tonyw
Well-Known Member
This is one of the top stories at wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329348135552551.html#mod=rss_US_News
Kenny Edwards, then a captain with Gulfstream International Airlines, noticed that the collision-avoidance system on the Beech 1900 turboprop he was scheduled to fly was malfunctioning.
The system had helped the commuter aircraft narrowly avoid a midair collision with a private plane on the leg he had completed just hours earlier, from the Bahamas to West Palm Beach, Fla. He says he told airline management he wasn't "comfortable" flying another leg in and out of clouds at dusk if the equipment wasn't working properly, particularly at low altitudes, which are often crowded with small aircraft.
He was fired on the spot for insubordination. In a termination letter dated the following day and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the airline's chief pilot at the time said the plane had been legal to operate and that the pilot's refusal to fly it delayed the departure for more than two hours "and inconvenienced our customers without just cause."
The details of that incident -- as alleged in a lawsuit and a Federal Aviation Administration "whistle-blower" complaint, both filed by Capt. Edwards -- are adding to the scrutiny of Gulfstream, a regional airline that operates out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Gulfstream operates flights for Continental Airlines Inc. and other carriers, serving primarily Florida and the Bahamas.
I'm not familiar with whether a B1900 is legal to fly without TCAS but it sure doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
But I could be wrong. Someone who has experience in that airplane educate me.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124329348135552551.html#mod=rss_US_News
Kenny Edwards, then a captain with Gulfstream International Airlines, noticed that the collision-avoidance system on the Beech 1900 turboprop he was scheduled to fly was malfunctioning.
The system had helped the commuter aircraft narrowly avoid a midair collision with a private plane on the leg he had completed just hours earlier, from the Bahamas to West Palm Beach, Fla. He says he told airline management he wasn't "comfortable" flying another leg in and out of clouds at dusk if the equipment wasn't working properly, particularly at low altitudes, which are often crowded with small aircraft.
He was fired on the spot for insubordination. In a termination letter dated the following day and viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the airline's chief pilot at the time said the plane had been legal to operate and that the pilot's refusal to fly it delayed the departure for more than two hours "and inconvenienced our customers without just cause."
The details of that incident -- as alleged in a lawsuit and a Federal Aviation Administration "whistle-blower" complaint, both filed by Capt. Edwards -- are adding to the scrutiny of Gulfstream, a regional airline that operates out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Gulfstream operates flights for Continental Airlines Inc. and other carriers, serving primarily Florida and the Bahamas.
I'm not familiar with whether a B1900 is legal to fly without TCAS but it sure doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
But I could be wrong. Someone who has experience in that airplane educate me.