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Originally Posted by towhook  There is more then one side to a story. I am not passing judgment on anyone as I was not there at the time. I am trying to bring another perspective to the thread (as others have attempted). What was the company thinking when they suspended him? Do you think they did not have any reasons? Usually pilots don't get suspended just for being safe. Now too safe or not safe enough... that is another story.
Being "uncomfortable" with something does not mean it is unsafe. I think that we have all been uncomfortable in aircraft at times. Maybe it is your first stall, picking up ice, or having to land in a ferocious x-wind by yourself. With time we can learn what will really bite, if we make it that long. If you are going to err, do it on the side of caution.
Did anybody else get in? |
The company went as far to demand that tech support withdraw the statement that BB sites. They refused to do so and repeated that the 328Jet was not to operate in those conditions.
Those were the final days of Skyway and the management team, I imagine, was under a great deal of pressure to complete fights (so not to tarnish the delicate Midwest image for life after Skyway -- my opinion). For an operator based in MKE, any serious ice limitation is not a good thing.
I agree with the "uncomfortable" statement, but this was different. This was a significant change in what was perceived to be the proper interpretation of the limitation. I do not know if it was a translation (German to English) issue or what, but, just as you mentioned above, he brought another perspective to the interpretation, and according to the manufacturer, he was correct. He stood his ground because he felt, and again it is my opinion that he was correct, that the manufacturer knew more about what that plane can or cannot do than either the DO or the CP. How many times have you been told to do something a certain way "because that's the way it's always been done."
Did anybody else get in? Aside from a couple of 135 oufits, nobody flies this type of aircraft. This is one of the other points: every aircraft is unique in design and capabilities. The blanket (FAA approved) procedures for one cannot be safety applied to another because the air moves about the airframes differently. Just look at the ATR. At one point, it passed the test for FIKI. It wasn't until after an accident that people realized there was something different about that wing.