US Airways Pilot got his job back

[J and E's Daddy]

[SIZE=-1]By DAVID KOENIG / Associated Press[/SIZE]

AP
Click here to see larger images of the bullet hole

DALLAS -- A pilot who was fired after his gun discharged in the cockpit is back at work after an arbitrator ordered him reinstated.
US Airways said Friday that Jim Langenhahn resumed training on Monday after an 18-month disciplinary suspension.
The airline said as part of the federal arbitrator's decision to reinstate Langenhahn, he will be barred from carrying a gun in the cockpit. After the 2001 terror attacks in which hijackers armed with knives seized four jetliners, pilots lobbied for the right to carry guns in the cockpit.
A 2002 federal law allowed pilots to carry handguns on board if they took part in a program run by the Transportation Security Administration, which includes a week of weapons training.
Langenhahn's gun fired shortly before landing on a March 2008 flight from Denver to Charlotte, N.C. Langenhahn, a former Air Force pilot, said he was putting his .40-caliber pistol away when it discharged.
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The bullet ripped through the cockpit wall and fuselage. None of the passengers or crew members were hurt.
After US Airways fired him, Langenhahn took the case to arbitration, backed by his union, the US Airways Pilots Association.
Through the union, Langenhahn declined to comment. In a letter to the union president, he thanked the union members and attorney who lobbied for his reinstatement and helped him financially. He called it a "long and painful ordeal."
"We are happy to have him back," said union spokesman James Ray. "The company overreacted. Capt. Langenhahn has had a distinguished and untarnished record in his time at US Airways."
Langenhahn's case was strengthened when the Department of Homeland Security faulted the design of holsters used by pilots who carry their weapons on board planes. The department's inspector general said the design increased the chance of accidental discharge when pilots inserted their guns in the holsters.
The inspector general recommended that the TSA halt use of the locking holster and consider other methods for armed pilots to stow their weapons. The holsters have been in use since 2006.
TSA spokesman Nelson Minerly defended the holster design, saying they have been used "millions of times by thousands of (pilots) without incident."
"The system has been very reliable," he said.
Langenhahn began pilot training Monday at US Airlines' flight training center in Charlotte, the carrier said in a brief statement. The reinstatement does not include back pay.

 

[Cowboy75]

[SIZE=-1]By DAVID KOENIG / Associated Press[/SIZE]

AP
Click here to see larger images of the bullet hole

After US Airways fired him, Langenhahn took the case to arbitration, backed by his union, the US Airways Pilots Association.
Through the union, Langenhahn declined to comment. In a letter to the union president, he thanked the union members and attorney who lobbied for his reinstatement and helped him financially. He called it a "long and painful ordeal."
"We are happy to have him back," said union spokesman James Ray. "The company overreacted. Capt. Langenhahn has had a distinguished and untarnished record in his time at US Airways."

I find the use of using arbitration ironic, considering this very association ignores binding arbitration.

 

[weasel_lips]

GOOD JOB USAPA!!!!!!!

WELL DONE!


It's quite impressive they were able to get his job back.

Im sure the westies will chime in with their predictable bitching anytime now.

 

[Cpt Oveur]

The Union is happy to have his dues money back.

 

[FlyinGuy]

The moron fired his pistola on an airplane with pax and crew!!! Yea....he got his job back. I am all for union support, but there are some things that are not forgivable. I think this is one of them!

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

The moron fired his pistola on an airplane with pax and crew!!! Yea....he got his job back. I am all for union support, but there are some things that are not forgivable. I think this is one of them!

Do you know all the facts of the case? No comment on the flawed holster?

 

[OurMoney1]

But he will never get his gun back.

 

[Hutchman]

The Union is happy to have his dues money back.

I am sure they spent more money defending him than he will pay in dues for the rest of his career.

 

[get2flyin]

Do you know all the facts of the case? No comment on the flawed holster?

All he had to do was follow the procedure and this would have NEVER happened. Would you forgive a guy who took the crash ax out of the holster, swung it, and then said the fact he chopped a whole in the side of the airplane was an accident? If this guy blows off procedure with his firearm inside a flightdeck, what other procedure has he decided to ignore/re-write. He should be gone.

 

[eaglesview]

All he had to do was follow the procedure and this would have NEVER happened. Would you forgive a guy who took the crash ax out of the holster, swung it, and then said the fact he chopped a whole in the side of the airplane was an accident? If this guy blows off procedure with his firearm inside a flightdeck, what other procedure has he decided to ignore/re-write. He should be gone.

Yeah an accidental discharge is the same as taking out the crash ax and swinging it around the cockpit. moron

 

[GSXR600]

Langenhahn's gun fired shortly before landing on a March 2008 flight from Denver to Charlotte, N.C. Langenhahn, a former Air Force pilot, said he was putting his .40-caliber pistol away when it discharged.

Shouldn't he be flying the aircraft at this stage of the flight? and not playig with his superman toys?

