NWA fallout: 'Distracted pilots' emerge as new safety concern

[PurpleInMEM]

If those guys have learned anything from their public lynching, the laptops in question are hopefully sitting at the bottom of a river somewhere. "Laptop? What laptop?"

 

[spitfire1500]

UGH. I wish these guys would do us all a favor and just admit they were sleeping. It would save us a lot of bullsh!t.

I wish they would have shut the hell up from the beginning!! What a couple of tools! I'm not a big ALPA supporter when it comes to the union politics. But when you have a screw up like this they know what to do and how to do it!! These idiots should have made "no comment" and called their union helpline!!

 

[hawk996]

The Airbus has a Sel-Call alarm. It is very loud(the new verson is toned down). As for ACARS message, no sound just a "company message" or "ACARS message" on ECAM. The last three planes never made a noise for acar messages only for Sel-Call.

 

[Blue Dude]

Actually yes there are! When you have a mode degradation, i.e. nav to hdg, you get a tripple click aural warning. I'm not sure they would have heard this while watching their movie!

Not all of them triple-click with a mode degradation. There's a software upgrade that makes the triple-click, but older planes that don't have the upgrade don't do it. No idea if the NWA plane had the upgrade.

 

[NEDude]

On the A320, with selcal and when the flight attendants call, the tone will wake the dead.

 

[flygirlqt]

Where in the hell is ALPA with this? I haven't seen one statement from them in defense of these guys. Shouldn't there be some maximum damage control going on?

 

[GogglesPisano]

Where in the hell is ALPA with this? I haven't seen one statement from them in defense of these guys. Shouldn't there be some maximum damage control going on?

Dear Fellow Pilot,
Last week, Air Traffic Control (ATC) lost radio contact with Northwest Flight 188, and Flight 188 subsequently overflew its destination before radio contact was reestablished. Once radio contact was reestablished, the aircraft returned to its destination for a safe landing. The aircraft remained visible to ATC radar at all times. Late on Tuesday of this week, the FAA revoked the licenses of the pilots involved in the incident. The incident remains under investigation by the FAA, the NTSB, and Delta Air Lines. While it is not prudent to discuss the specifics of the continuing investigation, I assure you that the full representational resources of the Air Line Pilots Association have been and will remain available to the pilots involved in the incident.The U.S. aviation transportation system is the safest in the world, and air transportation is statistically the safest form of transportation on the planet. That hasn’t happened by accident. It is the result of many years of hard work and cooperative effort between government, the industry, and labor. As professional pilots, our primary concern is the safety and well-being of our passengers and crew, and your union has played a critically important role in establishing and maintaining our industry’s enviable safety record.
An important and pivotal element of our participation has been the development of Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAPs) and Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs, which center around and are highly dependent upon voluntary disclosure. This disclosure is based on trust and confidence that it will be subject to certain protections and privacy restrictions. The premise, the validity of which has been demonstrated time and time again, is that this approach leads to a “greater good” by contributing to an overall safer national aviation system through lessons learned from each single event.
The NTSB is an independent federal agency, and according to the NTSB’s own mission statement, is “charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident . . . and issuing safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents.”
Let me be perfectly clear. The NTSB’s recent actions and rush to judgment as it relates to the investigation into Flight 188 is both irresponsible and in conflict with its own mission statement. Not only will its recent actions not aid in the prevention of future accidents, their actions risk reducing the effectiveness of programs such as ASAP and FOQA. The Delta pilots are in full compliance with their end of the voluntary disclosure concept; we expect the FAA and NTSB to live up to their end of the agreement as well. Under all circumstances, for voluntary disclosure programs to work, all parties must have faith in and adhere to the concepts they have agreed to.
While it is well within the Board’s purview to disseminate information to the public, common sense and professionalism dictate that the information released not threaten the integrity of the investigation itself, and it should never do more harm than good. It is for this reason that the NTSB’s own procedures caution
those involved in an investigation to “refrain from discussing the accident or [the] investigation of it in public, or giving information about either to the press” and warns that “any violation of this restriction will be considered a serious infraction of Board rules.”
Yet less than 24 hours after the incident, the NTSB began commenting and even speculating as to the potential causes of the incident. By Monday, the crew had been interviewed by the Board, and within hours, the NTSB had released details—details only made available by the voluntary statements of the crew—to the public through a poorly timed press release.Process matters, and due process in these circumstances is essential. From the mechanic to the flight attendant to the air traffic controller to the flight dispatcher to the pilot, our nation’s aviation safety foundation is based on individuals voluntarily coming forward with information to enhance safety. If involved in an incident or accident, these individuals have a right to due process and an expectation that their cooperation not be exploited for the convenience of the agencies involved in the investigation regardless of the pressure those agencies may feel from the media or others.Two days ago, your MEC issued a strongly worded press release that asserted the future of all safety programs based on self-disclosure will be in jeopardy if the NTSB continues to recklessly disseminate crew-provided information and the FAA continues to take overly drastic certificate actions while investigations are still ongoing. On Wednesday, we spearheaded a resolution passed by the ALPA Executive Board that directed ALPA President Captain John Prater to communicate in the strongest terms to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman ALPA’s displeasure and ask that they recommit to acting in a professional and responsible manner and that they follow established processes and protocols to protect the integrity of these important safety programs.Additionally, I spent Wednesday afternoon on Capitol Hill visiting several congressional offices. Congress must clearly understand the importance of due process during aviation investigations and the value of programs like ASAP and FOQA to the continued improvement of safety in our industry. Your MEC remains committed to the value of ASAP and FOQA, and your union will continue to vigorously pursue recommitments from both the FAA and the NTSB that they abide by the processes to which they have agreed.
As a union and as a profession, we must maintain high standards and continue to do everything we can to advance our safety record. Safety programs based on self-disclosure are an important part of that commitment. It is not too much to expect that the agencies involved in the regulation and investigation of the process be expected to maintain equally high professional standards.
Fraternally,
Lee Moak, Chairman
Delta Master Executive Council
Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l

