Bomber pilot helped land airliner after captain fell ill

[JimNtexas]

The way I read the accounts it sounded like the PA asked for 'non-rev' pilots, and the Bone guy hit his call button when nobody responded. The FO was probably hoping for another airline pilot and figured the Bone guy was good enough.

What has happened in the past when one airline crewmember has become incapacitated?

 

[capt1900]

This represents the public and company understanding that if the captain becomes incapacitated then all lives are in grave danger. Heard a story of a captain who had a bad time with kidney stones mid flight. Message sent to dispatch to keep them in the loop and to inform them of the possibility of a diversion. First thing dispatch asked was, who is gonna taxi the airplane to the terminal if the captain can't? There is a big disconnect!

 

[flyboyike]

But, if Karen Black (circa 1975) was on the flight, I'd um, tap that resource right away.

Or Julia Hagerty. Say miss, the automatic pilot is deflating...

It's JuliE Hagerty. She would be another one competing with S. J. Parker and Kirsten Dunst in the hot body/weird face contest, and it would be a very close one indeed.

 

[livin'thesim]

Hey babe, you'd look hot with a post-coital smoke in your hands...

Kirsten Dunst is certainly the cutest of the three.

 

[densoo]

...........

 

[CTflyer]

Glad everything worked out OK. My question is centered on the wisdom of letting a stranger in the cockpit.

I am not to sure I would let a stranger in the cockpit in a situation like this, especially in a post 9/11 world.

Just a thought.

 

[Flying-Corporal]

Doesn't sound like you attended CRM
training.

Suppose the F/O had a heart attack!

You can't just sacrifice the entire aircraft
because you want to fly "Solo."

Suppose the meteorite struck the tailcone, or aliens landed on the left wing... Or the orbit of the Earth changed at that VERY moment... Suppose...

The sign on the cockpit door says "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". Sounds like that guy wasn't authorized to be there in flight.

Landing 'solo' is not a big deal esp if you pick a VFR airport with a long runway. Configure early, take your time and land. When you fly a normal approach, you call the speeds, decide when to set flaps and gears. The other guy is there to back you up. Unless you're a tv reporter, I can't understand why you would call it "sacrificing the entire aircraft".

Kinda reminds of a story a few years ago when 2 FO landed 777 in Newark and the media called it a 'Miracle Landing'...

 

[waveflyer]

AND you don't fly solo
You have one of the FAs in with you in case of said heart attack -
Let the other 2+ work the capt medical and go land

 

[KigAir]

That's our media for ya'.

How dramatic would this have been?

"F/O DOES HER JOB AS SHE WAS TRAINED. PASSENGERS NEVER IN DANGER"

Trained but not experienced?

"Surprisingly, taxiing was the most stressful part of the day for the first officer," said Gongol. "She had never taxied a 737 before and the ATC had no idea that the pilot was the reason for the emergency. We had to make a quick decision that her switching to the pilot's seat and taxiing the aircraft without the training was necessary to save the captain's life."

 

[kf4amu]

Glad everything worked out OK. My question is centered on the wisdom of letting a stranger in the cockpit.

I am not to sure I would let a stranger in the cockpit in a situation like this, especially in a post 9/11 world.

Just a thought.

If that stranger was a Taliban looking guy with hatred in his eyes, I'd choose someone else. But the chances of something bad happening are so remote it's sort of ridiculous.