AIRMANSHIP





Pay The Man: 12 hot items

by Captain Jim Arthur-SFOFO [San Francisco (United Airlines) Flight Operation]

Un messaggio sintetico, puntuale ed efficace, utile a diffondere l’esperienza di chi è già passato, senza graffi, per i sentieri ardui di una professione che richiede sempre la massima attenzione e la massima preparazione.
Questo è in pratica il "dodecalogo" che Jim Arthur suggerisce [in slang californiano] ai suoi colleghi della grande compagnia United Airlines attraverso le pagine del MEC SAFETY NEWS, il bollettino trimestrale del Master Executive Council (ALPA) dei piloti United Airlines.
Le frasi pay the man, see the man, ecc., hanno il significato di dover rendere conto di ogni azione, errore, svista o deviazione all’autorità dell’aviazione [FAA] o all’autorità investigativa [NTSB] o, peggio [credo che la frase abbia un riferimento biblico] al Sommo Giudice.

 

When we go back to DENTK [Denver Training Center], or whenever we complete the many exams that we have to do on our own time, we are exposed to the Hot Items.

I have some of my own.

  1. When you check the logbook, don't just rely on the "number of write-ups" entered on the coupon page. Look for log items that have not been cleared. Maintenance may have missed them. Fly with an open log item, and you pay the man.
  2. If the cabin or ground crew reports a problem or you discover something that isn't quite right, call SAM [San Francisco Aircraft s Maintenance]. The problem may seem innocuous to you, but may, in fact, be a "no-go" item. Very few pilots are knowledgeable about the MEL. Get it cleared by SAM or risk paying the man.
  3. Whenever you have to cross any runway, regardless of a prior taxi clearance, reconfirm it when you get to that runway. Controllers and pilots have short memories. Also, Dr. Spock may be lining up to land his Bonanza on that runway. By calling again, you alert everyone on the ground and in the air of your intentions. Have a runway incursion, and pay the man. Have a fiery collision, and SEE THE MAN.
  4. Do not accept a taxi-into-positionand-hold (TIPH)[*] clearance unless take of clearance is imminent. Do not allow yourself to be "parked" on a runway for extended time. As the fatal accident (LAX) and the many near catastrophes illustrate, this is a good way to SEE THE MAN.
  5. Request two minutes separation behind that heavy or B-757 on takeoff. On a max gross weight takeoff, a wake encounter at rotation could cause you to talk to the man or MEET THE MAN.
  6. In cruise, with crossing traffic, or when following another aircraft (particularly in RVSM airspace), be alert for wake turbulence. These encounters can be worse than in the terminal area. A KC-135 actually had two engines depart the aircraft as a result of a wake encounter in cruise. If passengers and flight attendants are up, and are seriously injured, it will be an accident. Depending on what the NTSB says, you may end up paying the man.
  7. If a radio transmission is blocked or clipped, have it repeated in its entirety. This is especially important prior to crossing a runway or vacating an altitude. Do not assume the clearance was for you, particularly when there are similar call signs on the frequency. If you acknowledge the wrong clearance, o somebody else's clearance, ATC is under no obligation to correct you, and has no liability. (Review the FAA Interpretive Rule.) Cause a loss of separation, pay the man. Taxi onto runway in front of a 747 taking off, and MEET THE MAN.
  8. When the weather is deteriorating at your destination, make a crew decision where, and at what fuel stat you will divert. Get as much info as you can out of Dispatch, but don't rely on them to make the proper decision for you. They may be overloaded, not have all the information, and may be under pressure from the Flight Ops duty manager (FODM) to send you wher it is most beneficial to the company. Once you have made your decision, stick by it. Waste too much time, and you will have a fuel problem. When you are low on gas, a situation that was previously a decision-making exercise is now an EMERGENCY. Screw it up, and pay the man. Really screw it up, and SEE THE MAN.
  9. When in the terminal area, do not be anxious to call other traffic [in sight], particularly at night at a busy airport. ATC is supposed to sequence you and provide wake turbulence separation. Once you call the traffic, regardless if it is the correct one, you have gained absolutely nothing and have just assumed all responsibility for traffic separation and wake turbulence avoidance. If you eat somebody's wake, and seriously injure some passengers/flight attendants, it is now YOUR FAULT. Pay the man.
  10. On landing rollout, do not acknowledge transmissions from the controller until you are actually clearing the runway. ATC is not supposed to be calling you during this high workload, high noise level period. The entire runway is yours until you decide otherwise. If one of the crewmembers "rogers" a transmission (such as clearing at a specific exit) and the other pilot does not hear it and/or is unable to comply with it, you may get to talk to the man. If this ATC transmission was a short-notice LAHSO [Land And Hold Short Operation] directive (which they are not supposed to do) you may SEE THE MAN.
  11. After you have landed, and are taxiing into the gate, do not proceed in unless you have:
    a) Guideman with orange sticks or lighted wands at night,
    b) Additional guidemen on dogleg gates or if obstacles are a factor,
    c) Appropriate accupark lights visible,
    d) No vehicles across the foul line.
    If the station is uncooperative an says that they don't have people or wands, tell them, "Well, you better have a tug," and if they don't get the hint, shut down. If you elect to taxi in and ding a wing or taxi into a benjo ditch,     you pay the man.
  12. Finally, when you park at the gate, make sure that the logbook is correct. You must enter those maintenance items that you discovered or were reported to you by the flight attendants into the logbook. If you had a noticeable nosewheel vibration on landing at a nonmaintenance station, particularly with an OMC [Observer Member of the Cockpit] in the cockpit, write it up. In one case, a crew didn't write something up, and the OMC was an FAA Inspector. Kachingg! If the flight attendants tell you about hearing a "pop" during reverse (compressor stall?) or a suspicious burning odor in the back, or a piece of protruding, jagged metal from a seat, investigate it and write it up. If you ignore it, and it is subsequently written up by a flight attendant, passenger, or a member of the media, be ready to pay the man one more time, and possibly, big time.

These 12 "hot items" are only a few that come to mind. If I were an FAA Inspector, and getting a 10 percent commission for every violation I observed in our cockpits, I would retire as a very wealthy man in short order.
Avoid the man.

[*] LA fraseologia standard ICAO per l'istruzione all'ingresso in pista, allineamento per il decollo ed attesa è: "XXX.. line up and wait". Questa frase fu introdotta insieme ad altre modifiche radiotelefoniche fin dall'esito dell'investigazione del disastro di Tenerife. Tale fraseologia non è applicabile nelle comunicazioni tra il controllore ATC e i piloti negli Stati Uniti dove vige il glossario Pilot-Controller che riporta appunto la frase "…taxi into position and hold"
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