Getting sick on the job...
- Thread starter JayB
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To Doug, and all airline pilots on this forum:
Have you ever gotten sick on a trip?
How do you deal with it?
What are your options if you're at an outstation and the company can't place someone on reserve in your place? Do they get mad?
What if you're on probation?
Thanks,
Jay
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Im no airline professional(yet). But I would say if you feel sick on your job you would take the flight off and they would have someone to replace you. Thats why some companies say that a pilot must be able to take a flight in a certain amount of hours if something comes up.
To Doug, and all airline pilots on this forum:
Have you ever gotten sick on a trip?
How do you deal with it?
What are your options if you're at an outstation and the company can't place someone on reserve in your place? Do they get mad?
What if you're on probation?
Thanks,
Jay
[/ QUOTE ]
Im no airline professional(yet). But I would say if you feel sick on your job you would take the flight off and they would have someone to replace you. Thats why some companies say that a pilot must be able to take a flight in a certain amount of hours if something comes up.
DE727UPS
Well-Known Member
I've only gotten sick once during the middle of a trip where they couldn't replace me. They had to cancel the flight.
These things happen and no one "got mad" about it. Wouldn't want to make a habit of this...especially if you were on probation. Like I said, it's happened once in my 14 years with the company.
A professional pilot has an obligation to call in sick if unable to safely perform his duties....and that's a personal call we have to make on our own. The FAA expects us to be healthy when we work, period.
If you get sick on a trip, you just call scheduling and let them know....there isn't much they can do about it. They will try to cover the trip, somehow...that's their job. Your job is to be 100 percent when you go to work.
These things happen and no one "got mad" about it. Wouldn't want to make a habit of this...especially if you were on probation. Like I said, it's happened once in my 14 years with the company.
A professional pilot has an obligation to call in sick if unable to safely perform his duties....and that's a personal call we have to make on our own. The FAA expects us to be healthy when we work, period.
If you get sick on a trip, you just call scheduling and let them know....there isn't much they can do about it. They will try to cover the trip, somehow...that's their job. Your job is to be 100 percent when you go to work.
I've gotten sick/injured on the job three times in seven years.
The first was in a hotel in CID, I had an allergic reaction to something, (still have no idea what) and my eyes swelled shut during the night. We weren't due out until around noon, so at 8am I called scheduling and told them about the situation, which gave them enough time to find a reserve and get them on the inbound flight. The flight I was supposed to work was not delayed or affected in any way. I called my captain so he would know what was going on, and he was kind enough to accompany me to the emergency room, where I got treated and was actually on my way back to ORD before the rest of my crew!
The second time was when we'd arrived in PIA for the overnight, the ramp people were busy with the aft cargo, (all the pax were in the terminal by this time), and the crew bags were in the front cargo. So, nice person that I am, thought I'd get our bags out of the front cargo. The fwd cargo door on the ATR is easy enough to operate, but when fully opened there's a hinged strut you have to push on to support the weight of the door, and in pushing that strut my thumb got smashed between the strut and the side of the airplane. I was pretty sure I'd broken it. I didn't say anything to anyone about it right away, instead I went to the hotel, sat with my hand in a bucket of ice crying on the phone to Bill until at 2am he finally convinced me I need to go the emergency room. So the hotel van driver took me in, turned out it wasn't broken after all, just very badly bruised. (But I did lose the nail..yuck) I called scheduling around 2:30 and since we weren't due out until 2 in the afternoon they had plenty of time to cover it.
The third was coming out of BNA with AA. We had a fairly early morning flight back to ORD, and I hadn't been feeling right ever since I'd got up. It got worse, but by the time I was feeling really bad, we were already airborne and it was too late to do anything about it. So I served first class breakfast, threw up a few times, managed to make it through landing, but had to disapear into the lav again as soon as the door was opened. The pax never knew anything was wrong. I'd told the crew inflight I wasn't going on to PHL with them, and I called scheduling as soon as I got to the crew lounge. Since this was in ORD where we have a crew base and airport standbys, this was no big deal. There was another FA ready to take my place within a matter of minutes.
So, sorry to ramble, but if you know you're physically unable to adequately perform your duties, just do yourself and the rest of your crew a favor and call in sick. Try to give as much notice as possible to scheduling, if you are at an outstation they can get a reserve on an inbound flight. If you make a sincere attempt to call as soon as you know you're sick, that's all the company can ask. Try not to make it a habit, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
The first was in a hotel in CID, I had an allergic reaction to something, (still have no idea what) and my eyes swelled shut during the night. We weren't due out until around noon, so at 8am I called scheduling and told them about the situation, which gave them enough time to find a reserve and get them on the inbound flight. The flight I was supposed to work was not delayed or affected in any way. I called my captain so he would know what was going on, and he was kind enough to accompany me to the emergency room, where I got treated and was actually on my way back to ORD before the rest of my crew!
