Ask The Captain Column: USA Today

[EditorASC]

http://www.airlinesafety.com/images/MerylGetline.gif

Meryl Getline, the United Captain who wrote the book, The World at My Feet, now has a new column at USA today, entitled "Ask the Captain."

It has become very popular already; the responses to USA Today are among the highest ever of any of their columns.

The link is:


www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/getline/2004-10-18-ask-the-captain_x.htm (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/getline/2004-10-18-ask-the-captain_x.htm)

And, the link to her own website is:


www.fromthecockpit.com/book.htm (http://www.fromthecockpit.com/book.htm)

[ChiefAtHeart]

Interesting! Thanks for the link!

[lieberma]

Sometimes the cockpit crew dings the flight attendants to request coffee, water, food or a bathroom break.

Hmmm, interesting quotation from that article posted to the USA Today paper?

Request a bathroom break????? :thud

Allen

[EditorASC]

I am not certain, since I retired before 9-11, but I think the new security procedures require the cockpit crew to clear with the FA, when they want to go to the john.

I suspect they want to know if anyone is standing near the cockpit, when the door is unlocked. If so, the FA might ask the persons to return to their seats, so there will be no possibility of anyone lunging towards the cockpit door, for the brief moment that it is unlocked.

That is my general impression from what I have read for the last couple of years, but I don't know the specific details about how some of these security procedures have changed since 9-11.

Undoubtedly, Capt. Stark knows the details better than I. Dunno how much he can say on the subject though, since we all have to be careful not to give out information which might be helpful to the terrorists.

:scratch

[lieberma]

I suspect they want to know if anyone is standing near the cockpit, when the door is unlocked. If so, the FA might ask the persons to return to their seats, so there will be no possibility of anyone lunging towards the cockpit door, for the brief moment that it is unlocked.

Very good point.

Maybe just an announcement from the flight deck for seat belts to be buckled would do the trick as well.

Allen

[EditorASC]

Not a good idea to use that subterfuge............

Passengers are hard enough to convince they should keep their belts on at all times, especially after the capt. warns them of turbulence that never comes.

If you turn the sign on too many times, and nothing actually happens, they become jaded and will tend to take the attitude that the pilots are told to do that because of the lawyers, and no real danger exists, most of the time.

Remember the story about the boy who called "wolf!" too many times, and ended up as wolf-burgers? :wired

[noflyingfan]

Maybe the pilots just want to make sure nobody's in there already. It would be a little disconcerting, I think, to see your pilot standing in the aisle waiting to use the potty.

[canoga]

I also thought part of the 'potty routine' was have an FA place a food/beverage cart in front of the seats to block entry to the cabin. I know that read that somewhere but can't quite place it. Maybe Ray told me.

[spleisher]

There is defnintelty a routine for this, but I'm not sure of the specifics. It may be slightly different on different airlines too. I have seen situations where the crew dings, and then a flight attendant actually goes into the cockpit until the pilot returns from the john.

As far as it being disconcerting for a pilot to be out of the cockpit during the flight, it used to happen all the time pre-9/11. I have had many conversations in the cabin up in the first class section with one pilot while the other is flying. Remember, "Otto" is flying at this point in the flight anyway. While I don't think it would be a great idea for the pilots to be lounging around the cabin for any length of time during the flight, they used to come back all the time fort a short leg-stretch...

Scott

[Passenger Mark]

Don't know what the "rule" is... but this is what I saw on a Delta flight to Dallas.

The seatbelt sign came on. The flight attendant announced that the seatbelt sign was on... and everyone needed to take their seat and buckle up...

A flight attendant took a cart and placed it in the aisle, and stood between the cart and the cockpit door.

The cockpit door opened, the pilot snuck out, went in the Jon, came out, went back in the cockpit...

Cart out the aisle, flight attendant out of the aisle, seat belt sign went out.

Seemed like a good plan to me. Quick, effective, and accomplished its goal.

[EditorASC]

"Maybe the pilots just want to make sure nobody's in there already. It would be a little disconcerting, I think, to see your pilot standing in the aisle waiting to use the potty."

[nonflyingfan]

======================

I don't know about 737s, but on the 747-400 and the 777, the cockpit has an indicator which tells the pilots if the front BRs are occupied. It is triggered when the person locks the door from the inside.

Of course, it is necessary that the passenger does lock the door from the inside. Once, when the indicator light was off, I opened the door to find a gal sitting on the john.............. :anon

I don't know who was more embarrassed; her or me..............

:blush :cry