"Suspected Sleeping go! (Mesa) Pilots Fired"

[RJP]

This is from tonight's news.
Have at it.

April 23, 2008

Suspected sleeping go! pilots fired

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two pilots suspected of falling asleep on a flight from Honolulu to Hilo in February were fired last week by go! airlines and may also face Federal Aviation Administration sanctions.

Paul Skellon, vice president of corporate communications for Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, go!’s parent company, issued a statement today confirming the firing.
“After a thorough internal investigation into the incident on Feb. 13 in which go! Flight 1002 overflew the airport at Hilo, Mesa has terminated the employment of both pilots involved,” Skellon said by telephone from Phoenix.
The pilots were not identified.
go! Flight 1002 was headed for Hilo Airport at about 10 a.m. but overshot the airport by 15 miles before returning to land safely. A radar track of the 214-mile flight provided by the Web site www.flightaware.com shows the plane remained at 21,000 feet as it flew past Hilo before returning to the airport. Air traffic controllers reportedly were unable to contact the pilots for a while.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor, in a telephone interview from California, said findings from his agency’s investigation will be released in a few weeks. Gregor said if there are FAA sanctions, they could range from a warning letter to suspension to revocation of the pilots’ licenses.
go!, which began flying in Hawai‘i in June 2006, flies 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft.
Local pilots say most commercial flights between Honolulu and Hilo have an autopilot function that can set the plane’s route, altitude and speed. The autopilot also controls the descent when the aircraft approaches an airport.
But toward the end of the flight, the pilot needs to manually set a lower altitude for landing. Failure to do this would mean that the plane would continue past its landing point, which may have occurred on Flight 1002, the local pilots said.
FAA officials could not recall the last time they investigated an off-course airliner in Hawaii.
Complaints of pilot fatigue are not new to Mesa Air Group.
In 2006, Dallas TV station WFAA-TV reported that pilot schedules at Mesa's Mainland operations were so tight that many pilots were flying exhausted and some were forced to camp in their aircraft.
Last year, the Mesa unit of the Air Line Pilots Association complained that staff shortages hurt morale and affected Mesa's operations on the Mainland.

 

[Salukipilot4590]

Man that sucks...

 

[XPOO]

At least they were spared having to work for that crummy airline any longer. They also don't have to watch that company go through bankruptcy here in about a month.

 

[JustaNumber]

Is there any information on the actual schedules those two pilots were flying? I think that's the crux of the matter here.

If they just finished 10 days off with massive hangovers, they deserve everything they're getting. If they were on continuous duty, or working some other typically insane Mesa pairing, then shame on the company. Anyone know which it is?

 

[ohplease!]

Is there any information on the actual schedules those two pilots were flying? I think that's the crux of the matter here.

If they just finished 10 days off with massive hangovers, they deserve everything they're getting. If they were on continuous duty, or working some other typically insane Mesa pairing, then shame on the company. Anyone know which it is?

Who cares? They chose to work there. Even if they didn't know how Mesa was before they were hired, they surley Knew by this point.

 

[fly4surf]

Now they can get that real job they dreamed about at Aloha.

OH WAIT! FO.

 

[go!ng for broke]

More tonight on KGMB from JO's new best frriend Stacy Loe

 

[Andy Neill]

Is there any information on the actual schedules those two pilots were flying? I think that's the crux of the matter here.

If they just finished 10 days off with massive hangovers, they deserve everything they're getting. If they were on continuous duty, or working some other typically insane Mesa pairing, then shame on the company. Anyone know which it is?

This is from an email to the employees on 21 Feb from VP Corp Communications:
Fact: Three days prior to February 13 over-flight incident, the captain had a rest period of 14 hours and 55 minutes prior to commencement of his flight duty, two days prior he had a rest period of 14 hours 55 minutes and the night prior to the incident, his rest period was 14 hours and 53 minutes.

In the case of the first officer the rest periods on those same three days prior to the February 13 incident were 38 hours 52 minutes, 14 hours and 55 minutes and 14 hours 53 minutes respectively.

..........
Fact: Federal Aviation Regulations allow for a maximum duty day of 16 hours.
The average length of duty for the captain during the three days prior to February 13 was 8 hours 39 minutes.

