Position: KLAX; runway 24 Left
Groundspeed: 0
Radar Altitude: 0
Equipment: A321
Pax-on-Board: 183
Almost airborne... Day two of four.
The KLAX tower controller told us to expect "a minute in position" on the runway. Something is happening in the departure corridor requiring extra spacing. The visibility is about 1/4 mile, less at the end of the runway... Still good to go, though. We can depart with 500 feet horizontal visibility, i.e., not much. It is a typical early morning LAX departure.
Stretch Fi-Fi is heavy with pax, fuel, luggage, mail, and freight. The Michelin Aero main gear tires are bulging under the weight and her wings are sagging from the fuel load. The mighty V2500 engines are rolling over at idle thrust, only sipping the oh-so-precious Jet-A. All systems are in the green. The captain is well rested and nursing a still hot cup of Starbucks strong coffee.
Day two of four... O'Dark Thirty...
My most excellent iPhone 4 sounds the alarm at o'dark thirty, bursting the dream bubble of a Mexican beach with the wife-of-my-youth laying by my side.
It is only another dark hotel room.
OK, now where am I this morning? Concentrate... Come on, you can do it. Oh, yeah... City of Angels. Got in last night; a short one. Nevertheless, got to get moving; lot of miles today.
Day one of four... Check-in...
Uh-oh! There is a note in my mailbox to see the Chief Pilot. I think I know what it is about. One of my flights departed five minutes late because we, rather, I adjusted the crew van departure time to please a flight attendant that insisted the hotel did not know what they were doing concerning travel time to the airport.
"Last week," she said, "We got to the airport thirty minutes early. It was ridiculous. I could have gotten extra sleep."
Actually, as it turned out, the hotel knew exactly what they were doing. Yikes! So, the gate agents wrote me up. Having said that, I realize they are under extreme pressure to get flights out on time. I should have known better.
The Carpet Dance...
It is an assistant Chief Pilot... I know him. This should be a minor two-step event.
ACP- Wanna tell me why were you late pushing out of Indy... Uh, September eight? The gate agents said you guys left the hotel late.
Me- I, uh... Well, I adjusted the crew van time.
ACP- Why?
Me- I thought it was too early. (Does absolutely no good to attempt a blame shift. I know from experience.)
ACP- OK, well I guess it wasn't... I can deflect this one for you, but don't do it again. By the way, have you read the new captain's authority statement in Flight Ops? It's been in the administrative section a couple months.
Me- Yeah, but I'll read it again. (When is the last time I read the administrative section? Hmm, let me think...)
Who's In Charge Here?
Good Lord! It says that the captain must be obeyed! Stand-by one... Let me clean my cheaters. Wow, no weasel words or doublespeak. It also says that procedures or events that are contrary to accepted operating standards should be brought to the captain's attention. If the order remains, it must be obeyed.
I am getting nervous... This is strong stuff! Obviously, something big happened to precipitate this change. Just a wag, but I'll bet it was a near disastrous crew separation... That is New Age speak for an altercation, either verbal or physical, in the flight-deck. Yep, it is extremely rare, but it happens. Not necessarily at my airline, either. Big events at any airline usually change procedures for everyone.
Wait a minute... Here is what the assistant Chief Pilot was hinting about: The captain is in charge of the entire crew during the trip, this includes transportation to and from the lay-over facility. Holy Moly!
So, it seems I am not the only left-seater doing the two-step over this problem, as this was written months ago. I hate to admit it, but I am amazed that I did not know of this regulatory statement. Probably because of years of touchy-feely classes during re-current training, where captains have to sit and take it... Flight attendants telling horror stories of those mean and rascally captains.
The captain must be obeyed... What is going on here? My head is spinning...
The Era of the Great Ones...
I was fortunate to have co-piloted for some of the great Captains. The guys who flew the F-4 Phantom in the vertical against the nimble Migs... The guys who were 22 year old flight engineers on the DC-7 and met the likes of John Wayne, Robert Stack, and Charles Lindbergh in the cockpit during flight. Can you imagine, as a young FE, Charles Lindbergh asking to see your fuel burn logs?