The second time was when we'd arrived in PIA for the overnight, the ramp people were busy with the aft cargo, (all the pax were in the terminal by this time), and the crew bags were in the front cargo. So, nice person that I am, thought I'd get our bags out of the front cargo. The fwd cargo door on the ATR is easy enough to operate, but when fully opened there's a hinged strut you have to push on to support the weight of the door, and in pushing that strut my thumb got smashed between the strut and the side of the airplane. I was pretty sure I'd broken it. I didn't say anything to anyone about it right away, instead I went to the hotel, sat with my hand in a bucket of ice crying on the phone to Bill until at 2am he finally convinced me I need to go the emergency room. So the hotel van driver took me in, turned out it wasn't broken after all, just very badly bruised. (But I did lose the nail..yuck) I called scheduling around 2:30 and since we weren't due out until 2 in the afternoon they had plenty of time to cover it.
The third was coming out of BNA with AA. We had a fairly early morning flight back to ORD, and I hadn't been feeling right ever since I'd got up. It got worse, but by the time I was feeling really bad, we were already airborne and it was too late to do anything about it. So I served first class breakfast, threw up a few times, managed to make it through landing, but had to disapear into the lav again as soon as the door was opened. The pax never knew anything was wrong. I'd told the crew inflight I wasn't going on to PHL with them, and I called scheduling as soon as I got to the crew lounge. Since this was in ORD where we have a crew base and airport standbys, this was no big deal. There was another FA ready to take my place within a matter of minutes.
So, sorry to ramble, but if you know you're physically unable to adequately perform your duties, just do yourself and the rest of your crew a favor and call in sick. Try to give as much notice as possible to scheduling, if you are at an outstation they can get a reserve on an inbound flight. If you make a sincere attempt to call as soon as you know you're sick, that's all the company can ask. Try not to make it a habit, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
seagull
Well-Known Member
Internationally it's really a mess. Had someone need to get off a trip due to an illness in his family a couple months ago. We were in Hong Kong, where there are a lot of crews, so easy to cover that kind of stuff. Problem was, he was in Almaty, where we don't have the crews to recover, just one crew lays over there at a time. Meant the airplane inbound got stuck there, and due to the VISA requirements, replacing someone there is tough, so it ended up with about 14 crews getting rerouted with their trips revised to make the system work. Fortunately for the airline, the company is literally built on contingency planning, but messed up a lot of people's trips, including mine!
Cheechako
Well-Known Member
My infant son had a seizure while I was away on a trip. I called scheduling and explained the situation. I went home and they flew a reserve up to cover the rest of the trip. It actually took two reserves because of the short call for the first to get out to the overnight, he would have gone past his duty time to complete the trip.
I was on probation and had no repercussions for the event. Skywest is real good about things like that- calling in sick, family emergencies, injuries, etc.
I was on probation and had no repercussions for the event. Skywest is real good about things like that- calling in sick, family emergencies, injuries, etc.
flyover
New Member
Everyone who has flown very long has gotten sick on trips. If your company gets mad about it you are working for the wrong company. If you are at a non-crew base station and there are no other flight crews there to steal from, the flight may be cancelled.
But here is a cautionary tale. I just heard of one pilot who got some serious stomach flu that manifested on a long international flight. So they stopped short and took him off. Stomach flue or food poisoning, no big deal, right? Everybody gets it sometime. He was fine in a day or so, BUT the FAA pulled his medical and two months later he still doesn't have it back. So much for doing the right thing.
But here is a cautionary tale. I just heard of one pilot who got some serious stomach flu that manifested on a long international flight. So they stopped short and took him off. Stomach flue or food poisoning, no big deal, right? Everybody gets it sometime. He was fine in a day or so, BUT the FAA pulled his medical and two months later he still doesn't have it back. So much for doing the right thing.
agcatman
New Member
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Everyone who has flown very long has gotten sick on trips.
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Yeah, but what about getting sick while you're at the stick? Any of you guys ever get hit with that?
I was fertilizing grain sorghum one time about eight years ago. I was in a round motor AgCat in the heat of the summer. One minute I was fine. The next minute I started getting cold sweats and then my mouth started watering. And at the time I was just starting the load.
Luckily, the round motor Cats weren't air conditioned (hehe, luck is a state of mind) so I had my door off. It still wasn't pretty. And it didn't all go outside.
Everyone who has flown very long has gotten sick on trips.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, but what about getting sick while you're at the stick? Any of you guys ever get hit with that?
I was fertilizing grain sorghum one time about eight years ago. I was in a round motor AgCat in the heat of the summer. One minute I was fine. The next minute I started getting cold sweats and then my mouth started watering. And at the time I was just starting the load.
Luckily, the round motor Cats weren't air conditioned (hehe, luck is a state of mind) so I had my door off. It still wasn't pretty. And it didn't all go outside.
flyover
New Member
[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, but what about getting sick while you're at the stick? Any of you guys ever get hit with that?
