AWA interview questions, again

[The5th]

1)Captain gets up in flight to use lavatory. Says don't bother with O2. What do you do.? -- O2 is empty -- What do you do?

2)A/C needs de-ice. Captain doesn't want to. What do you do?

3)You're at the end of the runway with a TS in front of you. Captain wants to take off. What do you do?


Personally I find the cases above to be somewhat extreme although it can happen.
I have some possible answers but what does the aviation community think?

Thanks

 

[Jetsi]

My 2 cents is they don't want a narc who will run to the chief pilot every time somebody doesn't do what they want, even if it is a safety issue. Get an answer that has a more creative way of solving the issue yourself while keeping you legal and safe.

For example, #2. As he calls for pushback, get on the radio and say something to the effect of "We need to be de-iced, can you put us in sequence". Now you have said on the radio (which is recorded) that you need to be deiced, and he doesn't have much recourse but to go ahead and do it.

Same thing for #3. Even if it is your leg to fly, you are still running the radios at that point. Simply state, "Nah, I think we will sit here for 5 minutes and watch what that TS does".

As for #1, put the 02 on anyway. If there is no 02 onboard, seems like a crappy preflight and you are hosed.

That was the gist of what I did in my interview. If you have a captain who did the above, I am sure they would be upset and make the rest of the line a pain, but that is better than being fired or in a pine box.

Again, just my 2 cents.

 

[TIS]

1)Captain gets up in flight to use lavatory. Says don't bother with O2. What do you do.? -- O2 is empty -- What do you do?

I assume you're above FL 250? I'd at least establish that first. If you are put it on anyway. O2 empty? Either kick yourself for performing an incomplete cockpit preflight or start into the discussion of the O2 leak write up. Consider descent to altitude that would make a rapid descent if a DP occurs a non event.

2)A/C needs de-ice. Captain doesn't want to. What do you do?

Start by asking how you KNOW a de-ce is required. In other words, what are you seeing that compels it? Armed with that I think you can simply say you'd insist - diplomatically of course - on being de-iced. I have reservations about spouting off on the radio to put the PIC in a bind. You can get a bad reputation for doing stuff like that. It's basically airing out the family's dirty laundry in public.

3)You're at the end of the runway with a TS in front of you. Captain wants to take off. What do you do?

Of the three of these, this one is BY FAR the most likley one to actually happen. This one is also about degrees of comfort. Not in what is right, mind you, but in what might cause a difference of opinion. The bottom line is that if one guy raises an objection the other guy really ought to take notice and at least be willing to have a little chat about it to smooth things over. if that doesn't work, you're going to have a bigger problem on your hands in that there's only one person effectively flying the plane. FWIW, I say you wait the thing out. Use what others are doing to help support your decision - anyone else says they'll wait, point it out.

TIS

 

[Jetsi]

Perhaps I was too quick to spout off what I did in my interview and left it too abbreviated.

With the de-ice question during my interview, the dialogue was like this.

Q: You have just finished your walkaround, and noticed the airplane needs to be de-iced. You tell the Captain, who looks out the window and says, "No, we don't need to be de-iced, its just a little frost." What would you do?

R: I would tell the Captain that according to the FOM, SOP's, and the FAR's that it is required for us to de-ice the aircraft.

Q: The Captain still disagrees, what would you do?

R: Then I would state that being a few minutes late by de-icing is better than not making it to our destination at all, and I feel very strongly that the aircraft needs to be de-iced.

Q: The Captain still disagrees with you and won't de-ice the aircraft. What would you do?

R: At this point I would believe there are only two choices I could make. One would be to suddenly call in sick and remove myself from the flight, which I would not want to do because it would delay the flight by a significant time amount. The other choice I would have, and the choice I would make, would be to get on the radio and ask to be put in line for the de-ice pad.

I agree with what TIS said, but you will notice that even after I "insist - diplomatically of course - on being de-iced", the question was not finished. The Captain still didn't want to de-ice. That is where the question gets difficult. Not wanting to run to the CP's office like a tattle-tale, that is what I would do.

Is it going to happen? Statistically I would say no. Am I worried about my reputation? I think the CA not wanting to de-ice his aircraft would already have a bad reputation that would precede mine. And I don't see how that is airing the dirty laundry. I wouldn't say, "Well, the Captain doesn't want to de-ice but I do so we need to be put in line for the de-ce pad." It would just be part of normal operations.

Anyway, I was too abbreviated in my first response, and hope this clarifies the subject. BTW, Good luck.

 

[Falconjet]

I don't think I would ever use an 'I would call in sick' as an option to keep a flight from operating for any hypothetical interview question. I don't think that will endear you to any interviewer, because it is a pretty lame option and not one that would put you in a flattering light. To even mention it as an option would be a negative to me. You should be able to display confidence that you are correct in your position to have the aircraft de-iced and you simply will find a way to convince the Captain that you should go ahead and get it done.

They obviously want to see how you would handle a difficult, hypothetical situation, so worrying about your reputation seems like the least of your possible worries, particularly to the interviewer.

I do think your efforts to convince the Captain of the need to de-ice several times and then simply asking for clearance to the de-ice spot is about as good an answer as you could give in an interview situation.

I guess the bottom line if the interviewer insists that the Captain won't go for the de-ice is to state that you aren't making the trip, and you need to go back to the gate to get a replacement F/O (which probably won't be needed after you talk with dispatch or an ACP).

