explosively vomiting in the bathroom." CA simply responded "let him finish and we'll see how he's doing." Finished the leg reclined back in my seat just barely doing the radios and moving the flaps and gear trying to make sure I didnt load the CA up.
I carried my rollerbag out of the jetbridge to the ramp....paused...walked back to the lav...yarfed again.... then grabbed my brain bag and laptop. What a memorable experience.
First and only time I've ever called in sick midtrip. Even worse knowing that even though I could have snagged a deadhead home immediately I was too sick to even drive myself home.
JFK-LAS is around a 5 hour leg, and from FL180 on climb to descent I made probably 10 trips to the bathroom to "expunge the toxins from all outlets." The first round the FA called the cockpit "um, Denny is explosively vomiting in the bathroom." CA simply responded "let him finish and we'll see how he's doing." Finished the leg reclined back in my seat just barely doing the radios and moving the flaps and gear trying to make sure I didnt load the CA up.
I carried my rollerbag out of the jetbridge to the ramp....paused...walked back to the lav...yarfed again.... then grabbed my brain bag and laptop. What a memorable experience.
First and only time I've ever called in sick midtrip. Even worse knowing that even though I could have snagged a deadhead home immediately I was too sick to even drive myself home.
Oh man
I've only had one guy call in sick mid trip.
We were on a layover in Frankfurt a few years ago. There was me, the other FO and the captain, and three pilots from the other crew. We all went to a restaraunt, had a few different variations of the same dish (Schnitzel!) and drank a few rounds of beer.
The next morning, about 0600 the phone rings and I'm thinking it's the hotel or the station manager calling to say that the flight has been delayed. International, they ALWAYS call you at the hotel to notify you of flight delays.
Well, it's the other FO and he can't find the captain. I'm like "WTF? What' sup?"
Apparently, something hit him about 0300, he left a "path of fecal destruction" from his bed to the toilet, had to go back several times, didn't always make it and housekeeping had been to his room twice already.
And it's only 0600.
I call the captains room, no answer, call the front desk to connect me, no dice. So I guess that he's out taking a run in the park so I bust out that international medical card and call a doctor over to the hotel. Call the front desk to coordinate, throw some clothes on, venture down to the FO's room and OMG, I thought he was going to die.
Curled up in the fetal position, the room smells like the geriatric unit at a convalescent home and he says, "call... call a doctor"
"already one on the way, buddy, hang tight!"
He looked like HELL and part of me wanted to start digging through his belongings to look for a number to call his next of kin. He looked THAT bad.
Anyway, the doctor arrives, takes care of him and eventually, the captain and I fly "two man" from Frankfurt to Porland, ME, filed at .83, leaving him behind in the hotel with the doctor a few hours later.
I can't tell you how paranoid I was that whatever he had was going to hit myself or the captain over the Atlantic.
I've only had one guy call in sick mid trip.
We were on a layover in Frankfurt a few years ago. There was me, the other FO and the captain, and three pilots from the other crew. We all went to a restaraunt, had a few different variations of the same dish (Schnitzel!) and drank a few rounds of beer.
The next morning, about 0600 the phone rings and I'm thinking it's the hotel or the station manager calling to say that the flight has been delayed. International, they ALWAYS call you at the hotel to notify you of flight delays.
Well, it's the other FO and he can't find the captain. I'm like "WTF? What' sup?"
Apparently, something hit him about 0300, he left a "path of fecal destruction" from his bed to the toilet, had to go back several times, didn't always make it and housekeeping had been to his room twice already.
And it's only 0600.
I call the captains room, no answer, call the front desk to connect me, no dice. So I guess that he's out taking a run in the park so I bust out that international medical card and call a doctor over to the hotel. Call the front desk to coordinate, throw some clothes on, venture down to the FO's room and OMG, I thought he was going to die.
Curled up in the fetal position, the room smells like the geriatric unit at a convalescent home and he says, "call... call a doctor"
"already one on the way, buddy, hang tight!"
He looked like HELL and part of me wanted to start digging through his belongings to look for a number to call his next of kin. He looked THAT bad.
Anyway, the doctor arrives, takes care of him and eventually, the captain and I fly "two man" from Frankfurt to Porland, ME, filed at .83, leaving him behind in the hotel with the doctor a few hours later.
I can't tell you how paranoid I was that whatever he had was going to hit myself or the captain over the Atlantic.
PeanuckleCRJ
Poodle Wrangler
Oh man
I've only had one guy call in sick mid trip.... (sucky story!!!!)
Anyway, the doctor arrives, takes care of him and eventually, the captain and I fly "two man" from Frankfurt to Porland, ME, filed at .83, leaving him behind in the hotel with the doctor a few hours later.
I can't tell you how paranoid I was that whatever he had was going to hit myself or the captain over the Atlantic.
Yowza! DAL60 that put in on the taxiway in ATL started out not all that different from that. Except they did the 2-man call after they had already left knowing he wasn't feeling well before they left. Derp derp derp... It's always a chain.
It's good you didnt eat the fish!
edit: I've been tryin to call planning to see about shimmying up to NYC. I think I just missed my cutoff for the NYC ER. I'm gonna bid back to the ER ASAP....sure would save them some training costs...
JaceTheAce
Well-Known Member
Oh man
I've only had one guy call in sick mid trip.
We were on a layover in Frankfurt a few years ago. There was me, the other FO and the captain, and three pilots from the other crew. We all went to a restaraunt, had a few different variations of the same dish (Schnitzel!) and drank a few rounds of beer.
The next morning, about 0600 the phone rings and I'm thinking it's the hotel or the station manager calling to say that the flight has been delayed. International, they ALWAYS call you at the hotel to notify you of flight delays.
Well, it's the other FO and he can't find the captain. I'm like "WTF? What' sup?"
Apparently, something hit him about 0300, he left a "path of fecal destruction" from his bed to the toilet, had to go back several times, didn't always make it and housekeeping had been to his room twice already.
And it's only 0600.
I call the captains room, no answer, call the front desk to connect me, no dice. So I guess that he's out taking a run in the park so I bust out that international medical card and call a doctor over to the hotel. Call the front desk to coordinate, throw some clothes on, venture down to the FO's room and OMG, I thought he was going to die.
Curled up in the fetal position, the room smells like the geriatric unit at a convalescent home and he says, "call... call a doctor"
"already one on the way, buddy, hang tight!"
He looked like HELL and part of me wanted to start digging through his belongings to look for a number to call his next of kin. He looked THAT bad.
Anyway, the doctor arrives, takes care of him and eventually, the captain and I fly "two man" from Frankfurt to Porland, ME, filed at .83, leaving him behind in the hotel with the doctor a few hours later.
I can't tell you how paranoid I was that whatever he had was going to hit myself or the captain over the Atlantic.
OMG, wow.
Yes. One thing I learned in my aviation safety course in college was that there's never a single point of failure in an accident. There is always a string of factors.
When in doubt, set the parking brake and think about what's up. Take your time, to hell with the schedule.
OMG, wow.
Oh yeah! I got lucky with my "situation" with India. It didn't hit until I got home and I spent the next week and a half purging my colon every 45 minutes. Oh man, I wouldn't wish that on my enemies, if I even had any.
PeanuckleCRJ
Poodle Wrangler
So so true. That was one of the first things I learned- and set in very strong once I upgraded at 9E. I actually got to the point where I wouldn't even open my flight kit or touch a single switch until I "qualified" the airplane with the legality of the logbooks and the release.
It was a bit of a jump going to DAL where the dispatchers typically know what they are doing and give you enough gas to get the job done typically.