 

[GogglesPisano]

October 26, 2009
Delta Pilots’ Union Issues Statement on Northwest Flight 188 Investigation
Atlanta—The Delta Master Executive Council, the Delta branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), the union that represents the over 12,000 pilots of Delta Air Lines*, today issued a statement concerning the NTSB investigation into Northwest Flight 188.
“As professional airline pilots, our primary concern is and always will be the safety and well-being of our passengers,” said Captain Lee Moak, Delta MEC Chairman. “In any aircraft incident, there is always more to the story than first appears in the press. We do not condone the abandonment of due process that will result from a rush to judgment; instead we implore all interested parties to move with deliberate and unemotional professionalism as the events surrounding this incident are investigated.”On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, Air Traffic Control (ATC) lost radio contact with Northwest Flight 188, and Flight 188 subsequently overflew its destination before radio contact was reestablished. The aircraft remained visible to ATC radar at all times. Once radio contact was reestablished, the aircraft returned for a safe landing at its destination. At no time were the passengers, crew or aircraft in danger.
Over the past several years, labor, management, the industry and government agencies have partnered, expending significant amounts of time, money and effort, to develop programs such as Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP) and Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs designed to improve the safety of our nation’s aviation system. The core tenet of these programs is the ability of pilots to self disclose without fear of retribution in order to help make the U.S. aviation system the safest in the world.
“To date, all crew statements related to this case have been voluntary. We are disappointed that these voluntary statements are being used without regard for the breach of trust and confidence their use will cause,” Captain Moak remarked. “Programs like ASAP and FOQA could be dealt a debilitating blow as pilots question the integrity of these voluntary programs. A rush to judgment by the NTSB will have a direct impact on the future of voluntary safety programs, which are at the very core of the safety structure of the U.S. aviation industry. The continued viability of these programs themselves will be placed at risk. That will, in turn, cause irreparable harm to the safety of our nation’s aviation system.”
“The NTSB is an independent federal agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. They are not charged with prematurely releasing self-disclosed information to be sensationalized in the press,” Captain Moak insisted.
“We will work closely with Delta and federal officials to determine any root causes for last weeks sequence of events,” Captain Moak continued, “but in the meantime I strongly encourage all parties not to reach a hasty conclusion. There is a proper venue for this investigation, but we stand firmly behind the crew’s right to due process.”Founded in 1931, ALPA represents 54,000 pilots at 36 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents over 12,000 Delta pilots. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org, the Delta MEC website at www.deltapilots.org.
SOURCE: Air Line Pilots Association
CONTACT: DAL ALPA, Kelly Regus, 404-763-4925 office or [email protected]

 

[flygirlqt]

I was thinking more from a National level for a response. The release by the Delta MEC will hardly be a blip on the newswire.

 

[JT12345]

I think the NTSB is on a power trip. They have gained a lot of clout from BUF. I have never seen them make conculsions within 6 months like this. At first I thought they wanted to get the word out after BUF about sterile cockpit, but now I think they are acting stupidly and putting safety programs at risk with their behavior and rush to judgment.

For me the NWA incident is just another example of external presures, and stressors of this f'ed up industry affecting professionalism.

Management with all their nonsense really cares more about the bottom line and how it will affect their own narsasistic lifestyes.