Ex-Gulfstream International Airline pilot files complaint with FAA

[airmack]

How about that Teamster's Union?? Way to go guys!!!

 

[BOHICAgain]

according to the artical the tcas was fixed and signed off by a mechanic in TPA....therfore there was no reason to refuse it on that basis. There were other "issues" with this particular Captain and past refusals and this event was more than likely just the icing on the cake. Sometimes the sqeaky wheel gets the grease...sometimes it just gets replaced. I know both Herfort and Bystrom personally and professionally....I can tell you from first hand experience that if you have a VALID beef then they will back you BUT if you don't then they will hang you as well....that is thier job and they both do it well. No one should go to GIA if you don't expect to work your as@ off. The reward is a pretty decent contract, above average $ for a 1900 and home nearly everynight not to mention building 121 turbine pic like it's going out of style. This is a small commuter, problems should be expected, no outfit is flawless. But in defense of GIA., I was impressed with thier maintenance and keeping things running. The Mel's serve a purpose and they are approved by the FAA...it's it's legal and safe to go with it mel'd then that's what you are expexted to do....whether at GIA or NASA and all stops inbetween. Not sugar coating my time there, I had a few phone calls with both Bystrom and Herfort where we had "discussions" about legality and the right thing, bottom line is you have to pick and choose your battles wisely. But if the guy who signs your paycheck says to you that you have a choice: fly it or be fired. I can guarantee you that Tom Herfort would NEVER say that if it were NOT legal. This guy made his choice and now he has to live with it. He will be able to recover his career and chalk this up as learning experience. I think in the meantime though he's waisting time and $$ in court.

Flame away!

Ops check ok does not mean its fixed

MEL's does not mean its safe to fly just legal

There are ways not to fly if you don't think it is Safe,

Im surprised that they did not swap airplanes to make him happy

 

[RP170]

All turbine aircraft require a tcas to be installed and operating

That's interesting. Most of our Citation Ultra's at NetJets don't have TCAS. They are currently being installed but have been flown for several years without it.

That may be the case for Part 121, however.

 

[Say Again Over]

My 2 cents, not really sure if this was an issue about TCAS or an issue of a dispute with maintenance, the crap the company puts out to the newspaper is probably a lie. It's real easy to see if the system works while on the ground, I don't get it.

 

[PUNISHER]

That's interesting. Most of our Citation Ultra's at NetJets don't have TCAS. They are currently being installed but have been flown for several years without it.

That may be the case for Part 121, however.

If you were to operate a Ultra under 121 it would not be required to have TCAS installed.

 

[Bako Cap]

Didn't an Eagle guy win something like $10M in court back in the late 90's for being wrongfully terminated because he would not fly into SLD icing conditions in DFW? Everyone but him was taking off into icing conditions that he thought was unsafe in an ATR42 (pre-boot mod if I remember). Juries seem to side with the FINAL person who determines the safety of their future flights.

 

[WSurf]

Scariest part of the article was this quote from Gulfstream's VP of Legal Affairs:

"In general, we operate within the guidelines of the FAA," he said.

Wait, WHAT?

No doubt!

 

[DrewBlows]

One more vote: The combination of TCAS + Pressurization MELs has long been on my B1900 no-go list. I'd have told 'em to pound sand.

For the CFIs that don't have either: It's different. Similar speeds, less heads down time, while monitoring practice area frequencies mitigate the risk. Meanwhile blowing through the same practice area at 275 ktas while talking to center and performing airline procedural B.S. is a whole different level of risk.

This deserves a quote. It is not a matter of whether an MEL is legal or not, it's a matter of whether the operation is safe. In this case I think the flight could have been safely flown without pressurization, or without TCAS, but not through a high volume training area without both.

 

[DrewBlows]

JUST my opinion here....and they are like as$holes, we all have them.

You screwed up this quote, here, I've fixed it for you...

JUST my opinion here....and they are like as$holes, there are a lot of them on flightinfo.

 

[andyd]

The artical also said that the return flight from TPA to PBI was at night in the wx, there wouldn't have been anyone in the Coral Springs practice area anyway.....AND the routing from TPA is Llakes.PHK.PBI.....not even close to a practice area and well north of North County and anyone in a light a/c up at that time of night in the wx would be IFR shooting approaches.

I think this guy overplayed his hand to prove a point and screwed himself in the process.