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CaptainMark
ALPA Wins Court Reinstatement of Pilot Terminated for Following FAA Rules on Rest Requirements
WASHINGTON, D.C.---A U.S. District Court has ordered Pan American Airways to reinstate with back pay a pilot whom it had terminated for refusing to violate FAA rules that mandate minimum rest requirements.
The ruling ends nearly two years of legal wrangling by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based airline to avoid reinstatement of the terminated pilot despite repeated rulings against it in grievance and court proceedings brought by the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the pilot.
The dispute began on Jan. 3, 2001 when Pan Am management immediately terminated Capt. Don Simonds for refusing to take an assigned flight upon his belief that the assignment would cause him to violate a Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR 121.471(b), the "16-hour rule"), as interpreted by the FAA’s "Whitlow letter."
Because Capt. Simonds did not specifically claim to be fatigued – which is irrelevant to compliance with this rule – and because Pan Am disputed the FAA’s interpretation of the 16-hour rule set forth in the FAA’s November 20, 2000 "Whitlow letter," management claimed that Capt. Simonds was insubordinate for not following the company’s orders and the "fly now, grieve later" principle.
FAA rules require that before starting a flying assignment, a pilot must be able to determine that when he finishes that flight, he will have received eight hours rest in the previous 24 hours. The "Whitlow letter" refers to an interpretation issued by the FAA stating that the end of the 24-hour cycle must be calculated using the expected arrival time based on the flight segment as calculated at that moment ("actual time"). The industry had claimed that the arrival time should be the time as originally scheduled. The problem is that delays, a frequent occurrence in airline operations, could extend the pilot’s work time well past the originally scheduled arrival time, which means that when he finishes the last flight segment, he may not have gotten the required eight hours rest in the preceding 24 hours.
ALPA filed a grievance on Simonds’ behalf and the System Board awarded reinstatement with full back pay, finding Pan Am had no just cause to discharge Simonds.
hope u never get tired!!!!
WASHINGTON, D.C.---A U.S. District Court has ordered Pan American Airways to reinstate with back pay a pilot whom it had terminated for refusing to violate FAA rules that mandate minimum rest requirements.
The ruling ends nearly two years of legal wrangling by the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based airline to avoid reinstatement of the terminated pilot despite repeated rulings against it in grievance and court proceedings brought by the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the pilot.
The dispute began on Jan. 3, 2001 when Pan Am management immediately terminated Capt. Don Simonds for refusing to take an assigned flight upon his belief that the assignment would cause him to violate a Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR 121.471(b), the "16-hour rule"), as interpreted by the FAA’s "Whitlow letter."
Because Capt. Simonds did not specifically claim to be fatigued – which is irrelevant to compliance with this rule – and because Pan Am disputed the FAA’s interpretation of the 16-hour rule set forth in the FAA’s November 20, 2000 "Whitlow letter," management claimed that Capt. Simonds was insubordinate for not following the company’s orders and the "fly now, grieve later" principle.
FAA rules require that before starting a flying assignment, a pilot must be able to determine that when he finishes that flight, he will have received eight hours rest in the previous 24 hours. The "Whitlow letter" refers to an interpretation issued by the FAA stating that the end of the 24-hour cycle must be calculated using the expected arrival time based on the flight segment as calculated at that moment ("actual time"). The industry had claimed that the arrival time should be the time as originally scheduled. The problem is that delays, a frequent occurrence in airline operations, could extend the pilot’s work time well past the originally scheduled arrival time, which means that when he finishes the last flight segment, he may not have gotten the required eight hours rest in the preceding 24 hours.
ALPA filed a grievance on Simonds’ behalf and the System Board awarded reinstatement with full back pay, finding Pan Am had no just cause to discharge Simonds.
hope u never get tired!!!!
