saxman
Well-Known Member
I'm usually one to defend airline on time departures to keep the operation going, but this we're leaving early no matter what is getting pretty ridiculous as you can see in the video. As far as I'm concerned, the brakes don't drop until, I, the PIC has an airworthy aircraft as agreed upon by the crew, Mx, and dispatch. Not some middle manager that flips his lid over 3 minutes. I jumpseat and ride on quite often, and I see them close the door early on standby's just to get the flight out early. I know the AA mechanics are in heated negotiations, and I back them 100%. If something is not right on the aircraft it needs to be documented, negotiations or not. Right before I left my previous regional, we got a few memos to watch out about leaving without taking care of even minor discrepancies. In other words, we were almost too focused on leaving on time. I have to admit, I appreciated that one.
I'm not sure if the manager was the mechanics boss and I hope the guy taking the video doesn't get fired for going public.