Stupid Captain Tricks

[Typhoon1244]

Okay boys and girls, I've finally, after five years, had my most embarassing experience as an airline pilot.

We were sitting in DFW, getting ready for an AUS round-trip. I'd had the "WASH WINDSHIELD" sign sitting on the glareshield for an hour, but nobody'd done anything about it yet. Twenty minutes prior to pushback, I decided to do it myself.

I walked over to the edge of the ramp and got the wheeled ladder reserved for this purpose. It was at least 100 degrees on the ramp and humid as hell, so I was hurrying to get the job done and get back into the air conditioning. After a couple of minutes, I got the ladder against the nose and locked it down.

A ramp supervisor runs up, saying "here, I'll get that for you." No, it's okay. I don't mind. "No, no. You don't need to be washing windshields, Captain. I'll get it." Well, okay. I thanked him and headed back to the cockpit.

I stuffed my hat in the coat rack...and only then noticed a captain and a first officer sitting in the cockpit looking at me.

I had pushed the ladder up to the wrong airplane.

Thank god the supervisor stopped me before I made it up the ladder and started swabbing away! I guess this is why my company prohibits pilots from using ramp equipment...

 

[Sinca3]

Heat

Sounds like the heat got to you

 

[njcapt]

I hate to admit it, but I've preflighted the wrong aircraft not once, but twice in the past year. I'll go to the gate that the FIDS said was going to be ours an hour before departure, only to preflight the whole thing and find a crew up front asking what the heII I was doing? In my defense, ATA is the first airline I have worked for where all the freakin' airplanes looked exactly alike - and 31 of 'em to boot.

 

[Mookie]

Heard a good one the other day.

4:30 a.m. in SBA (santa barbara) there are about four United Rj's (one Wiskey, three SkyW), four EMB's, one DCA RJ, one Mesa, and one Horizon RJ. Rumor has it that -----preflighted the wrong airplane and loaded up the pax on a ---Rj. They caught it aparently when they started some checklists. Don't know what they told the pax when they had to get off, and get into the airplane next to them, but I'm sure it was pretty funny. Scary thing is, I've heard that we (----) has done something similar in the past. oh well.....


mookie

Names edited as not to start a war!!!

 

[Beechnut]

Yeah right. Is that to say then the SkyWest agents on the ground sent the folks to the wrong aircraft? What airplane were the bags put in? Which one got the fuel? An early checklist compairs required fuel with the actual fuel onboard. Is that to say the fueler put gas in the wrong airplane to? How about those gear pins? Where does SkyWest keep theirs? Air Wisconsin's are right by the cockpit door and are checked on the way in. How about the log book? The later two would have been done before any passenger got close to the aircraft.

BS meeter is climbing.

S.

 

[rogerroger]

BS meter my as$

At 5 am, what airplane do you think the fuelers are going to fuel, the plane lit up with pilots on board or the empty, dark one...same with passengers. Not that I have ever done that, but it could happen.

Now why did you have to go and ruin a funny and amusing post with your knowledge and wit?

 

[sydeseet]

Pat yourself on the back son, you outsmarted us all. When you are done using your hand for that purpose, maybe you ought to use it for another. Sounds like a little "lightening up" is in order.

 

[Mookie]

I think the moral of the story is.....there were "multiple failures." could have happened to a -------crew at a -----station just as easily (and probably has!!!).

Mookie

 

[EagleRJ]

We occasionally have a passenger get on the wrong airplane at stations with outdoor boarding. The ramp agents are supposed to watch for this, but it happens. You would think even the most inexperienced traveller would be able to match their ticket jacket with the paint job on the airplane!

 

[Typhoon1244]

We occasionally have a passenger get on the wrong airplane at stations with outdoor boarding.

In LFT, I once had thirty people on my Hardees-painted Brasilia...every one of them with an American Eagle boarding pass. (The problem wasn't discovered until the Eagle crew started asking where the people were...)

Worse than that, in DFW I watched a woman come out the door of the Concourse E satellite and head for the first recognizably-Delta airplane she saw...one of the 767's parked across the taxiway from us...and the fifteen or so people behind her started to follow!

 

[Huck]

1. About 10 years ago a friend of mine walked out one night to a cold dark Bandit on the ASA ramp in DFW. Walked up the stairs and was greeted by 15 people staring at him from the dark. Agent had sent them to the wrong plane, and they had boarded and sat down by feel, I guess.

2. Overheard on 131.15 (which EVERYONE monitored on #2):

"Maintenance control, ship ###, we're passing through about five thousand and can't get this thing to pressurize."

"Ah, sir, we're showing pressurization deferred on that aircraft...."

 

[LearLove]

I hate to admit it, but I've preflighted the wrong aircraft

Ditto, your not alone brother. And I'd bet money we are not alone either.
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Last summer ALG had like 8 incidents of crews taking the wrong aircraft within 4 months. The FEDs made us come up with a process where both the FO and Capt sign or initial the paperwork in like ten diff places, guess what, it still happens.
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Last week I was on a sked DH from BUF to PHL. The flight was full and the agent asked if I would sit in the JS to accomidate a paying pax. After checking with the mainline capt, I said sure why not ( we all know U needs every paying pax we can get).

After a nice flight in the 737 JS down to PHL (almost fell out of the seat when both the capt and fo said they knew who Allegheny was) I was walking to my next flight when the mainline FO that flew the DH comes running up to me and hands me my hat which I left in the cockpit. I thanked him and went on my way holding my hat in my hand. Two steps later the same FO taps me on the shoulder and askes if he can have HIS back and pionts to the one I was wearing on my head. I handed him his hat and said, "its about hour 11 of a 13 hour duty day".