The Great Ones are gone, most of them flown West for the last check-ride. Cockpit Resource Management (CRM; later changed to Crew Resource Management after it was determined cockpit was PC-incorrect) was only a theory then. The Great Ones believed in the concept, but not the method of implementation.
Later, when I moved to the left seat, CRM was coming on strong, by force, if necessary. The captain's authority curve was being flattened. There was no such thing as the captain must be obeyed. Command by committee was not far away.
For reasons known only to the folks on the Top Floor, the winds of command in the cockpit are slowly changing directions.
Day Two of Four... KLAX; 24 Left...
The fog layer is only 700 feet thick. At 1,000 feet, the co-pilot lowers the nose and reduces thrust to climb power. The fuel flow digits roll backwards to settle at 9500 pounds per engine. Visibility is unlimited above the marine layer, with the sun rising in our six.
First stop is KORD (O'Hare), and then on to KPHL (Philly). It is going to be a long day, as there is a lot of weather on the east coast.
Life on the Line continues...
38 comments:
Wow. Those are pretty bold statements in this day and age. Perhaps the folks in charge are starting to realize that touchy-feely is for encounter groups. It has no place in a profession dedicated to pushing expensive metal and soft passengers around the sky.
Eastbound to ORD with the sun rising in your six?
An interesting and timely reminder, especially to the readers of this blog who aren't pilots. Human Factors is arguably the most important piece of knowledge for pilots to have yet no one really knows how and what to teach. In Australia, threat and error management has in the last 5 years been entered into the CPL syllabus but still no one is sure how to really teach it. It's a vital skill but isn't a concrete piece of knowledge like 'wings create life' and is also something that ebbs and flows with fashion as you point out.
Face it Dave; you deserve to be obeyed. Don't tell your wife I said that. Thanks again. Rockcounter
Oh!
Please let ME be first for a change….. !
Ain't we all such kids (C)aptain Dave?
I really enjoyed your reference to ‘altercation’ ( = crew separation).
As well as the historical touch re (who’s in) command in the cockpit.
I can understand that there’ve probably been some mean and ugly (p)ilots along the passage of Time.
Power is potentially soooo corrupting…..
But a flattened “authority curve” also gives me the heebies.
If I were in charge of such complex machinery, I believe I would not be too happy with directives from the rest of the HR team on the flight……especially from those not exposed to my level of training for the Left Seat.
Surely a flattened authority curve for the Chief Pilot could mean unspeakable consequences resulting from indecision during a tense moment when quick action can mean the difference between life and one’s last check-ride (...so to speak)?
Doesn’t sound right to me……this flattened 'curve'... ???
So……I’m happy for you (and your Pax ! ) that some kinda bubble appears to be re-asserting itself in the flatness….
Second....or perhaps *equal-to* (with regard to the “flattened curve”) was your level of visibility before lift-off.
Eish ! (….isi-Xhosa for “Ouch!” more or less - pronounced ‘A-sh’ with a long ‘A’)
That level of visibility would probably have had me thumping my fists on the exit door to GET OUT ! before take-off !!!
I'd be interested to know, sometime, what prompted the change in your administraton manual i.r.o. level of command in the flight deck.
So please make an insert in your Still-to-write-about notebook...
Swell offering Captain Dave.
Many thanks !
Bev
From grey-sky’d Cape Town...but no wind...
Another fascinating update from the airways, Captain.
KLAX-KORD? Was ORD a tech stop?
Nice to see that your "stick 'n rudder skills"are useful away from the flight deck, Captain Dave - but you KNEW that.
Cap'n:
That would seem to be movement in a good direction. Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Adm. Rickover: "If you can't tell who's in charge, then no one is."
Fair winds,
Frank
Dave,
While I have never flown with you can I thank you in lieu of all your colleagues - pilots, cabin crew, dispatchers, engineers, airfield ops, ATC - everybody - whichever airline or country. You all play a part in making flying safe.
A few days ago my niece was on a flight from France back to the UK that suffered a bird strike between V1 and VR. A very damaged engine and a diversion to Spain was the result. Other than the bang and initial uncertainty she tells me it was really a non-event.
Thanks to you all for bringing Emily safely home.
Wasn't Robert Stack that successful Actor celeb?
