Cogan 3407 and external Audit teams

[TUCKnTRUCK]

<STYLE>.wysiwyg { PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; BACKGROUND: #f5f5ff; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 5px 10px 10px; FONT: 10pt verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; COLOR: #000000; PADDING-TOP: 0px}.wysiwyg A:link { COLOR: #22229c}.wysiwyg_alink { COLOR: #22229c}.wysiwyg A:visited { COLOR: #22229c}.wysiwyg_avisited { COLOR: #22229c}.wysiwyg A:hover { COLOR: #ff4400}.wysiwyg A:active { COLOR: #ff4400}.wysiwyg_ahover { COLOR: #ff4400}P { MARGIN: 0px}.inlineimg { VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle}</STYLE>So as was expected in the fallout from 3407, Colgan has been Line Observing every pilot at least once. Although this is supposed to be a non-punitive action, to determine where training may fall short, standardization is lacking etc, Check airmen have been told to pull people off the line if they feel it is warranted.


Almost at the 1 month anniversary of the crash, as was promised they are bringing in an external firm to do an Audit of Colgan operations. I don't know if this is limited to the Q400, or all aspects of the Colgan operation (Sched, Dispatch, MX, Flight, Training etc) We have been told to comply with all aspects including detailed manual, training material examinations, questions about operations, procedures etc.


I am asking if anybody has been though these Audits before, and what are the ramifcations of these Audits. Are they confidential, or will our names be attached to all obersavtions, interview forms etc? If they, as an outside agency feel that we are doing something wrong, even though we may be operating in accordance with our FOP, AFM etc, be able to take action against the pilot group? Are these people given cockpit access during flight, and by what means will we be able to verify they have the propper credientials, etc? Will the be in CASS? and what priortiy will they be given?

We have been told to expect a duration greater than a month for this audit, and was looking to see if other could shed some light on the procedure.

 

[v1valarob]

For maybe the 5th time this month. Thank God we are ALPA.

I however see this audit as very necessary and a positive thing for the company in the long run.

 

[surreal1221]

I haven't. . .

But I'm sure ALPA has.

 

[TUCKnTRUCK]

For maybe the 5th time this month. Thank God we are ALPA.

I however see this audit as very necessary and a positive thing for the company in the long run.

Maybe, so long as it's not a witch hunt.
If they actually want to revamp ops and training, then yes.

 

[v1valarob]

Maybe, so long as it's not a witch hunt.
If they actually want to revamp ops and training, then yes.

Im not going to say much else. But 8hrs and 1 minutes of rest with a departure time being officially 1 minute after your show time. Lets think about that....

 

[SpiraMirabilis]

And then a call/acars as to why you were delayed?

 

[HeyEng]

Oh man...they are bringing in the "Bobs"...

I imagine this is fairly common practice.

 

[matt152]

http://hippiekiller.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/bobs.jpg

 

[BE19Pilot]

They have done these audits in the past here at CJC. I specifically recall one being done back in the spring of 2006 and members of the audit team rode along and observed operations. I had a retired UAL 747 Captain ride along observing a sequence of flights, and he was very cordial and expressed very positive feedback. I cannot speak to what this is all about, but glad we have representation.

 

[Cruise]

This was inevitable and, provided good comes out of it, this should help to make the Colgan operation stronger. Like you, I don't know much about the scope of the audits or what type of access they'll have to the cockpit. However, at no time should anyone feel as though they're being audited for punitive actions. If this is the case, bring it to one of the union reps' attention and we will go from there. The company would be foolish to allow (or condone) that type of scrutiny, as it wouldn't paint an accurate picture of day-to-day operations.

Thus far, the company has been receptive to meeting and working w/ us, the ALPA representatives. As such, we are diligently working to illustrate to mgmt what we feel are deficiencies within our operation. Our goal has always been to work with the company to try to actually make it "Simply the Best" instead of just some empty marketing words they like to use. Well, it's now time for the company to prove they want to BE THE BEST by working with the employees to improve the quality of our operation.

 

[kellwolf]

Are they doing the LOSA stuff over there? This might dovetail into that. We're starting LOSA here on the Pinnacle side this month. Basically, a guy comes up, asks to ride the JS and observe you during the flight, makes notes, and tells you to have a nice day. It's non-punitive, and if any CA says "No," they're not supposed to even raise a stink over it. Just walk to the next plane and try again.

 

[TUCKnTRUCK]

LOSA, FQAM all that crap, what ever you want to call it. They are installing the configuration and profile monitors in the Q's but i hear are havign to work out an STC for it...

My understanding is that it's like an FDR, but the company has access to it.

 

[kellwolf]

LOSA, FQAM all that crap, what ever you want to call it. They are installing the configuration and profile monitors in the Q's but i hear are havign to work out an STC for it...

My understanding is that it's like an FDR, but the company has access to it.

Sorta. It's called FOQA, and basically it's de-identified data. The company tried to ID some guys that operated a flight they collected data on, and they were highly unsuccessful. There's actually been a lot of good data come out of that program. We're able to spot trends and see what the most common errors are on the line. Then it gets published in a monthly safety letter that basically says "We notice XXX is happening a lot based on FOQA data. Let's try to eliminate this or at least reduce the number of occurrences." I know it's opened my eyes a couple of times to things.

There are a couple of misinformed guys here that think it's basically a "big brother" program out to get them fired. I flew with a CA that wouldn't even let me clear the "SELCAL VHF" message by acknowledging an ACARS message when we had a deferred FMS. He was convinced the company would know through FOQA. I had to educate him that it wasn't hooked into EVERY button on the aircraft. He still didn't buy it.