Captain guards the yoke...

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Anyone had their captain hand over the controls to land the plane because they were not "comfortable" with the conditions?
 
av8or91 said:
Anyone had their captain hand over the controls to land the plane because they were not "comfortable" with the conditions?
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While it's true that the Captain is presumed to have superior experience and skill in all things, aircraft handling included, it's not always borne out by reality. I can actually think of a few reasons, most proficiency-in-type and time-in-type related, where were I the Captain I might want to pass the airplane off to a sharp FO, Company rules permitting. (Incidentally, we're all, we hope anyway, going to be over there on the left someday; as a fully typed guy I sort of think we should be beyond restricting certain maneuvers to certain seats.) I've actually been handed the airplane (well outside the FAF) by a Captain before for similar reasons (I had more experience in type, and more time in type and recent experience than the flight's Captain, who had been sitting on reserve, did). We were well within the realm of legal and comfortable, but the Captain simply wanted me to fly it and he wanted to monitor. I won't say no to that.

Incidentally, it's good CRM to pass the airplane off to the other pilot should the need arise: this is emphasized in the way we handle abnormals now, which tends to have the FO fly the airplane, under the direction of the Captain's plan, and have the Captain manage the situation, work the procedure, and handle Company/FA communications. The Company says studies have shown that the Captain can much more effectively handle a situation if he is the monitoring pilot, rather than the flying pilot who is also trying to do all that Captain stuff. Having tried this out both on-line and in recurrent every year, I'm actually inclined to agree. Note that a swap of controls must only be done when the aircraft is, in fact, under control and preferably well away from the terrain.

Usually, it sounds something like this: "Tallest Doug, you have control and communications. (Present state of aircraft here.) Declare an emergency with ATC. Take me to a 10 mile final to Home Base International's longest runway, 200 knots, on profile. Go as fast as you feel comfortable, but no faster. I'm going to run (complicated QRH procedure with buckets full of follow-ons), talk to the Company on Atlanta Radio, brief the flight attendant, and the folks. Interrupt me if you need my help."

(Fill in the blanks on your own, as appropriate, and ask if it's unclear or uncertain.)
Maximillian_Jenius said:
I only date JET pilots... so you're in the clear! :biggrin:
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brb, cancelling my CRJ bid ( @skatergeek )

No, serious, I think I might withdraw that bid for another few months.
 
av8or91 said:
Anyone had their captain hand over the controls to land the plane because they were not "comfortable" with the conditions?
Click to expand...

I once handed the plane to my FO because she was more current than I was, and it was a dark rainy night going into Key West.

I flew 100 hours a year there for a while. Discretion is often the better part of valor.
 
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