Spooky Spooky Spooky

ppragman

ppragman

FLIPY FLAPS!
So we've got this new captain online, and she scares the hell out of me.

Today she tried to turn too early on a DP and into mountains, and then tried to go direct instead of flying the airway, landed way long and slammed on the brakes and threw it way back into reverse, skidding a long. Spooky spooky spooky.... I had to watch her like a hawk all day, it was exhausting.

Sorry, just had to vent.
 
In a scenario like that do you just say, "yo, we're going to crash into that mountain?" Or is there some other method of intervening? Especially if that person already initiated the turn and deviated from the DP. Do you just grab the controls?

That captain sounds like she was very preoccupied with something.
 
ppragman said:
I can't agree with that, I just think she doesn't have any decision making skills, her entire career she's been nothing but an FO.
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So because she's been an FO her entire career she's unable to make decisions? As an FO, you're supposed to think like a captain. You have 49% input. Some people give up and just let the 51% vote decide for them, some exercise their 49% regularly. The latter makes a better captain.

Now, about the women thing. I've flown with tons of capable women, but I've noticed that the "can't see the forest through all the trees" type of captains seem predominantly female. They'll micromanage the FO, but when it is their turn to fly, point it at some cumulogranites. This isn't to say ALL females are bad, or males are better than females, but in this one particular description you gave, it wasn't all that uncommon from what I have seen. Males tend not to micromanage. They might be lazy or just plain jerks, but micromanaging tends not to be a male thing.
 
AP2B said:
In a scenario like that do you just say, "yo, we're going to crash into that mountain?" Or is there some other method of intervening? Especially if that person already initiated the turn and deviated from the DP. Do you just grab the controls?

That captain sounds like she was very preoccupied with something.
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Usually a quick "UHhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Mountain?" will remind them, if not, I'd get a little more specific... "The DP says the turn is at 14.5 DME, not 11"
 
I don't want to make any generalization (unlike Brother Ford) but the by far worst captain I have ever had to fly with was a female. She sounds very much like the captain the OP was describing.

However, I really don't think the fact that she was female had anything to do with the fact that she had no business in the left seat.
 
99% of the girls I've flown with were great. There's always that "one" that has slipped through the cracks. We had one like that at 9E, though she was finally canned. The saying was that if you had flown with her, you had been a captain for a trip.

I did a couple trips with this one.... she was SUPER nice and easy to get along with- a very very good person...but she should have never been allowed to upgrade.

I suppose the only benefit on having flown with her is getting experience in those interview type scenarios... It actually really did help my confidence as a fledgling transport having dealt with a night of thunderstorms everywhere with her.



This being said, the worst CA I flew with was a guy...got stuck with for a month. But that's all for another thread. :)
 
I've only flown with a few women and by and large, they are fine.. Nothing about them being a girl makes them any less able to fly the plane..

I got paired up with our check airWOman at the time at Corpex for 3 months and we only almost crashed once.. ;)

However, I flew with this one "chick" and it suuuuckkkkeedd.. :)

She treated me like I was her X and she just caught me hookin' it up with the FA.... Just kinda.. I dunno.. It sucked..
 
Atleast you know whats going on otherwise you both might be fugged.

As far as women I think because there are fewer of them so when they do something not good it gets noticed more. The couple of female local cfi's over the years were awful. I mean scary awful in knowledge, technique, and common sense. The ones I have flown with personally were just fine. I have also seen many scary male pilots as well.
 
My very first CA off of OE was a female pilot. We had an awesome trip and she was great all around.

I had another trip with her two months later and was looking forward to it because of how great the last trip was. However... when I showed up... she had just been "screwed" (her words) by crew scheduling since she was on reserve... and she was so mad about that issue with CS that it was all she seemed to focus on. As a result... the flight deck became very uncomfortable and the micro-managing began. It was just weird and uncomfortable... like it was two completely different people. She couldn't let the CS issue go... and got so wound up in it that it affected our CRM.

I too have had quite a few scary male pilots... but I think the dynamics are just a bit different on the flight deck when it's a female/male or female/female flight deck. So the situations tend to stick out in our memories a bit more.

That said, I've had a rash of female FO's lately... junior ones too... and quite frankly... they were better pilots than I remember being when I was in their seat and at their seniority level.

Bob
 
I agree. I have flown with plenty of female pilots & personally I have not really seen a difference. Most of them were excellent, some of them have moved on to the legacies. It is the same with male pilots, some do a better job than others. Regardless of the gender, if you feel there is a real safety issue while flying don't be afraid to speak up.
 
Best Capt I ever flew with was a woman.

Can't believe we're even having this conversation.

Thanks Chris Ford....
 
Yeah I agree this topic is stupid and senseless. Let's talk about Hot and promiscuous female Flight Attendants instead!
 
Captain_Bob said:
My very first CA off of OE was a female pilot. We had an awesome trip and she was great all around.

I had another trip with her two months later and was looking forward to it because of how great the last trip was. However... when I showed up... she had just been "screwed" (her words) by crew scheduling since she was on reserve... and she was so mad about that issue with CS that it was all she seemed to focus on. As a result... the flight deck became very uncomfortable and the micro-managing began. It was just weird and uncomfortable... like it was two completely different people. She couldn't let the CS issue go... and got so wound up in it that it affected our CRM.

I too have had quite a few scary male pilots... but I think the dynamics are just a bit different on the flight deck when it's a female/male or female/female flight deck. So the situations tend to stick out in our memories a bit more.

That said, I've had a rash of female FO's lately... junior ones too... and quite frankly... they were better pilots than I remember being when I was in their seat and at their seniority level.

Bob
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I think you've just hinted at a legit generalization regarding women - the fact that they dramatically change moods within a short time. Everyone, including men, have bad days - but when a woman has a bad day, everything goes to $#!%. It would concern me for sure.
 
Two of the best pilots I've ever met were women.
Hate to bag on the OP but you might want to look at yourself to see if you could change anything. The job of the FO isn't to watch the Captain eff up and think damn I could do that better. Maybe breifing that departure better or adding something you think might be a common mistake. As a right seater for the first time in my life I learned real quick, even though they may be the skipper and have more time then you, they aren't perfect and make mistakes just as often if not more often as the right seaters. You should watch them like a hawk at all times, male or female. I hope my Co-Pilots in a month do the same favor for me.
 
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