The Deficient Union Defense Of American Airlines Pilots After JFK Incident – Live and Let’s Fly

The union representing the American Airlines pilots implicated within the JFK runway incursion incident is attempting to downplay pilot culpability via a story that defies all reasonableness.

Union Tries To Defend American Airlines Pilots At Heart Of JFK Incident

Running interference via Ted Reed of Forbes, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) lays out a counter-narrative that seeks to absolve the pilots who entered an energetic runway at New York JFK and put in jeopardy each passenger on their plane in addition to each passenger on a Delta 737 that was taking off from the identical runway they had been crossing.

> Read More: American Airlines 777 Nearly Collides With Delta Air Lines 737 – How Could This Happen?

The narrative goes one thing like this:

First, we warned you one thing like this is able to occur!

Indeed, on January 3, 2023 the union complained to its members a few cockpit process change that was carried out in writing moderately than by way of (paid) coaching and impacted some plane, together with the 777-200 on the coronary heart of this incident.

American Airlines Flight Operations administration is making an attempt to bypass strong safety-related pilot coaching by unilaterally imposing operational modifications by way of bulletin. While APA doesn’t oppose fleet harmonization, we’re steadfast in our dedication that pilots should be correctly skilled BEFORE working with passengers. This coaching should be developed in a stakeholder security tradition that acknowledges and addresses issues raised by APA. To date, that has not occurred. This try to coach by bulletin, whereas ignoring severe security issues and well-established finest practices, runs the chance of dramatically eroding margins of security.

Simply put, administration’s actions are unwise and unsafe.

The operational modifications that administration is making an attempt to implement with out fulsome coaching alters how pilots talk, coordinate, and execute flight security duties at a few of the most high-threat occasions of flight. These high-threat occasions embrace, however aren’t restricted to, rejected takeoffs, low visibility approaches, and go-arounds. Aligned and standardized crew communication and coordination is the bedrock of sustaining the protection margin throughout all phases of flight, however notably throughout excessive task-loaded maneuvers. Management’s try to coach by bulletin reeks of coaching on a budget and inserting income earlier than folks.

So what was the process change?

First officers should course of extra takeoff knowledge (flap and energy settings), carry out a runway evaluation, and mark the cabin takeoff announcement (“flight attendants, put together for takeoff”). Previously the captain carried out these duties, so it isn’t like there’s really extra work to be carried out within the cockpit.

Notice the union holds out this “see, we we had been proper” perspective and but fails to clarify how any of those procedures led to such a grievous error. Surely, pilots can stroll and chew gum on the identical time.

Second, the co-pilot was model new in her position. Reed writes:

The first officer, an skilled 737 pilot, was making her first 777 flight after 100 hours of coaching flights that didn’t embrace the brand new procedures.

“She has all this knowledge to investigate and enter, plus she has a brand new activity on prime of all that,” the supply mentioned. “She was overwhelmed.”

That’s not comforting and doesn’t essentially replicate effectively on American Airlines or APA both. But it actually doesn’t replicate effectively upon the pilot or the captain who ought to have been watching over her.

Third, the aircraft took off for London (and overwrote the flight recorder) as a result of the pilots had no thought something was flawed.

The motive is that that they had no data of the seriousness of the incident, the supply mentioned. After the incident occurred, controllers gave the pilots a quantity to name. They referred to as, however it’s unclear whether or not they received via, the supply mentioned.

“The crew didn’t perceive the gravity of what occurred till they received to London,” the supply mentioned. “That is after they realized what occurred. Until then, they didn’t know there had been a runway incursion.”

Isn’t it all of the extra alarming if the three pilots had been made conscious of a “potential pilot deviation” and parked for half-hour and didn’t search to grasp what was happening?

Fourth, the captain couldn’t see the runway lights.

The captain, in the meantime, needed to make a left flip after which a proper flip to get on the runway, and so didn’t have adequate visibility to see cease bar lights on the runway. The captain was in actual fact on his approach to one other runway. A 3rd pilot within the cockpit additionally couldn’t see the lights.

Yes, apparently sitting within the left seat in some way made the runway lights invisible.

So that’s the union protection. Poor coaching and an absence of communication in regards to the runway incursion.

But right here’s what that protection doesn’t reply and what Reed fails to ask:

How may three skilled pilots have taxied to the flawed runway? Even if the captain missed the cease bar lights, didn’t the opposite two pilots discover? Were they not checking the circulate of visitors? 

I’ll doubtlessly be accused of being anti-union, however that isn’t the case. Here, the issue is that you’ve three pilots in a cockpit in order that six eyes are scanning throughout taxi, takeoff, and touchdown, the three most harmful components of the flight. Saying the primary officer was new or busy doesn’t go the odor take a look at. Saying that the captain couldn’t see the runway lights actually doesn’t go the odor take a look at.

CONCLUSION

The union narrative on the American Airlines – Delta incident at JFK is that the pilots weren’t correctly skilled and had no thought of the severity of the incident. While I don’t foreclose that the brand new procedures might have performed into this in an oblique manner, I discover it a really weak protection that doesn’t exonerate the pilots. Instead, I feel Reed’s piece makes the matter even worse for the three AA pilots.