Allegiant fired pilot who made emergency landing at St. Pete-Clearwat

[fholbert]

Lots of aviation stuff in the news today.

Allegiant Air fired the pilot of a June 8 flight that made an emergency landing at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport after reports of smoke in the cabin, accusing him of trying to make the airline look bad, the pilots' union said Friday.

Allegiant officials have declined to discuss the firing, which occurred in late July. But the airline told the Federal Aviation Administration in a report that mechanics could find no defect with the plane.

Story here: http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2015/09/union-allegiant-air-pilot-fired-after.html

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

Wow. The pilots union threw him under the bus?

 

[jtrain609]

Wow. The pilots union threw him under the bus?

Dan Wells, president of the Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224, said in an interview the firing is unjustified and retaliation for pilots making an issue of the airline's safety in labor negotiations.

"Believe me, the message was intentional and loud and clear: Don't you dare push the safety stuff too far," said Wells, whose union represents the pilots of Allegiant and 10 other airlines.

 

[amorris311]

Wow. The pilots union threw him under the bus?

You didn't read the whole article did you?

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

You didn't read the whole article did you?

Nope. Sorry. Just saw the first paragraph...

 

[MikeD]

This one should be fairly easy for the pilot and the union to fight against, I would think?

 

[Seggy]

This one should be fairly easy for the pilot and the union to fight against, I would think?

No grievance process.

 

[Blackhawk]

Someone tell me again how Allegient is a great place to go.

 

[mshunter]

No grievance process.

Just curious. How does a grievance help this. I'm not real savvy with union help for issues like this.

 

[Lunchbox]

Someone tell me again how Allegient is a great place to go.

Tell you again? I'm curious where you heard that? I've read every APC and JC G4 thread for the last 5 years and haven't seen that before. There are some good with bad reviews but no great by itself.

 

[Blackhawk]

Tell you again? I'm curious where you heard that? I've read every APC and JC G4 thread for the last 5 years and haven't seen that before. There are some good with bad reviews but no great by itself.

It's been talked up as a great alternative to the regionals on some websites. How do you think they get pilots?

 

[Kingairer]

Someone tell me again how Allegient is a great place to go.

I don't think anyone has said that for years.

 

[Lunchbox]

It's been talked up as a great alternative to the regionals on some websites. How do you think they get pilots?

I don't know if I would call it great but I've never met a G4 pilot that wished they never left their previous regional job. Anyways, I hope he gets his job back or a 7 figure check.

 

[Blackhawk]

I don't know if I would call it great but I've never met a G4 pilot that wished they never left their previous regional job. Anyways, I hope he gets his job back or a 7 figure check.

Probably one tonight.

 

[dustoff17]

At first glance, this sounds pretty drastic. However, my guess is there was enough difference in the interviews with the cockpit crew that the situation became pretty clear.

 

[amorris311]

Just curious. How does a grievance help this. I'm not real savvy with union help for issues like this.

Depends on how the contract is laid out. Most, if not all, ALPA contracts start the discipline process through section 19 of the contract. It's a mutually agreed upon set of terms that lays out the process. Most of the time not all the facts are present at the time of the hearing. When pilots are prematurely discharged you file a grievance. This process takes months to iron out since it will likely end up in arbitration.

 

[Avalon781ML]

This one should be fairly easy for the pilot and the union to fight against, I would think?

One would think that... unfortunately there are a lot of moving parts in this issue.

No grievance process.

Actually there is one but given the previous ruling by one of the most liberal courts in the country it may now be disregarded.

It's been talked up as a great alternative to the regionals on some websites. How do you think they get pilots?

It could be a good alternative to a regional or even an LCC. It depends on an individual's desires, situation, and needs. For one reason or another a good number of talented individuals want to work here.

 

[BobDDuck]

At first glance, this sounds pretty drastic. However, my guess is there was enough difference in the interviews with the cockpit crew that the situation became pretty clear.

Maybe. Or maybe the company is doing what a lot of companies do and playing blame the pilot. It would not be the first time.

 

[z987k]

I think we hashed this one out in another thread, but given the clear disregard Allegiant management has for safety, and a complete lack of any safety culture, I would not allow my family to fly on them.
The pilots are probably great, but that only goes so far when the company stacks the whole deck against you.

 

[Blackhawk]

One would think that... unfortunately there are a lot of moving parts in this issue.

Actually there is one but given the previous ruling by one of the most liberal courts in the country it may now be disregarded.

It could be a good alternative to a regional or even an LCC. It depends on an individual's desires, situation, and needs. For one reason or another a good number of talented individuals want to work here.

There may be some great people there, and perhaps there is more to the story, but I would advise any pilot to steer clear for the time being unless they want to play Russian roulette with their career. There have been too many incidents such as this at Allegient and a pilot there would face the pressure of flying an unsafe airplane or facing the wrath of management.
And no, in my years of regional flying I have not seen someone at my airline terminated under such circumstances. As someone else wrote above I would never let my family fly Allegient.