Need advice from fellow professionals

[Bluto]

NASA forms...um, send them to NASA!

You can file as many NASA reports as you want, file one a leg if you like. The FAA will never know that you have filed a NASA form unless they try to violate you for an infraction. Then, if you have filed a NASA form, you can be given some protection as long as the violation did not result in an accident, was not intentional, and was not a criminal act. You can only use one NASA form per year to get out of an FAA violation. So your POI was technically correct. You should never send a NASA form to your POI or the FSDO. That is a good way to ask for a violation. You send them to NASA, per the directions on the form.

 

[skydiverdriver]

Bluto is correct, you can file as many as you like. However, i belive you can only use one every FIVE years to help you with a problem. I once used one to report on a overzealous FAA inspector, and his boss called us to apologise a few weeks after I sent it in. They do read those things.

As far as the substandard captain goes, I would make sure you aren't the first person to complain about him. If he really is that bad, they should have a file on him, and that will make you look more credible. Otherwise, it may be a you against him thing, and that is never good. Hope it works out for you.

 

[RichardFitzwell]

[I would make sure you aren't the first person to complain about him. If he really is that bad, they should have a file on him, and that will make you look more credible. Otherwise, it may be a you against him thing, and that is never good. Hope it works out for you. [/B][/QUOTE]

skydiverdriver,

I agree with many of your post but I differ on this one. It really shouldn't matter if this captain has been turned in by others or not. Chperplt may be the first to complain in a long string of complainers.

Like I said, keep safety first and let your own credibility be the weight behind your complaint. Maybe you are the only pilot with the balls (or smarts) to show concern. This should be based on what YOU have seen, not what others have. Hold your ground and talk to your chief.

R.F.

 

[tarp]

As a captain once told me and now I pass it on ---

Wait till you get your captain's bars and have someone second guess your decisions and flying skills.

Will you be polite and gracious in light of this criticism?

People in glass houses (or cockpits) should never throw stones.

 

[Bluto]

If I was wrong, I would certainly hope so. I would hope that if I flew dangerously, my FO's would have the guts to confront me about it. My career, my life, and the lives of my crew and passengers are far more important than my ego. Now, if I felt that I had been flying safely, this might prove a valuable teaching/learning experience for my FO. If we disagree I, as the captain, should feel comfortable explaining my actions to the chief pilot in a meeting with him/her and the FO (and a Union rep, if you are smart.) Or at the very least, explain my actions to the professional standards committee. This is a basic CRM question.

 

[PHX767]

Exactly my earlier point. Keep emotions out of it, and reference everything to the Flight Manual, Ops Manual, FAR's, or AIM.

If the infractions are real vs. percieved this will make all of the difference.

And I did not become an instant expert when I moved to the left seat for the first time. It does take a degree of maturity to explain what you are doing so the other guy is in the loop.

The best wakeup call I ever got was from a brand new FO that tactfully woke me up to some "old timer" habits I was getting into.

 

[outofAAjob]

You did the right thing by talking to the Captain, but if it's really as bad as you say, and there is no ProStans for you to go to, it's time to talk to your Chief Pilot. You're in a tight spot that no one wants to be in, but as others had said, what if someone were to get hurt because of this Captain?
Another thing to think about is YOUR pilot certificate. I assume you don't want to fly B1900s as a career. Even if you are an experienced FO, if things get busy and the Captain does something stupid that you don't catch, it may fall on your shoulders too (like certificate action!). This could definitely slow down your career progression!!! If you feel as though you are putting your certificate on the line every time you fly with this Captain, you owe it to yourself to say something.
I know there are some horror stories out there, but I do know of a situation similar to yours where the Captain did actually straighten out after going to see the Chief Pilot and additional checkrides, etc. And it was at a 1900 commuter as well, small company where the mangement is not always fair to everyone.
Good luck.

 

[Diesel8]

What would you do if you were a CFI? Why don't you try to give the guy some help instead of figuring out a way to hang him? Maybe he has an explanation...maybe you can help him figure out what is going wrong. A good FO is part shrink, part CFI, part diplomat...etc, I'm sure you have heard that. Try using your experience as an FO to show him what other captains do. Try opening up lines of commucation by talking about other captains, incidents where they made GOOD decisions and the outcome. Captains like to know what other captains do, since they usually only fly with FOs. Pro-standards would be the next step. See what other guys think about him. Maybe you are alone in your opinion. Maybe another guy did something that straightened him out (i.e. threatened him with the crash axe). I would be VERY hard pressed to take a matter like this to the company. I think that assuming that: "a lesser FO would be in a lot of trouble" is a bit egocentric. You yourself might be as good as you think. Maybe other FO's do things that straighten him out...find out. We had a bad captain at my first airline. Two FOs and a FA went to the company with a letter complaining about him, his manner, his temper, etc. He wasn't a bad stick, just mean. They skipped pro-standards, and never even confronted the guy. The letters made it to the CP's office, and he got in hot water. The pilot group never really accepted these two FOs after that...there was a lot of mistrust by the captains towards them. After some time, one of them went to upgrade...he didn't make it for whatever reasons...there are rumors. Before you start writing up a guy, you might want to just sit down and talk to the guy. Have some balls.