SWA Landing gear collapse at LGA

Murdoughnut said:
When I was flying GA with another pilot, I would always include a remark in my departure pax brief to the effect of "if you see something that doesn't make sense, or seems unsafe, speak up and let me know." Do you guys use something like that in the commercial world, or is it just assumed?
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I always include "if you see me screwing something up, please tell me because I probably haven't figured it out yet."
 
It's my ship and I am ultimately responsible, but it is our cockpit. I am here to make the final decisions, manage the resources and crew, but I need and want input. We each have our own roles, but we are also here to interact, relate, discuss, watch, learn, share and cover one another. Be adaptable/flexible and listen to your crew. Our goal is the same.......a safe and happy flight free of issues. I depend on you as much as you rely on me. So ask questions, let me know your thoughts and I will do the same. We are on the same team and this is our job. Not my job, not your job. Our job. We both need to be on the same page and in the same game. Mutual respect and mutual communication. If you don't support your crew, they sure as hell won't support you.

Everyone has their own techniques and style. As long as they are in line with the SOPs, that's fine. Be diplomatic. Mentor. Explain. Give your crew opportunities. They won't disappoint you. Adapt to their level of experience and bring out the best in them. Instill confidence in yourself and in their own abilities. There is never a reason to be a tyrant, a control freak or an ass. Find the balance. A happy, respected crew, is a productive crew. You then have a cohesive team. I need to lead by example, and never forget that I started out as an FE.

This has always been my philosophy.
 
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GypsyPilot said:
I just flew a 2 day with a guy that felt the need to tell me when to switch to ground/tower/ramp, what to say to ATC when queried about our indicated airspeed ("Tell them we're going 290 kts"), etc. That kind of stuff turns what could be a fun trip into complete hell. I've been flying for 10 years and 4,000 hours... Pretty sure I can read the airspeed indicator by now.

Most guys and girls I fly with are great, but I just flew 2 back to back trips with guys line this!! So glad I'm starting a vacation this week. Unfortunately not everybody I fly with is a well balanced person (like @Lee D!).
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Yes but sometimes we have to lie, no? (read: max speed for the Q400 was 245 below 8k, but if they queried, we could do 250 easy. Or on arrival into EWR, "tell 'em we can do 280kts" (snicker snicker off mic))
 
BobDDuck said:
I did it because the guy was an ass (which we can TOTALLY say on here!) and was known for asking questions pertaining to sexual position preference, retirement planning, political/religious views and food choices. The reason I bounced though had more to do with the fact that he couldn't fly the plane than any of those things though.
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When we eventually get to fly with each other, food will be the main topic! But I hope I'm not 300lbs by then.
 
Murdoughnut said:
When I was flying GA with another pilot, I would always include a remark in my departure pax brief to the effect of "if you see something that doesn't make sense, or seems unsafe, speak up and let me know." Do you guys use something like that in the commercial world, or is it just assumed?
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My brief is very brief and to the point, "If I screw up, you screwed up for letting me screw up."

And as BobDDuck brought up, I am not a fan of "hint and hope". In the words of Homeland Security, "If you see something, say something."
 
sorrygottarunway said:
When we eventually get to fly with each other, food will be the main topic! But I hope I'm not 300lbs by then.
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Food talk is fine. The guy I was talking about just ate a lot of the McDonalds/Burger King variety and was going to stroke out at any point in time. A 2 hour discussion about why the McRib was off the menu that month is VERY different than the relative merits of various noodle shops in Sapporo.
 
Here's a question worth asking- this SWA Captain behind the accident that caused this thread was allegedly a repeated problem. As fellow Captains, or FOs working for such a type, how much do you involve yourself to help them better their CRM skills?

I once flew a trip with a Captain that cussed out a ramper over the intercom. Once we smoothed over that nonsense, we got going again. I didn't consider him an immediate threat to safety, so I waited to level cruise to talk about what was bothering him.

Given that we were on his first trip back since his infant son had drowned in the backyard pool, I was pretty sure where to start. I started breaking down the effects of traumatic stress in a comparative manner to his situation and let him make the connections. I saw awareness in his expression and things were a little calmer after that.

I think this is the hard part about CRM. We all know we're not always as rested, focused, present as calm as maybe we could be, but the trip grinds on. How do we deal with the things we don't want to name, or our crewmate doesn't want named?

Makes me wonder what was eating that SWA Captain that made her feel as if she had to take the controls at awkward times so often. Maybe she, like others, needed some help with the proverbial thorn in her paw that so often gets to all of us.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
Not much. I'll be out in Dall-ass for the arbitration next week, so I'll see what I can dig up. I'm sure the SWAPA boys would love to talk to me to give all the details. We're such good buddies. :)
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Why not wait for the "official" report instead of "seeing" what others are stating half ass (you can totally say ass on here).?
 
ATN_Pilot said:
People are talking like they know an awful lot about this case when very few acts are actually public. Maybe we should wait until the official report is finalized before making judgments, hmm?
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Wait! I thought this was a "kick dirt on the redneck Tex-ass folks" thread?!
 
ATN_Pilot said:
People are talking like they know an awful lot about this case when very few acts are actually public. Maybe we should wait until the official report is finalized before making judgments, hmm?
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True. But what is interesting here is a lot of what is coming out about this incident is coming from SWA Pilots.
 
Murdoughnut said:
When I was flying GA with another pilot, I would always include a remark in my departure pax brief to the effect of "if you see something that doesn't make sense, or seems unsafe, speak up and let me know." Do you guys use something like that in the commercial world, or is it just assumed?
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We use that in my small portion of the Army world, and while it mostly is helpful for safety, it can sometimes be a pain in the ass.

Flight of two out of Ft. Drum to KRME - was lead. Weather was sketchy - about 700 ft ceilings. Visibility under the ceiling was fine. Mission had to be done VFR. I reviewed all obstacles along the route and felt comfortable with the flight. The PC of chalk two did not, and questioned it over the radio. Sigh. With the "speak up and let me know" philosophy, I was willing to turn the flight around but sure as hell wasn't happy about it. His concerns had nothing to do with regulations or safety - it had to do with his comfort level flying VFR with low ceilings. From my point of view, in class G airspace we need clear of clouds and a half mile during the day - as long as you know where you are and what the obstacles are, where is the danger? It's what we're trained for and paid to do.

Luckily, right around the decision making time, the weather improved a bit and he got more comfortable. But I really would have turned the flight around if he wanted me to.
 
TFaudree_ERAU said:
Wait! I thought this was a "kick dirt on the redneck Tex-ass folks" thread?!
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Yeah, that's usually a favorite pastime of mine. :) But when it comes to accidents/incidents, pilots owe a professional courtesy to each other to wait until the report is out. Condemning someone based upon rumor and media reports is not cool. Even if they are one of the Tex-ass Borg.
 
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