maven&meddler

Let’s start the week by getting some of this airline related stuff addressed.

A Continental Airlines pilot, Craig Lenell, 60, died on his jetliner as it was crossing the Atlantic ocean last Thursday. It is believed he had a heart attack.

Let me relate an older story to you now.

About ten years or so ago, one of my husbands fellow airline captains was flying Milan, Italy trips on the Boeing 757. Jack, the captain, was on final approach to Milan as he turned to get something out of his ‘brain bag’, wedged between his seat and the fuselage to his left. He felt something odd with the airplanes ‘attitude’. Turning around to query the co-pilot, he quickly discovered how futile that would be. The poor guy was slumped over the control column, dead.

Jack may have his ‘issues’, and you’ll always hear his friends mention ‘what a piece of work his is’, but he’s a good pilot with many years of experience. He immediately got crew up there to stabilize the body, declared an emergency and landed without further incident. I doubt the passengers knew much had happened, which is as it should be.

Then there was the Western Airlines pilot ( this was before the merger with Delta ) that had just got his flight physical in Los Angeles and was walking out to his car. He dropped right there in the parking lot from a heart attack.

The point is: among any representative cross section of people, there are those that are going to die suddenly of a heart attack every day, in every walk of life. Jack’s co-pilot was a younger man.

Media reports are capitalizing on the pilots age: 60.

This is only significant, since the ‘Age 60’ rule -  a ridiculously arbitrary holdover from the really old days of aviation - had recently been extended to 62 for pilots holding the captains seat.

According to the FAA, of the previous pilots to die at the controls since 1994, the six ranged in age from 48 to 57. So, Lenell is something of a statistical anomaly. So what? Perhaps airline captains overall are healthier than they used to be ( like back in the ‘good old days’ of heavy drinking, smoking, big steaks and no exercise) and the potential appointment with sudden death is being extended out.

Younger pilots, wishing to get their captain slot earlier in their careers would, of course, like to take issue with the extension of the ‘Age 60’ rule. Self interest can cause people to act strangely.

It should also be noted that time and time again, pilots very near that age 60 retirement date have also had the wisdom and experience to bring a crippled airliner in without loss of life. Think back to a recent landing on the Hudson River.

If passengers really want something to worry about, consider that the airlines, getting squeezed ever tighter by economic forces, have for years ( in concert with aircraft manufacturers ) been designing the extra crew member out of the cockpit. This happened a long while back with the third crew person, long a fixture on Boeing 727’s and older 737’s. There’s even been talk - stupid talk- here and there about getting rid of relief crew members on long oceanic flights. After all, it would reduce the price of a ticket.

At the end of the day, it’s highly unlikely that this unfortunate incident will reverse the retirement age for commercial airline captains. That’s as it should be.

Passengers can and should be more concerned about duty hours, crew rest, crew compliment on oceanic flights and similar issues that are only gained by contract negotiation with often adversarial companies in cooperation with an FAA that has become a handmaiden to corporations rather than representing the safety of the flying public.

During an emergency, you’re probably not going to care how cheap your ticket was.

Update on Monday, June 22, 2009 at 08:15 by mavenandmeddler

The following is from a friend of many years, who is a Boeing 747 Captain for a very large and well-know ‘non-sched’ hauler airline…he’s frequently in vacation spots like Iraq, Afghanistan and such.

Hello Cindy,

 

Your article regarding the death of a Continental Airlines Captain alludes to your article and a recent change from age 60 to age 62. Here is another article for your review giving some detail to the new rule which allows FAR 121 carriers to employ pilots until reaching age 65, providing both pilots at the controls are not above the age of 60. Flight Engineers are not considered pilots, in the eyes of the FAA, and so they are not included in the age 65 rule. Hope this helps some if there was any question.

 

For your own info, I am in Turkey leaving in about 9 hours for a non-stop from LTAG, Adana Turkey , to KJFK, Kennedy New York , scheduled for 11+45 flt., which will exceed 12 hours block. The company has conned the feds that this is un-common as they have been operating this route this past winter under 12 hours, but due to summer head winds it is now blocking over 12. We do this flight with min crew with no relief crewmembers. Welcome to the world of freight and non-sched carriers. Let the games begin.

 Cheers to you, DK. Stay well, fly safe!

maven