Oh United XIX - Open Door Policy

[Baronman]

You've ridden on a Greyhound bus? Or are you just being cheeky?

I used to take a bus all the time fro NY to PA. Wasn’t a greyhound though, honestly I don’t remember the name of the company. Late ‘90’s timeframe. Took it out of the Port Authority bus terminal…

 

[Richman]

I think I was circadian-low when I wrote that.

A. Don't do what they did.
B. WTF is up with everyone filming dumb crap in the airplane? First don't do dumb crap to start with, secondly ALPA cannot save you nor should they. If you blatantly and willfully break not only a company regulation but also the FARs — "cApTaInS aUtHoRiTy" only applies to emergencies and you're still going to get grilled during the hearing — it's meant for "Yeah, I got suspended but it sure beat dying" not "Well, I'm the captain and i can do what I want".

Unfortunately that is the "new" economy that has gestated with the monetization of social media.

I forget the guys name, but he's built an entire revenue stream on SM pointing out how toxic SM has become because of the monetization, and how that toxicity is bleeding into every facet of society. He has plenty of content to choose from.

People now go "full a@$hole" not because they're wired that way, or people drove them to it, but it's now the default because that generates the most clicks and revenue. We've literally made bad behavior a pay day.

And yes, as to the guy's channel, I completely recognize the irony, and I think he fully acknowledges that he's doing exactly that, and profits off of it.

 

[MikeD]

One weird one on the air today. UAL flight calling in via ARINC to their ops with an issue. That the registration for the plane they were flying, was expired.

Weird thing to notice in the middle of a flight…..

 

[///AMG]

One weird one on the air today. UAL flight calling in via ARINC to their ops with an issue. That the registration for the plane they were flying, was expired.

Weird thing to notice in the middle of a flight…..

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this isn't remotely in my "scan"

Thinking back to PPL days, yeah of course those docs are important, but I'd also have enough trust in a major US 121 carrier to assume they had done their jobs administratively. Just like how I do a preflight walk around, but I'm not dipping sticks or crawling into weird places to look for stuff. We have people who I trust who's job it is to make sure that is right. Sometimes I am struck by literally how much information you would have to cram into a 1+00 ground turn, to truly have looked at everything required. You could spend 25 mins alone on the FDC NOTAMS. Or pick any other rabbit hole. There is simply too much, and one needs to prioritize the important things, and assume the rest have been done by the people who were supposed to do them. Anyway, end of rant. Sounds like my assumptions weren't good ones, in the case of this flight....

 

[Pilot Fighter]

One weird one on the air today. UAL flight calling in via ARINC to their ops with an issue. That the registration for the plane they were flying, was expired.

Weird thing to notice in the middle of a flight…..

I wonder if it’s a dry lease or recent purchase and paperwork hasn’t caught up to the aircraft. I know that some airlines will change n-numbers after a purchase.

In 121 world, with the use of callsigns, to what extent are n-numbers at play? Is call sign or n-number shown on the FMS? If a crew change is at a gate, is a crew even aware of the n-number? Would a crew notice a mismatch among paint, placard, and paperwork?

 

[EAD]

I wonder if it’s a dry lease or recent purchase and paperwork hasn’t caught up to the aircraft. I know that some airlines will change n-numbers after a purchase.

In 121 world, with the use of callsigns, to what extent are n-numbers at play? Is call sign or n-number shown on the FMS? If a crew change is at a gate, is a crew even aware of the n-number? Would a crew notice a mismatch among paint, placard, and paperwork?

I know at my airline we have had crews take the wrong airplane in the past (before my time). Signing into the plane on our EFB has all but eliminated the chance of doing that now. Sign in fails if you try.

But back to your question. On our planes the N-Number is on placards on the panel, but it is very easy to just not notice. Leaving an outstation at 0330 (home time) we once went to the wrong plane and didn't notice until I was 75% done with the walk-around (ground crew flagged us down). CA was inside talking to the company, unable to sign into the plane because the plane had been changed overnight to a different gate but the board still showed the gate we went to.

We do also check the documents are present, correct, and not expired. Never seen one wrong, yet

 

[Pilot Fighter]

I know at my airline we have had crews take the wrong airplane in the past (before my time). Signing into the plane on our EFB has all but eliminated the chance of doing that now. Sign in fails if you try.

But back to your question. On our planes the N-Number is on placards on the panel, but it is very easy to just not notice. Leaving an outstation at 0330 (home time) we once went to the wrong plane and didn't notice until I was 75% done with the walk-around (ground crew flagged us down). CA was inside talking to the company, unable to sign into the plane because the plane had been changed overnight to a different gate but the board still showed the gate we went to.

We do also check the documents are present, correct, and not expired. Never seen one wrong, yet

Wasn’t thinking about EFB. With my Foreflight, with only one aircraft added, I’m not doing much scrolling. For 121, is the whole fleet added and you’re scrolling or searching by N-Number?

 

[Baronman]

In 121 world, with the use of callsigns, to what extent are n-numbers at play? Is call sign or n-number shown on the FMS? If a crew change is at a gate, is a crew even aware of the n-number? Would a crew notice a mismatch among paint, placard, and paperwork?

In 121 N number is usually placarded on the front panel.
Not usually in the fms.
Deicing guys in trucks will reference N numbers…Foreign control towers will ask for registration # on occasion. Also maintenance usually doesn’t care about your flight # but rather your N .

 

[Pilot Fighter]

In 121 N number is usually placarded on the front panel.
Not usually in the fms.
Deicing guys in trucks will reference N numbers…Foreign control towers will ask for registration # on occasion. Also maintenance usually doesn’t care about your flight # but rather your N .

My question was odd and directed at one possible reason for an expired registration, a change in N-number.

I know there’s going to be a placard that’s likely going to match the markings. In the case of an expired registration mentioned, I was thinking about what happens when an N-number changes without a plane being taken out of service. Thus, my FMS question, I was curious if n-number is echoed on the FMS.

I experienced an expired registration as a result of an n-number change. An n-numbered plane was sold to the Saudis. Sometimes, a foreign buyer will maintain a U.S. registration and fly under a foreign registration. This plane returned to the U.S. with an expired U.S. registration. The new owner changed the N-number and there was a short period where the plane’s markings and placarding didn’t match the current registration. One of our pilots caught the expired “old” registration.

 

[EAD]

Wasn’t thinking about EFB. With my Foreflight, with only one aircraft added, I’m not doing much scrolling. For 121, is the whole fleet added and you’re scrolling or searching by N-Number?

Company made an app that let's us view the release, MX log, and a few other things.

Each plane has QR codes in several places. We scan one of them to "sign in" to the plane.

 

[Pilot Fighter]

Company made an app that let's us view the release, MX log, and a few other things.

Each plane has QR codes in several places. We scan one of them to "sign in" to the plane.

Probably cheaper than paying one of the big EFB’s for carrier-specific functionality.