Just another opinion.

FJ

 

[TIS]

Perhaps I was too quick to spout off what I did in my interview and left it too abbreviated.

With the de-ice question during my interview, the dialogue was like this.

Q: You have just finished your walkaround, and noticed the airplane needs to be de-iced. You tell the Captain, who looks out the window and says, "No, we don't need to be de-iced, its just a little frost." What would you do?

R: I would tell the Captain that according to the FOM, SOP's, and the FAR's that it is required for us to de-ice the aircraft.

Q: The Captain still disagrees, what would you do?

R: Then I would state that being a few minutes late by de-icing is better than not making it to our destination at all, and I feel very strongly that the aircraft needs to be de-iced.

Q: The Captain still disagrees with you and won't de-ice the aircraft. What would you do?

Okay, that's a bit more meat on the bone, so to speak. Yup, you're in a corner alright - perhaps a coffin corner. People die because of attitudes like that. While I don't think I'd say it quite that way in an interview I would definitley cite FAA publications, the GOM and FARs, all of which say that you have to de-ice if ice is adhering to certain particular aircraft structures.

If you say you'd go along with it you're saying you'd violate the FARs and company procedures in the same move. That's an unwise answer in my opinion.

If this is how it plays out, stick to your guns and insist on the orange shower. I think the way you insist is by telling the fool captain that what he wants to do is contrary to FARs, company procedures and fundamental cold weather practices published in numerous FAA publications. That said, next you tell him that you're going to get on the radio and get you in line and then everyone'll know you need the treatment. That way, you've given him one last chance to come to his senses before you take things into your own hands and show the whole neighborhood his ring-around-the-collar.

I would also add that despite what Falconjet accurately said about one's reputation, it still bears consideration even if you say nothing about it out loud. I think it's safe to assume you'll be on probation and your reputation does indeed matter. So, while I wouldn't cite concern over reputation at any point in an interview I would have it in the back of my mind - particularly at a small company. Being mindful of things that are likely to upset the "family" atmosphere at a company as you formulate your answers can lead you to better, more diplomatic answers when questions like this are on the table.

TIS

 

[Superbird]

1. Put the mask on. If the bottle is zero, then you could've had a slow leak when you or the captain re-stowed the mask during preflight. I think you're going a little too deep in thinking that you did an 'improper' preflight, not noticing the bottle was at zero. I don't think they are looking for that.

The catch is that you need 10 minutes of O2 for firefighting in addition to the FAR O2. So you notice the bottle is empty or it becomes empty while the captain is in the lav. Wait for the Captian to return and get him/her in the loop. (CRM). Don't make a unilateral decision to divert while the Captain is in the lav. (Because then you'll have a medical on your hands as well....he/she would have a heart attack if you started a rapid descent and the blue juice starts spillin' on his Tony Llama's). Then get Dispatch and Maintenance in the loop as well and plan your diversion to the closest, most Practical airport. (Hopefully one you have gates at.) Notify the Flight Attendants and the pax as well.

DO NOT Continue to destination. You burn to much fuel at 10,000. (Use common sense on this one if destination is close). Don't land at EWR if you destination is JFK.

2. Deice the plane. Its not worth your careers to make a hasty/irresponsible decision. Don't be afraid to speak up and be assertive. Your job is to operate Airline XYZ's aircraft in accordance with their FOM/Ops Manuals. They are written to guide you in your decision making and you can refer to it in a polite way reminding the Captain what SOP at Airline XYZ is.

3. TIS pretty much sad it all in the earlier post.

Good Luck !

 

[TIS]

I think you're going a little too deep in thinking that you did an 'improper' preflight, not noticing the bottle was at zero. I don't think they are looking for that.

I was being facetious about the improper preflight. I know they're not looking for you to head in that direction.

The catch is that you need 10 minutes of O2 for firefighting in addition to the FAR O2.

So you're going to fight a fire with your cockpit mask on? If you're close enough to a fire to be able to reach it with that thing on you've got MUCH bigger problems. I think that's the PBE you're referring to.

Now, if you want to discuss an AFM requirement that the O2 be available for a smoke evacuation drill then we can talk turkey. I'd agree you might not want to even consider continuing.

DO NOT Continue to destination.

No? What if you're over the middle of the Atlantic or worse, the middle of the Pacific when this whole thing starts? You'll have to go somewhere and your choices are NOT numerous! I know that wasn't part of the original deal here but it does illustrate at least two points. The first point that I was trying to make was that if you were to descend to FL 200 or so, people aren't going to die if you DP and you can get them to 15,000' in a hearbeat if you need to. No one will die at that altitude no matter what the FARs say.

The second point is that the form of the question does not contain enough information to answer it - AS ALWAYS! Perhaps it would be a good idea to find out if you're over the middle of an ocean. Even if you're over dry land, it'd still be worth asking if that's the Amazon Jungle or pretty much anywhere in Africa spreading out beneath you. Your answer will be very different than if you were over the middle of Arizona.

You say exercise common sense and I agree, but it's important to realize that common sense has an experience component that can serve you VERY well when the scenario doesn't fit the rules.

Anyway, just some additional thoughts. I think something that was mentioned in another thread is important here too. Get dispatch involved! Don't let them tell you what to do, but utilize the resource. You'll have to talk to them anyway to get re-released so you might as well stack as much of the deck in your favor as you can.

TIS