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How long has this girl been a captain with the company? Is she another 2 yr FO who was upgraded?
The problem today is that we have too many kids ACTING as PIC who can't even make a decision for themselves, so affraid to think outside the box because they might get called into the CP's office for the dance.
First off, to accept this place as an alternate and to agree to divert there was the dumbest thing on her part. She should have gone to an ExpressJet operated airport...such as Des Moines. But she probably just listened to dispatch tell her where to go and she was all fine with that.
It goes back to your security question. Who is in charge? The PIC is no longer in charge....well, they'd like you to think otherwise, but really, you're not. The company says the ground security cooridinator is in charge while the airplane is on the ground. When it's in flight, the dispatcher is.
So why would she bother thinking for herself? Her whole career she has been told what to do and had never had to think for herself.
The old regional I flew for, perfect example. You could listen on the DX freq when people were put into holds. The minute that happened, you heard pilots calling dispatch "We have this much fuel, we're holding at XXX with an EFC of 1234. How much time does that give us and what do you want us to do?" ......really?
You could hardly refer to this captain as a girl. She's a mature woman with a good bit of seniority and a level head. Assumptions suck.. You're a genius and this would have never happened to you. Karma is a bit#h man. A dynamic ever changing weather situation with not a lot of time to think and they ended up in RST. You act as if they dumped the airplane in someones backyard. No one was hurt during this divert, but several people were severely inconvenienced. We should all learn from this event. Enjoy your flawless career Captain Awesome!
The only issue I have with this blame of Mesaba was that they were under no obligation to assist a competing company. Now if there was an agreement between ExpressJet and Mesaba in place, then I stand corrected. But I would assume this employee (was there only one on duty for them) was being paid to be there by Mesaba to do work on behalf of Mesaba, whether it be working a flight of theirs or paperwork, or whatever it may be. Now yes, out of human decency you would expect them to help out. But there are some logistical issues that extend just beyond potential security screening.
What we do not know is what would have happened after the passengers were deplaned. Would it have created a situation where the Mesaba employee would have had to remain on duty past her shift? Is there a prohibition against over time at Mesaba? Did the Expressjet dispatch provide any guidance to the Mesaba regarding what the timeframe would be before departure? If the passengers were to deplane, did ExpressJet provide guidance regarding reboarding? I do not know how ExpressJet dispatch works, but at the three airlines I have worked for, anytime there is abnormal operations dispatch can be chaotic. So I find it quite feasable that a lone, low wage Mesaba employee nearing the end of her shift being asked by a competator to assist a flight but not getting much direction would say "screw it, I am going to finish my shift and go home".
IMO you have lost all credibility with that part of your statement.
Captain and crew, failed their pax.
Oh no! You have stripped me of my credibility what ever shall I do? What exactly would you have done in this situation ? I am sure your response will begin with it depends on the situation yada ..yada... yada... Were you there on the plane in RST trying to interpret all the information you were getting or not getting. Lay off they handled the flying portion of the divert quite well. The ground snafu sucked and they and everyone else will learn from it. This place is full of webposters attacking a crew based on assumptions. You can take my credibilty and shove it up you A$$ for all I care.