Gordon- maybe... I am not against crm per say, only the method of implementation.
Joel- yeah, you have to fly runway heading toward the west for a few miles before turning eastbound. I'll give you credit, though. You are paying attention.
Rockcounter- dangerous territory...
Bev- thanks, as always...
Charles- no tech stop. We have a few multi- leggers.
Frank van Haste- you got it....
And the pendulum swings...
Dear "He Who Must Be Obeyed",
Congratulations on your return to power! You are well deserving and well suited to bear the mantle of responsibility.
Now, LINE UP AND WAIT!
:-)
Tim G in MN
I flew Captain for TWA many years and thought CRM was a good thing. We had it before they formalized it. The good Captains always wanted the crew to speak up if they were concerned about something. When any of my crew did, I was sure to thank them.
The problem is when you try to plan for the Captain going nuts; OR the FO thinks he's gone nuts but hasn't. You can always concoct a scenario the rules don't work for. You have to live with that or go to bed and stay there.
I believe in CRM so much that I've implemented it in my home. My wife and I give each other full co-pilot authority when driving and in life. When I'm driving and she sees something important she's not sure I see, I want her to speak up and I thank her even if I was completely aware all along of her point.
I enjoy your blog Dave.
Re: Joel's question.
Has their ever been an LAX landing or takeoff to the east? I've flown in and out of there regualarly for at least 25 years, and it's always been to the west.
I know, sea breeze dominates, and it's safer to take off over water than over land (for those on the ground), but they do get easterly winds sometimes, especially when the Santa Ana's blow.
Hmmm, I wonder if the same sleepy head precipitated the tail wagging the dog incident a few months back when your buddy was warming up the dance floor for those who might have a sweet spot on their dance cards ... You always credit the professionals in the back ... Bet you have a pretty good idea who the divas are as well (bet ACP does too).
I was pretty happy to wake up to this wonderful view of the numbers ... I've enjoyed thinking of FiFi sipping her fuel as you sipped yours ... . Would you make a different call on the van's departure with a do-over? Seems like there is a penalty and a prize associated with either decision. CRM must be an art ... Weights/Balances of human factors ... May require a minor in psychology! If they're naughty do you send them to their rooms early ... Does the FO monitor that? I will add in all seriousness, from a readers perspective, there's never been any hint of doubt as to who is in control of your airplane and all that entails.
Happy Flying Captain.
~DeAnn
In response to John the pilot's comment re CRM...
Hmmm...
You had me thinking there....
Not too many years ago I was passenger in a friend's car on the way home when the road forked.
She was supposed to take off to the right......and instead she headed straight for the traffic island between the fork in the road.
I let go of a choice expletive, grabbed the wheel of her car and veered right *sharply*.
We managed to miss the traffic island between the fork....but I'm glad there was nothing following us as this happened.
Unbeknown to me (or the rest of her family) at the time, she was showing the beginning signs of Altzheimers and, sadly, as we interact she is now being cared for full-time.
So yes....I also see the value of CRM (...said from a comfortable distance).
I can also see it could become difficult.... ?
Bev
Cape Town
As always very good (desk people and pilot's, well, that's another story...)!
Goodness John the pilot, you've really got me going...
I was a passenger in an old prop aircraft in Greece back in 1981...
We took off from Athens and were headed for Skiathos island.
I sat little more than two-thirds back in the plane.
In front of me on the left of the plane there were two passengers; and between them and the next two passengers there was some sort of exit door and a gap between the line of Pax.
Not long after take-off I began to hear a definite sort of hissing sound in the vicinity of the door.
It seemed to me that this hissing hadn't been there before and now it was, and that it shouldn't be....
So I got up and told a flight attendant sitting at the back of the plane.
She went up front and into the cockpit and shortly afterwards the plane (...I think it was an old Dakota....does that make sense?) returned to Athens.
Only once we landed were we told that the rubber 'beading(?) around the door's edge had 'come away'.
As I sat in the plane, after speaking to the Air Hostess I remembered my father telling me somewhere along the years that the old prop aircraft were not pressurised. (He flew light aircraft when I was about 5 or 6 years old.)