I was fertilizing grain sorghum one time about eight years ago. I was in a round motor AgCat in the heat of the summer. One minute I was fine. The next minute I started getting cold sweats and then my mouth started watering. And at the time I was just starting the load.
Luckily, the round motor Cats weren't air conditioned (hehe, luck is a state of mind) so I had my door off. It still wasn't pretty. And it didn't all go outside.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, sometimes it takes some time to build up immunity to sorghum fertilizer. Classic symptoms.
Had an FO puking in a trash bag a few months ago. Like Capn' Ron says: Nausea, it comes on ya fast, and it leaves ya fast.
Yeah, but what about getting sick while you're at the stick? Any of you guys ever get hit with that?
I was fertilizing grain sorghum one time about eight years ago. I was in a round motor AgCat in the heat of the summer. One minute I was fine. The next minute I started getting cold sweats and then my mouth started watering. And at the time I was just starting the load.
Luckily, the round motor Cats weren't air conditioned (hehe, luck is a state of mind) so I had my door off. It still wasn't pretty. And it didn't all go outside.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, sometimes it takes some time to build up immunity to sorghum fertilizer. Classic symptoms.
Had an FO puking in a trash bag a few months ago. Like Capn' Ron says: Nausea, it comes on ya fast, and it leaves ya fast.
agcatman
New Member
[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, sometimes it takes some time to build up immunity to sorghum fertilizer. Classic symptoms.
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Actually it was ammonium nitrate.
But that moment is indelibly etched into my mind. The sudden rush of understanding of what was about to happen....the anger that it dared interrupt my day in such a gross way...the bargaining with my gut that if I can just make it back to the strip before I hurl I'll never eat bologna past the due by date again...the denial of its inevitability....the acceptance that there wasn't a damn thing I could do....and then, oh, the agony.
It was very Kubler-Ross-ish.
The smell wasn't too hot either.
Yeah, sometimes it takes some time to build up immunity to sorghum fertilizer. Classic symptoms.
[/ QUOTE ]
Actually it was ammonium nitrate.
But that moment is indelibly etched into my mind. The sudden rush of understanding of what was about to happen....the anger that it dared interrupt my day in such a gross way...the bargaining with my gut that if I can just make it back to the strip before I hurl I'll never eat bologna past the due by date again...the denial of its inevitability....the acceptance that there wasn't a damn thing I could do....and then, oh, the agony.
It was very Kubler-Ross-ish.
The smell wasn't too hot either.
TheShortOne
Well-Known Member
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That is EXACTLY how john looked on Friday night. but it wasn't from amonium nitrate...
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That is EXACTLY how john looked on Friday night. but it wasn't from amonium nitrate...
NC_BE300
Well-Known Member
I've had my sinus block up after liftoff from a touch and go.
I had been flying around for alittle less than an hour at 4000ft, came in touched down, and is the airplane was climbing, the sinus pain came. It was like someone was hammering me in the face between my eyes and forehead, and between my nose and lower sinus areas. I though that my nose would be bleeding, but it actually didn't. I was solo in this cherokee, so I told the tower this landing will be a full stop, made the climbs and descents as slow as possible, and dealt with it on the descent to land. The yoke in the plane might have an imprint of my hand in it because i gripped it tight during the most painful moments, but I maintained control of the plane and landed. This happened long enough after I had a "sinus day" that I though I was fine. In reality I was not, and have learned to give it more time.
I pass this along to my friends that fly when they complain about "having" to fly on a lesson and they don't want to cancel because of an instructor. You do what you gotta do. It is your own well being- and that of the people that are riding with you.
I had been flying around for alittle less than an hour at 4000ft, came in touched down, and is the airplane was climbing, the sinus pain came. It was like someone was hammering me in the face between my eyes and forehead, and between my nose and lower sinus areas. I though that my nose would be bleeding, but it actually didn't. I was solo in this cherokee, so I told the tower this landing will be a full stop, made the climbs and descents as slow as possible, and dealt with it on the descent to land. The yoke in the plane might have an imprint of my hand in it because i gripped it tight during the most painful moments, but I maintained control of the plane and landed. This happened long enough after I had a "sinus day" that I though I was fine. In reality I was not, and have learned to give it more time.
I pass this along to my friends that fly when they complain about "having" to fly on a lesson and they don't want to cancel because of an instructor. You do what you gotta do. It is your own well being- and that of the people that are riding with you.
ramprat2035
New Member
I did spend a year as a crew scheduler. If a crew member got sick in the middle of their pairing, we had certain options. Flight Attandants did have a ready reserve at the Hub Airports. Pilots there were other options. If they were able to get back to the Hub we would look for a reserve to finish the trip, or at least the next round trip. Sometimes we had to "extend" lineholders and that at times would start mini riots over the phone. But yes it does happen.