The average length of duty for the first officer on the two days worked prior to February 13 was 9 hours and 6 minutes. Three days prior the first officer had a day off.
..........

 

[Soverytired]

I'm not aware of any definitive statement by the FAA or Mesa that these two pilots were actually asleep . . .as opposed to nordo, not paying attention, etc. Just a bunch of hearsay and sensationalist innuendo.

Getting fired from Mesa doesn't really mean much. ALPA at Mesa is pretty weak. Frankly, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did.

I'm still waiting for some sort of ruling by the FAA.

 

[Poahi]

Getting fired from Mesa doesn't really mean much.

For something like this it does.

They won't be working in the passenger airline industry anymore.

 

[SkyW120]

Go Jet might be looking for 2 more pilots.

 

[Mr Wu]

This is from an email to the employees on 21 Feb from VP Corp Communications:
Fact: Three days prior to February 13 over-flight incident, the captain had a rest period of 14 hours and 55 minutes prior to commencement of his flight duty, two days prior he had a rest period of 14 hours 55 minutes and the night prior to the incident, his rest period was 14 hours and 53 minutes.

In the case of the first officer the rest periods on those same three days prior to the February 13 incident were 38 hours 52 minutes, 14 hours and 55 minutes and 14 hours 53 minutes respectively.

..........
Fact: Federal Aviation Regulations allow for a maximum duty day of 16 hours.
The average length of duty for the captain during the three days prior to February 13 was 8 hours 39 minutes.

The average length of duty for the first officer on the two days worked prior to February 13 was 9 hours and 6 minutes. Three days prior the first officer had a day off.
..........

Funny how they don't mention how long they had been on duty when the incident occurred.

 

[ohplease!]

Funny how they don't mention how long they had been on duty when the incident occurred.

I believe it was about 10am. How long could it have been since they started the duty day?

 

[Soverytired]

For something like this it does.

They won't be working in the passenger airline industry anymore.

Getting fired from any airline job isn't a good thing. And given the publicity around this, I'd agree that future passenger jobs in the US are going to be tough to come by.

However . . . I don't have all the facts; getting canned for nordo or improperly handling a no-radio situation is a whole different thing than falling asleep at the wheel.

Given their schedules, and the short length of the flight, IF they did fall asleep it's inexcusable, and the FAA is going to take their tickets. I just find that very difficult to believe.

 

[Poahi]

I just find that very difficult to believe.

Agreed.

Soon we will have cameras so the FAA can determine our eye lid position. Violations will be mailed directly to your home. Snore detectors will be powered by the battery BUS.

 

[rickair7777]

Agreed.

Soon we will have cameras so the FAA can determine our eye lid position. Violations will be mailed directly to your home. Snore detectors will be powered by the battery BUS.

Actually, the 787 has a very simple technical solution to keep pilots out of this flavor of hot water. Hopefully it will find it's way into all cockpits.

 

[Soverytired]

Actually, the 787 has a very simple technical solution to keep pilots out of this flavor of hot water. Hopefully it will find it's way into all cockpits.

Some kind of busy work alarm? Move a dial every "x" minutes or the plane gently tells you in dulcet tones to:

"WAKE UP!"

I think it's a pretty good idea as well. Especially for the long haul stuff (aka 787). As long as it's not logged somewhere so the chief pilot isn't calling . . .

 

[fly4surf]

Maybe hot COFFEE in the plane???

Wish mine had that.

 

[papanovember]

Some kind of busy work alarm? Move a dial every "x" minutes or the plane gently tells you in dulcet tones to:

"WAKE UP!"

I think it's a pretty good idea as well. Especially for the long haul stuff (aka 787). As long as it's not logged somewhere so the chief pilot isn't calling . . .

Actually it's an option on 757s 767s 777s, and possibly others. United has it on the above. After a certain amount of time with no interaction with the flight guidance panel a yellow "crew response" message appears on the EICAS. If nothing is done about it ie flicking the heading bug, a nice alarm goes off. I've seen this a couple of times while jumpseating.

 

[go!ng for broke]

Stacy Loe's News Report , More at six

Mesa/GO! pilots admitted being asleep after incident. Capt. had history of sleeping in cockpit. Next up @ 6pm, Drug test results.