Also we were not very high (...altho' I don't know what altitude we were flying at) so I figured if the door fell out whilst up there we wouldn't be in too much danger....in other words, no-one was likely to be sucked out of the plane in the event of losing the door....
Well, that was my *thinking* then - I could've been wrong ?
I chose to keep my seatbelt on tho.
That was a time before I became horribly afraid of flying.
It amazes me to think that at this time, I was truly calm in the face of Something-is-wrong-with-this-door....there's-a-noise-here-that-I-should-not-be-hearing...
Bev again.
Pardon me.
So is it true that pilots are taught to master shifting blame? My husband told me this once and he flew a few times and he DOES shift blame.
a
"...the captain must be obeyed..."
I once said something like that in friendly, humorous tones to a great captain and friend while working as his first officer. He turned to me and asked, "Do you mean that if I turned the aircraft 90 degrees from track now you'd just let me?" And the discussion ensued regarding the breaking point where a first officer's duty actually becomes to resist the captain and what tactics this might require.
While the FOPs manual must say what it says, the First Officers version must still be:
"...the captain must be obeyed..."
"Except when he must not be obeyed."
Recognizing when this occurs is why the FO gets paid the Big Bucks!... oh, wait... ha ha.
Capt.Dave, I see you've touched a few nerves here. Frank stole my thunder with the quote from Adm.Rickover. As an old (emphasis on OLD)Navy vet, I always knew who was in charge, I liked that. Of course, an understandably so, the military differs greatly from civilian life. However, in your particular profession there are many similarities in my humble opinion. One stands out, the responsibility for many lives.I've never heard of an accident investigation board citing "Crew error." Good and thoughtful piece as always sir.
The two-step carpet dance for a five-minute late departure - seems a harsh report from the gate agents. That carpet must be threadbare from all the shoes that have hit that spot.
Thanks for another fascinating insight into your 'day at the office'.
Keep safe :-)
Interesting take on this, Dave.
NASA spends a good bit of effort training CRM (renamed in our world to Space Flight Resource Management, SFRM, to account for teaching it to Mission Control flight controllers). One of the case studies that was used for years was a famous controlled flight into terrain incident that occurred somewhere in southeast asia (I forget exactly where). It was clear from the voice recorder that the 1st Officer was uncomfortable with the routing but deferred to the Captain.
I think the phrasing that the folks that teach this lesson at NASA would be...
"The Captain must be obeyed... But the Captain must also be questioned"
For John, in regard to "What Joel Said."
Having lived near and watched thousands of ops at LAX in my 49 years: Yes, I can assure you that quite a few days every year, flight ops at LAX are landings from in over the ocean and takeoffs out over South Central LA. On these days, one can sit in the far parking lot at LAX and see the pilots faces as they lift off, especially the jumbos and super jumbos, which leave far closer to the end of the Runways, than the 320's & 737's...
These days & nights are very often during rainy weather, when the prevailing weather pattern swirls clockwise coming down the West Coast, and the winds come from the NE, E, or SE. Then there are the Santa Ana's... which are hot winds that blow East to West in from the desert, and out over the Pacific.
And then of course Every night, after 1100pm... no planes are allowed to land or take off over the city, so both takeoffs and landings go out over, and come in from over the Pacific. (NOT a picnic for crew or pax in the June Gloom, or any heavy weather.)
@L. Jones
Check out the Chinook crash on Mull of Kintyre, 1994. The RAF board of enquiry found the cause to be 'Pilot Error'
Disgraceful, but at last there are moves afoot to re-open the enquiry.
(C)aptain Dave:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't CRM put in place after the tragic 1970's KLM/Pan Am Double 747 collision on the runway at Tenerife?? The Nat Geo documentary I saw laid blame on the tower miscommunication (someone else 'stepping' on the towers instructions to Capt Van Zanten on the KLM 747) and the KLM crew for taking off without clearance.
They also said the co-pilot showed restraint in insisting that they NOT initiate the take off roll, because he'd NOT receive specific take off clearance... and was 'afraid' to confront Capt, Van Zanten... who was actually KLM's Lead training Pilot at the time. ( (I guess they determined this by listening to the cockpit voice recorder... they played it, and I think it's very clear he was unwilling to speak up...)
