American Airlines Pilot Refuses To Fly Faulty Aircraft. -View From The Wing

[wemay]

This is the first I've heard of this. Pilot defusing to fly plane while already full of passengers.

https://viewfromthewing.com/safety-...irlines-pilot-refuses-to-fly-faulty-aircraft/

 

[ls1mike]

I like that is does say the captain has the final authority and they should.

 

[wavinwayne]

To anyone in the know: how much pressure do captains feel from the airlines to fly the plane, even if they have legitimate safety concerns?

 

[wemay]

To anyone in the know: how much pressure do captains feel from the airlines to fly the plane, even if they have legitimate safety concerns?

What I'm curious about as well.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

To anyone in the know: how much pressure do captains feel from the airlines to fly the plane, even if they have legitimate safety concerns?

I have NEVER been pressured to go flying ( weather ) or accept an aircraft that I felt had issues that needed to be fixed, never. I like to think I have good judgement though, in addition to flying for a good airline that supports Captains with good judgement.

That said, a Captain has to have good judgement and operational common sense or the airline won't support their decision when they refuse to accept an aircraft. We have to answer for our decisions at times despite the fact nobody can force us to accept an aircraft, or go flying ( weather ). We have the final say.

When we train Captains at our airline, flight operations emphasizes that they are paid to say "no" at times and resist pressure to depart when other departments just want the flight off the gate.

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

I finally got around to listening to that video.

Way too much information to tell passengers that they do not need to know.

Even if I was refusing to fly an aircraft, I wound not be telling my passengers the company ( technicians ) was pressuring me to fly it.

I would just be honest about the reason ( without scaring them ) and that’s it.

 

[The_Eric]

Perhaps some company politics and a history with that particular captain?

 

[97prizm]

This is the first I've heard of this. Pilot defusing to fly plane while already full of passengers.

https://viewfromthewing.com/safety-...irlines-pilot-refuses-to-fly-faulty-aircraft/

I had an instructor tell me that when he was flying cargo for a small carrier in Wyoming a Cessna 310 I think. The right engine went out he said the company told him to fly it out anyway. He refused as the density altitude would have according to him (made him an accident statistic.)

 

[Just a civilian pilot]

Perhaps some company politics and a history with that particular captain?

Not sure but just because one pilot isn't happy with something doesn't mean another pilot would refuse and things would be perfectly safe/legal. I am not talking about the Captain or situation in this video because I do not fly the same aircraft.

The aircraft MEL ( minimum equipment list that tells pilots, and dispatchers, if its o.k to dispatch the aircraft with this defect ) list will tell pilots if they can fly with particular systems inoperative. It might say you cannot go, or it might say you can "go" but with conditions.

Where things get "grey" is when you have multiple, unrelated systems inoperative because the MEL doesn't always look at the big picture with multiple, unrelated MELS and its ultimately up to the Captain to decide if they will accept the aircraft. This is where judgment, and common sense, comes into play.

Good judgment also applies in the air. Just because you lose a single hydraulics system ( Airbus ) for example doesn't mean return to the airport you just took off from, or "landing short" prior to your destination ( MEL doesn't apply in the air ). It depends.

I have seen Captains with poor judgment in my career.

Upgrading from FO to Captain is far more about testing their decision making/judgment than anything else assuming they have can fly well.