SWA letters to

[radarlove]

Why weren't the letters signed?

 

[turn&pull]

Those letters were good for a laugh. Check the safety records guys...NO comparison.

 

[GuppyWN]

I find that I can shave minutes off every day if I taxi well beyond the limits of our FAA approved FOM and ignore FAA controller instructions. It's worth it to me because I know the company would go to the mat to back a wild cowboy like me.

As an added bonus I find that flying right on the edge of Mach buffet and with the clacker going off not only makes me look cool to my passengers but ATC thinks I'm cool when I talk on the radio with said clacker in the background.

I'm a cowboy - on a REAL horse I ride. I'm wanted.... waaaanted.... dead or alive.

Gup

 

[Daddy]

Hey jetflier,

Why dont you tell us how much better you guys are at NWA:

"A Northwest Airlines pilot's decision to shut down an engine, combined with a hydraulic problem, caused the May 2005 ground collision of two Northwest jets at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, federal investigators have concluded.
The Boeing DC-9 pilot's action just after landing in the Twin Cities meant that the plane lost all power to its steering, brakes and thrust reversers, causing it to strike an Airbus A319 that was being pushed back from a gate, according to a report issued last week by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The report detailed the events leading up to the accident and the investigation.
The DC-9, with 94 passengers on board, experienced problems with its right-side hydraulic system that powers its steering and brakes soon after leaving Columbus, Ohio. The captain decided to continue flying and declared an emergency as the plane neared the Twin Cities' airport.
After landing, the captain shut down the left engine, which powered the only fully functioning hydraulic system. As a result, the flight crew couldn't steer the plane or use the brakes and thrust reversers. The DC-9 hit a wing of the A319, with 38 passengers aboard, damaging the DC-9's cockpit and spilling fuel. Both planes were evacuated. The DC-9 pilot was seriously injured and seven passengers and crewmembers from both planes had minor injuries.
The NTSB report cited a "fatigue fracture" of the DC-9's rudder shutoff valve, which caused the loss of right-side hydraulic pressure, as a contributing factor in the accident.
Since the accident, Northwest developed an inspection procedure for its fleet in which "any rudder shutoff valve found to have a crack indication was replaced prior to further flight," said company spokesman Roman Blahoski. He declined to comment on the NTSB report.
A spokesman for Air Line Pilots Association at Northwest said the union could not comment on the report.
The NTSB report noted that Northwest recorded 38 instances of DC-9 rudder shutoff-valve housing failures from May 2000 to April 2005. "Northwest reported that they were aware of the cracked valve housings of the rudder shutoff valve prior to the accident" and after a 2003 analysis, according to the report. "The failure of the valve by itself was not determined to be a safety of flight issue and was therefore deemed solely a reliability issue."

 

[Daddy]

Or was that you?

 

[AFcitrus]

I find that I can shave minutes off every day if I taxi well beyond the limits of our FAA approved FOM and ignore FAA controller instructions. It's worth it to me because I know the company would go to the mat to back a wild cowboy like me.

As an added bonus I find that flying right on the edge of Mach buffet and with the clacker going off not only makes me look cool to my passengers but ATC thinks I'm cool when I talk on the radio with said clacker in the background.

I'm a cowboy - on a REAL horse I ride. I'm wanted.... waaaanted.... dead or alive.

Gup

Well.... At least you're man enough to admit it. Although I would advise you put those comments into an ASAP report.

 

[LandGreen]

What are you worried about? Its takes you 30 minutes to get to the runway. Can you HOMOs taxi any slower?

Wow! You have just completely embarrassed, and partially destroyed the professional integrity of all SWA pilots with your post. Especially after most, if not all pilots at SWA, are trying to turn the corner and forget recent newsworthy events.

I hope your next CA will: Forbid you from talking on the radios, and lock up your laptop in an attempt to spare the rest of the SWA seniority list from public embarrassment on your behalf.

 

[Red Baron]

I'm a cowboy - on a REAL horse I ride. I'm wanted.... waaaanted.... dead or alive.

Gup

Were you singing that while typing? I was while reading it.

 

[RedBelly]

I am sure the former NW airlines had the best maintenance around. They had the absolute newest aircraft in the shiny new DC-9's, combined with the 50+ years of experience of all of their replacement mechanics.

What state is Oberstar from?

 

[waveflyer]

I've worked at 5 airlines and have 2 comments. The 4 previous all thought we had back channels to ATC. Ridiculous conspiracy theories. Never once considering the idea that maybe controllers are simply trying to move airplanes. I'll quote one controller I'm close with. 'damn right Swa gets priority. But it's no conspiracy, it's because they do what we ask them to- good or bad. Ask AA or UA anything and it's constant bellyaching. Vector out of the way for traffic- they're b!tching. Try to give them a short aproach it's 'unable- not safe-' you can't win. But Swa- if it can be done safely, they'll do it.'

ever thought that it's not about being cowboys- that it's your own attitudes on the line everyday that causes Swa to get favor? Maybe if you complained a little less and weren't so afraid to use your skill to do something that would help out (ie: instead of CONSTANTLY playing the safety card)- you'd get the breaks sometimes as well.