CRM, in my humble opinion is a GOOD thing in this light, but definitely, all things being equal, the PILOT in the left seat should always have the final say.
Would appreciate your thoughts on this.
Tim 12of13 (vs Tim G In MN)
@ Bev:
I love reading your posts, they are quite insightful and often entertaining.
I think you might reconsider tho, if that door had come off.... it could have been tragic. Perhaps no explosive decompression in those days, however, pieces falling from a plane, very often strike other parts of the plane... an engine, wing, or tail...
I think ALL Pilots in his or her right mind would have made and immediate return to the nearest airport.
Glad you were OK on that one!
My father, who loved all things airborne, having been a navigator for the ATC in WW2, used to tell me that all pilots looked like Glen Ford.
Tim 12 of 13- yeah, the KLM accident used to be studied every re-current training, until New Age Education took over. Now, we study human rights and PC speech. Anyway, your take on captains and CRM is exactly correct.
Jen- yep, that is the Korean Air accident where they flew into terrain, i.e., CFIT (controlled flight into terrain). It is infamous in my business. Like I said, most of us believe in CRM, but have a problem with the method of introduction. Thankfully, that is being looked at with new eyes. Command by committee will not work in the flight deck.
Noella- yeah, it is threadbare about two feet in front of the ACP desk. Tee, hee...
QUOTE FROM TIM 12OF13:
I think you might reconsider tho, if that door had come off.... it could have been tragic. Perhaps no explosive decompression in those days, however, pieces falling from a plane, very often strike other parts of the plane... an engine, wing, or tail...
I have just reconsidered Tim...
And I'm hugely relieved I didn't think of that at the time !!!
Thanks for the compliment...
Are you a pilot too ?
Bev
Cape Town
My Dad was one of those 22-yr old FE's on a DC-7. He remained a Professional FE for his entire 33-yr career, and was among the last of this group. I rode along on his final DC-10 flight from HNL to SFO. He gave me his uniform cap before we left left the aircraft in California...
Funny how the end of the great credit bubble and sharper perspectives on things coincide with sweeping away confections of academic certitude. That's why Captains captain, its safer that way. Fly on to the dawn Cap'n Dave we your passengers will be reassured to follow.
Oh dear...
Someone's gone and erased the Line so there's no more life up there....
We have very good Line-painters here in S.A. so if we can be of any help Captain Dave.... ?
Kind regards,
Bev
From a Cape Town that's had way too little rain in 2010...
@Bev:
No, I'm not a pilot, but one of my 12 siblings is. I've worked in the aviation industry for over 33 years so far, with many more to go. I also did all my college papers on air safety, the intermittent lack thereof, and the resulting tragedies that can follow.
I LOVE reading Capt Dave's blog more than any others, as he has a unique skew (and view) on what is becoming a dangerous trend of PC BS (politically correct bull $hit) which has reach alarming levels in the good ole USA.
He also has a fantastic writing style, and a medium to write about, which most humans never get to witness first hand; namely the front left seat of a commercial airliner.
@Tim 12of13
Thanks for your response to my question Tim....
Ja....Captain Dave sure has his own way of putting things....
I think the way he writes in the present tense heightens the moment for me when I read his blogs. I become totally immersed in the issues that he seems (to me) to be grappling with *as/I/read*.
Sometimes I wonder why someone so afraid of flying should find a blog on FLIGHT so gripping...(?)
I am absolutely fascinated by the miracle of flight.
I never cease to be amazed that these HUGE metal birds with flap-less wings sail on the air as they do....with a little help from their Pilot friends !
Also, it's intriguing to learn that the higher we go the less fuel burn there is & the lower we go the greater the fuel consumption.
And that fuel weight has a direct bearing on landing.
I hold Captains of airliners in very high regard.
See what you do for us Captain Dave?!
Bev
From a star-lit Cape Town...
8.12 pm local time
Cpt.Dave. Great stuff, keep it up.
From your stories the advancement in technology seems to be rapidly bringing on pilot redundancy.The Captains decisions will be challenged by the computers. Pilots are becomming system moniters,enjoy your captaincy while you can.
'H'(Snowy damp) England.
(How long before the overide button is removed.)
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