My First Air Return...

CapnJim

CapnJim

Well-Known Member
And what a doozy!
CLE-MSN-EWR. Should have been an easy day trip ending at 8:30pm. No such luck. Pressurization fail, (with the attendant master warning at 10,000ft cabin altitude), manual pressurization fail, and stab anti-ice fail (In icing conditions...). ATC was helpful and we were down to 10,000 feet in no time preventing the rubber jungle coming down. Then the autopilot failed!
Xjet maintenance is excellent by any measure, but this plane was in bad shape. I don't think the mech understood the gravity of the situation when we returned to CLE. He actually said, "Uh, yeah, were going to try to MEL it and send you on your way..." We could have strangled him!
 
Yeah, it was a change of pace, that's for sure.
We stopped the climb at 14K on o2 masks, and CLE center cleared us to 10 almost immediately. I QRH'ed it, tried manual control- no workie. Never thought I'd actually have to dump the cabin, but I did. The descent and vectors back to CLE got us back out of the ice, which I was glad for. I had enough going on.
Only thing that pissed me off? In the middle of everything, the FMS kept blinking at me to send a freakin' diversion report! I sent it after things settled down, but it kept prompting me to send one over and over, even after Ops had ack'ed the first one!
Stupid dern magic box! Why can't it just tell me where to fly, figure out my holds, order my specials and leave me the hell alone?!?
Just kiddin'. Jimmy likey magic box.
 
CapnJim said:
And what a doozy!
CLE-MSN-EWR. Should have been an easy day trip ending at 8:30pm. No such luck. Pressurization fail, (with the attendant master warning at 10,000ft cabin altitude), manual pressurization fail, and stab anti-ice fail (In icing conditions...). ATC was helpful and we were down to 10,000 feet in no time preventing the rubber jungle coming down. Then the autopilot failed!
Xjet maintenance is excellent by any measure, but this plane was in bad shape. I don't think the mech understood the gravity of the situation when we returned to CLE. He actually said, "Uh, yeah, were going to try to MEL it and send you on your way..." We could have strangled him!
Click to expand...

Hey, what is the flight number and approx. time so i can get it off of liveatc.net and check it out?

Thanks
 
Did you find the coordination to be difficult with the masks on? This is typically one of the most difficult CRM issues because communication is so darn difficult. Couple that with the fast paced descent and quick return and I'm sure it was a challenging event.
 
B767Driver said:
Did you find the coordination to be difficult with the masks on? This is typically one of the most difficult CRM issues because communication is so darn difficult. Couple that with the fast paced descent and quick return and I'm sure it was a challenging event.
Click to expand...
Indeed I did, and indeed it was! In fact, My CA was wearing his mask and headset, while I had my DAP set to mask mike with the speaker cranked up. I established crew comm- he could hear me just fine, I could hear ATC, but I couldn't hear him. By the time it became an issue we were at 10,000 and back on headsets and back to normal. Non-event in this case, but could be a problem in a more serious emergency.
I was under the impression that since our DAP has separate settings for boom (headset) and mask you didn't use the two together. My CA seemed to think that you did. Dosen't make sense to me since the inflatable mask harness interferes with the headset, but I may be wrong. Any Jetlinkers out there have input on that?

Grant- I had no idea such a thing as liveatc.net existed! How cool! I was Jetlink 2330 in CLE between 5:30p and 6:30p. Lemmie know if you find it! Don't post it in case I said something stupid, I'll never live it down!
 
Well, I usually do put my david clarks on when I'm wearing the O2 mask, just so I can hear ATC and the cabin interphone better than I can with the speaker alone. Of course you have to select "mask" on the DAP if you want your transmissions to be audible at all.

To summarize, with the o2 masks on, I turn the speaker on, select mask, headset on (and turned up considerably since the o2 mask straps don't allow the headsets to fit correctly, and hot mic off unless I'm talking.

This brings up another good point....always tap the mask to make sure that mic is working during the preflight. Supposedly the sound of oxygen flow during the mask test ensures that the mic is working, but you'll still hear the flow even if the mic is busted. I found this out the hard way a few weeks back....
 
The way the systems typically work...you were configured correctly and the captain was all goofed up.

That was a good experience to put in your toolbox for the next similar situation. Usually, no matter how diligent you prepare for those situations...they don't go entirely the way you want them to.

I once had to evacuate an aircraft...it was a total mess. Didn't go very much the way we had envisioned. I'm definitely armed knowing the pitfalls for next time.
 
Absolutely! I'm grateful for every experience I have like this that ends with everyone having thier limbs and careers intact. Just another tool in the box for when the •! really hits the N1 fan.

Thanks for the mask input guys, I don't have my FOM or AOM handy (Flight case in the bag room in EWR) but I think I'll have a look see if there's any guidance in those.
 
I use the Telex 750, so I normally take it off, put on my mask, put the headset back on over the mask, and put out the speaker too.
 
Nice job, Jim.

In the sim I would throw the DCs back on top of the mask to hear ATC and the left seater, but I would flip the boom up and just use the built in mic. On the CRJ there is a switch on the audio panel that flips from boom to mask. I don't think you could get enough sound through the mask and into the boom mic.
 
Great job. I also am grateful for all these kinds of experiences. Early this morning I had to do a precautionary landing in a 172SP because of a rough running engine. It was a 20-30kt wind which made the 180 from downwind to final (ending right over the threshold) pretty interesting. Adrenilane really helps you fly good... it was one of my better landings in the past week, even with the gusty winds.
 
Good work Brett! I'd like to hear more about it. In fact, that gives me an idea for a post...

See you in General Topics!
 
Capn Jim,

Was this on Feb 13 or Feb 14 ?


I got the ATC files for CLE for both those days from 5:30-6:30 PM.


But instead of listening to two hours, if you can tell me what day it was, then I can listen to it for one hour and let you know if i hear it.
 
You bet-
It's on the Feb 13 06 1730 tape, about 6:30 into it. A fellow JC'er was good enough to find it and PM it to me. I don't believe my voice is on it- what you hear is my captain coordinating the air return with CLE ground operations. I was on the upper antenna with center; I guess that's why it wasn't picked up.
 
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