 

[get2flyin]

Yeah an accidental discharge is the same as taking out the crash ax and swinging it around the cockpit. moron

No, an ACCIDENTAL discharge is nothing like swinging a crash ax. That's why NOBODY uses the term anymore. The proper term is NEGLIGENT discharge. That's what happens when one of your idiot brothers stores his pistol on the shelf in front of the side stick with the gun slid an inch out of the holster so he thinks he can get it out faster. In NO WAY does that comply with any FFDO procedure. You can't blame the holster for that any more than you can blame a car for a drunk driving accident.

If you're flying the aircraft and you do something by mistake, report it to NASA and let everybody learn from it and your job is protected. In the same way the NASA form doesn't protect you if you are intentionally violating procedure and you then break an FAR. You are fair game for FAA action and termination. Perhaps you can explain how this would be anything different. You guys are sad because you're so predictable. Moron.

 

[Raoul Duke]

ok so he's back - now the fun part. I hope everyone who see's him in the crew room goes out of their way to make comments and leave plastic squirt guns in his flight bag and other pranks. It is almost better with him back so the unrelenting comments can never let this incident die.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

No, an ACCIDENTAL discharge is nothing like swinging a crash ax. That's why NOBODY uses the term anymore. The proper term is NEGLIGENT discharge. That's what happens when one of your idiot brothers stores his pistol on the shelf in front of the side stick with the gun slid an inch out of the holster so he thinks he can get it out faster. In NO WAY does that comply with any FFDO procedure. You can't blame the holster for that any more than you can blame a car for a drunk driving accident.

If you're flying the aircraft and you do something by mistake, report it to NASA and let everybody learn from it and your job is protected. In the same way the NASA form doesn't protect you if you are intentionally violating procedure and you then break an FAR. You are fair game for FAA action and termination. Perhaps you can explain how this would be anything different. You guys are sad because you're so predictable. Moron.

The legal process disagrees with you...

If he no longer has the weapon, what is the issue? Was his ability to operate the aircraft without a weapon ever an issue?

 

[boomlrd]

The full report is available to any FFDO, it does state his admittance to not following several FFDO procedures as well as his fellow crew member verifying the lack of professionalism and decorum in his handling of the firearm. Also a complete disregard of FAR of trying to stow the gun on approach. I would say he is very lucky to even have an ATP still, much less his job. I will never understand how these unions can claim credibility when they save the jobs of the lowest common denominator.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

The full report is available to any FFDO, it does state his admittance to not following several FFDO procedures as well as his fellow crew member verifying the lack of professionalism and decorum in his handling of the firearm. Also a complete disregard of FAR of trying to stow the gun on approach. I would say he is very lucky to even have an ATP still, much less his job. I will never understand how these unions can claim credibility when they save the jobs of the lowest common denominator.

The arbitrator saved the job.


If you were found gulity of a felony would you seek council to lesson the sentence or would you tell the judge.. give me the full sentencing the law allows?

Finally, you could appreciate the LCD... if they go then you are next. Consider them a buffer zone and job security.

 

[FlyinGuy]

Sorry Rez I disagree with you. There are some people that should not get their jobs back. Flawed holster??? Yea right. You gotta love lawyers. The dude did not follow procedures and he should be greeting at Wal Mart instead of flying airplanes!!!

 

[cactusboy53]

Yeah an accidental discharge is the same as taking out the crash ax and swinging it around the cockpit. moron

Eagle;

While you might term this an "accidental discharge", the FACT remains that had the person in question followed the SOP's (really not that tough) this event would NEVER have happened.

Will he be allowed to participate in the program again? I would say not. Should he have lost his job? That's tough to say. He allegedly unnecessarily endangered a transport category aircraft full of passengers with his alleged deviation from SOP's. I know which way I would vote, but my vote does not count.

Good for USAPA......the "union that represents over 5000 US Airways pilots" (while simultaneously suing them unnecessarily & losing most all other legal battles in federal court).

It's time to put this sucker to bed. We are ONE carrier. We are operating on ONE certificate. The legal battles are drawing to a close. If you are a lurker and tired of this nonsense, please join the soon-to-be not so silent majority. We can unseat the leadership and share USAPA leadership. We can steer this ship to a new contract with better wages and working conditions.

If you think that the appeal is a sure thing, if you think the snap back is a done deal, if you think the airline will split and the east flying will merge with American Airlines (or some other carrier)....so you can really educate them on how to merge a pilot seniortiy list.....then the above message IS DEFINITELY NOT FOR YOU.

Ready, FIRE!, Aim.......

 

[Flyin2low]

Do you know all the facts of the case? No comment on the flawed holster?

I know that most coworkers were glad to see him leave

 

[boeingdriver213]

Judging from your aircraft flown, How in the world do you know that most of his co- workers were glad to seem him go? It doesn't appear that you ever flew there. I flew with this man pilot several times in my carreer there and can tell you from experience that he was en excellent pilot and all around good guy.