Tag Archives: airline

Air Force Worried Pilots May Exit

According to Gordon Lubold, writing at Foreign Policy and repeated at the Stars and Stripes, the US Air Force is concerned about the “possible exodus” of military pilots to an ever-enticing private sector:

Over the next year, the commercial airline industry is going to begin hiring tens of thousands of new pilots as aging flyers retire and the industry regains its economic footing. That could put dark clouds in the way of the Air Force’s wild blue yonder as it tries to persuade pilots to stay in a service even as top officials worry that pilots don’t have enough yoke time.

“If pilots aren’t flying in the Air Force because Read more

Air Traffic Control: Even a Child Could Do It

By now most have likely heard about the air traffic controller, Glenn Duffy, who reportedly brought his 9 year old twin children to work and allowed them to make several radio transmission to airliners on the tower frequency.  The FAA and ATC union were quick to respond, with the FAA suspending not only the controller, but also his supervisor, Rose Kelly.  The union said the behavior was “not indicative of the highest professional standards” of controller operations.

Pilots and controllers sometimes have an adversarial relationship.  Pilots get annoyed at being told what they think is the wrong thing to do, and controllers often get annoyed at pilots who always think they know better.  (In that regard, ATC controllers and fighter pilots may have much in common.)  Rightly or wrongly, some pilots also blame controllers for some fatal mishaps.  Gallows humor asks  Read more

“Praying Pilot” Convicted of Manslaughter

A Tunisian-based airline crew was convicted in Italy of manslaughter following a crash-landing in the sea in 2005.  The news has capitalized on the story about the captain abandoning control to his co-pilot and then praying rather than executing appropriate emergency procedures.  Notably, though, the co-pilot was also convicted of the same offense and given the same sentence, though there is no allegation he did the same thing.

Even so, any concern would not be on the fact that he prayed, but on the fact that he ceased taking the proper actions to ensure the safety of his aircraft and its passengers.