"Suspected Sleeping go! (Mesa) Pilots Fired"

[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.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

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.

So when you find yourself in a struggle...maybe like these pilots.... no one caring about you is satisfactory?

 

[30West]

Snore detectors will be powered by the battery BUS.

Hey man that's profiling. Unfairly singling out crewmembers who snore.
Profiling is WRONG!

 

[DoinTime]

For something like this it does.

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

In 5 years their PRIA records will be squeaky clean. They are just going to have to suck it up and work a crappy US job until then or get into the international pilot leasing market. There are no PRIA rules on the international scene.

 

[FR8mastr]

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.

So you have to flick switches you don't have to flick, just to make the plane happy? Why would they not include the PTT? Do you know how long a time frame this is?

 

[Lance Uppercut]

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ASH1002/history/20080213/1929Z/PHNL/PHTO

:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

 

[plucky]

they admitted it.

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/5870/169/

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.

 

[RJP]

So you have to flick switches you don't have to flick, just to make the plane happy? Why would they not include the PTT? Do you know how long a time frame this is?

It's not all that long. Someone here must know the actual time before the warning goes off. First, there's a "crew response" message on the EFIS display, then, if that's not responded to, there's an aural warning (beeping/chime-type thing), then if that doesn't work, it alerts dispatch and they SELCAL the crew. If that doesn't wake the dead, nothing will.

And why would they push to talk while on an all-night, over-water track to Europe or Asia? There's no one to talk to. It's all automated position reports.

 

[purduej]

We had the Mesa ALPA fatigue guy in our jumpseat after this happened and he showed us the schedule, it looked pretty brutal. Both at the end of four or five days on, early shows. Prior to that group of days on they had two days off preceded by something like five days on but PM shifts. The guy said they always schedule like that, AM or PM shifts and they often alternate. Sounds like a good chance of fatigue.

 

[Soverytired]

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/5870/169/

Fascinating. Although I really do wonder who their unnamed "sources" were (disgruntled ex-Aloha pilots, perhaps?) Plenty of errors in some of their previous reporting about this very incident. Nevertheless.

This was quite interesting:

"We've learned, after the incident he was admitted to Standford Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with a severe case of sleep apnea. "


[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Sounds like it was a medical issue for the captain. Very difficult to excuse the FO though, assuming what is reported here is accurate.

Both were fired because they failed to tell the company (supposedly), which I actually agree with. The lie is worse than the actual crime and all that.

This was also good:

[/FONT]"The N-T-S-B won't comment until it's report is released. But we've learned its focusing a significant portion of it's investigation into pilot fatigue, a big problem in the industry."

Frankly, if this leads to some much needed regulatory changes, I think they're have done everyone a huge favor.

 

[Soverytired]

In 5 years their PRIA records will be squeaky clean. They are just going to have to suck it up and work a crappy US job until then or get into the international pilot leasing market. There are no PRIA rules on the international scene.

Maybe. Maybe not. I don't think revocations ever fall off.