USAF Officer Takes FO's Place During Medical Emergency

[saabcaptain]

There is no way the CA takes heat for it. It was a good decision clearly and the pilot put in the right seat was simply running checklists and such, not actually flying.

 

[T-Gates]

If the Captain did in fact declare an emergency, he can deviate from all FAR's, ops Specs, etc..... Nobody could touch him.....

 

[sf3boy]

Yeah, yeah PIC emergency, deviation all that stuff. Personally, I would be more scared than ever to fly in the future with a captain who can't put it on the ground alone. Although, maybe he just wanted someone to talk to. Maybe the autopilot was MEL'd.

Can TSA still confiscate our certificates? Mesaba Airlines does a sh$@!y job at best of keeping up with security directives and all.

 

[Joe Jet Pilot]

Any Bets

You think this AF guy will get an interview at some point? I would say that he passed the sim check. I hope all is well with the FO on this flight.

 

[avbug]

If the Captain did in fact declare an emergency, he can deviate from all FAR's, ops Specs, etc..... Nobody could touch him.....

WRONG!!!!!


Using the magic "e" word does nothing to insulate anybody from enforcement action of any kind. Nothing. We've been through this recently in detail, and this is one of the pitfalls of seeing the concept of a formal declaration of emergency status as some kind of holy grail. It isn't.

Making a pronunciation of an emergency formall does nothing to alleviate one from adherence to the regulation, nor to insulate one from enforcement action. Further, making a formal declaration is NOT necessary to exercise the emergency authority as pilot in command.

 

[IFlyGC]

But I'll guarantee that guy filled out an ASAP/NASA form (or both) after he landed and that WILL insulate his behind from enforcement action.

 

[Dr Pokenhiemer]

Can you imagine what was going through the Captain's head after seeing his FO sieze out? No wonder he wanted someone to help run the checklists. I would've done the same thing (probably).

 

[avbug]

Can you imagine what was going through the Captain's head after seeing his FO sieze out?

Probably something along the lines of, "Gee, I had the fish, too..."

But I'll guarantee that guy filled out an ASAP/NASA form (or both) after he landed and that WILL insulate his behind from enforcement action.

Absolutely incorrect, and a common misconception. The ASRS program does not insulate one from enforcement action. In fact, you may very well receive a violation; the difference between one who has legitimately filed a timely report and one who hasn't is that the person who filed the report still receives the violation, but doesn't pay the penalty.

The ASRS program does not insulate one from knowing violations, and illegal actions.

In this case, if the case were made that the pilot was aware that allowing an unauthorized individual on the flight deck was illegal, not only would filing the report do him or her no good, but the report itself could be used against the pilot. Further, if it were determined that the action itself was a violation of law (criminal act), the report would also be invalid, and could be used as evidence against the pilot. Finally, the report itself could be the catalyst for proceeding in enforcement action against the pilot, if either of those two former conditions are met.

If the pilot is going to fill one out, it should be kept quiet until the FAA is talking enforcement action and the pilot receives a letter of investigation.

Many pilots are also unaware that while the body of the report is protected from use in enforcement action (unless the violation was done intentionally/knowingly, or if the violation involved a criminal act), the subject/title line and header that are returned to the pilot are NOT protected, and may be used to discover the violation, and may also be used against the pilot.

Can TSA still confiscate our certificates?

TSA never did. The regulation permitted TSA to require the FAA to suspend a pilot's certificates, if the TSA determined the pilot was a security risk. That regulation has been suspended pending review.

 

[ironwedge]

Yes, this reaks of security problems...TSA should have fun with this one.

I think the TSA is going to make dog meat outta the guy who admitted ANYONE into the cockpit (other than a crewmember on that flight), it'll be interesting to see how this goes.

On one hand you have Emergency Authority, on the other hand you have the retards at the TSA.

 

[IFlyGC]

Avbug,
The airlines ASAP program pretty much allows you to get away with anything with the exception of repeatedly making the same violation.
As for "criminal"...you should try reading 91.3 sometime. The captain felt it was necessary to exercise his emerency authority to ensure the safety of flight. A zero body count afterwards proves he made the right call. You wouldn't exactly need OJ Simpsons lawyers to get away with this one!

If the pilot is going to fill one out, it should be kept quiet until the FAA is talking enforcement action and the pilot receives a letter of investigation.

That's the very LAST thing you want to do. What if you don't recieve the letter from the Fed's until the 31st day? Well guess what.....you now can't file a NASA form because the time limit has expired. (Not true for the airlines and the ASAP system)

For the rest of you out there who are all parnoid because you filled a NASA form and now regretting it, DON'T PANIC. If you had an emergency or even if you just plain screwed up, file your NASA form prompty and relax. If no-one was killed, you were sober and didn't perform the mistake intentionally you will be fine.

As for emergencies.......do the right thing. Save lives before saving the plane. If you can stand up in court (as this Capt. could) and say with a straight face why you did what you did you'll be ok.