Plane with dead pilot lands safely in Newark, NJ

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the incident of a plane landing safely in Newark, NJ, after the pilot died mid-flight. Participants explore various aspects of the event, including the response of the airline, the qualifications of the remaining crew, and the implications of how the situation was reported. The conversation touches on technical details of aviation, passenger communication, and the nature of media reporting.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether the passengers were informed of the pilot's death during the flight.
  • There is a discussion about the terminology used for pilots, with some expressing annoyance at the term "co-pilot" and emphasizing that both pilots are fully qualified.
  • Concerns are raised about the implications of the incident being reported as a significant event, with some suggesting it was not as dangerous as portrayed.
  • Participants debate the training of pilots, with some suggesting that co-pilots are primarily trained to ensure the pilot's alertness, while others argue they are qualified to land the plane independently.
  • Humor is introduced in the discussion regarding the role of flight engineers and the qualifications of pilots, with some posts containing sarcasm and jokes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the significance of the incident and the appropriateness of the media's portrayal. There is no consensus on whether the passengers should have been informed of the pilot's death or on the implications of the pilots' qualifications.

Contextual Notes

Some statements reflect assumptions about pilot training and responsibilities that may not be universally applicable. The discussion includes references to specific airline practices and media reporting styles that may vary.

EnumaElish
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"Airline spokeswoman Kelly Cripe says the pilot died of natural causes Thursday on the flight from Brussels, Belgium, to Newark."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090618/ap_on_re_us/us_pilot_dies

I wonder whether this was announced to the passengers?
 
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EnumaElish said:
I wonder whether this was announced to the passengers?
They weren't told.
your own link said:
Passengers weren't told of the pilot's death in flight.
 
but the jet landed safely with two co-pilots at the controls.
Just a brief whine - it really annoys pilots (or at least first officers) to be called co-pilots!
There are two pilots on any passenger aircraft with more than 16(?) seats.
They are both fully qualified to fly the plane and both do fly on each trip.
The one in the left seat is called the captain and the one in the right seat* is the first officer. The captain has merely been with the company for longer - he may have less flying time on that particular type or even less overall experience than the first officer.

* - the order is because of the side a cavalry soldier carries his sword!
 
No, just read the article
 
I guess it was just blind luck that one of the co-pilots knew how to land the plane.
 
Andre said:
No, just read the article
I had, but it was a shorter version (< 10 sentences) and did not mention anything significant other than "natural causes" and "safely landed by co-pilot."

I wonder whether the no announcement decision was by policy or discretion?

BTW, the "co-pilot" has been promoted to "relief pilot."
 
jimmysnyder said:
I guess it was just blind luck that one of the co-pilots knew how to land the plane.

So true. Most co-pilots are only qualified in making sure the pilot doesn't fall asleep although not trained into making sure the pilot doesn't die. I think they should includedthat in the training.
 
mgb_phys said:
Just a brief whine - it really annoys pilots (or at least first officers) to be called co-pilots
I don't mind being a co-PF member.
 
humanino said:
I don't mind being a co-PF member.
I wonder if an abcissa minds being called a co-ordinate.
 
  • #10
Shouldn't the title of the thread have been "Plane with two live pilots lands safely in Newark, NJ?" Kinda takes the "gee whiz" element out of play...
 
  • #11
turbo-1 said:
Shouldn't the title of the thread have been "Plane with two live pilots lands safely in Newark, NJ?" Kinda takes the "gee whiz" element out of play...

Yeah, when this story came out, I didn't really know why it was a story at all. It's not like the flight was landed by a stewardess or passenger. There were still two qualified pilots on board who took over. There was never any danger to the passengers, and people do have a tendency to die eventually, and sometimes that's going to be on an overseas flight. I thought it was a bigger deal when I was on an overseas flight and over half of the flight crew came down with food poisoning about halfway. The remaining crew, who didn't eat at the same restaurant as the others the night before, had to juggle responsibilities between servicing all the cabins and helping tend to the sick crew members who were lying down in the back of the plane and had claimed all of the aft lavatories (not that I think anyone would have really wanted to use them after they had). You know something bad is happening on a flight when more than one medical doctor is summoned mid-flight. Of course, we had to be told what was going on, partly so we'd know to avoid the aft lavatories, and partly because they only assumed it was food poisoning during the flight because everyone sick had eaten together, but had to let the passengers know to report to the airline if they came down with similar symptoms in the next week, in case it was something else contagious.
 
  • #12
turbo-1 said:
Shouldn't the title of the thread have been "Plane with two live pilots lands safely in Newark, NJ?" Kinda takes the "gee whiz" element out of play...

The famous BBC headline "Small earthquake in Peru -- not many injured".
They try and avoid sensationalist reporting - looks like they succeeded.
 
  • #13
Moonbear said:
I thought it was a bigger deal when I was on an overseas flight and over half of the flight crew came down with food poisoning about halfway.

I saw a movie where that happened. "Man, that honkey mus' be messin' my old lady got to be runnin' col' upsihd down his head!"
 
  • #14
A hospital - what is it?
A large building with patients, but that's not important right now!

Classic.
 
  • #15
JasonRox said:
So true. Most co-pilots are only qualified in making sure the pilot doesn't fall asleep although not trained into making sure the pilot doesn't die. I think they should includedthat in the training.

If you read the article they said that both copilots on these long flights are qualified to land individually. So they have 3 people who are all individually qualified to land the plane if the other 2 die...
 
  • #16
junglebeast said:
If you read the article they said that both copilots on these long flights are qualified to land individually. So they have 3 people who are all individually qualified to land the plane if the other 2 die...
Except on Airbus where the flight engineer has been replaced by a dog. The dog's job is to bite the pilot if he touches the controls and the pilot's job is to feed the dog.
 
  • #17
mgb_phys said:
Except on Airbus where the flight engineer has been replaced by a dog. The dog's job is to bite the pilot if he touches the controls and the pilot's job is to feed the dog.

Chuckle... :smile:
 
  • #18
junglebeast said:
If you read the article they said that both copilots on these long flights are qualified to land individually. So they have 3 people who are all individually qualified to land the plane if the other 2 die...

I guess mgb_phys isn't the only one who needs an irony/sarcasm alert in his signature line. :rolleyes: :-p
 
  • #19
Communicating usually works better with me if you just think of me as an unusually talkative computer...
 
  • #20
junglebeast said:
Communicating usually works better with me if you just think of me as an unusually talkative computer...

:smile: Check!
 
  • #21
junglebeast said:
If you read the article they said that both copilots on these long flights are qualified to land individually. So they have 3 people who are all individually qualified to land the plane if the other 2 die...

Yeah, they are "qualified"...

It was a joke post anyways. :P
 

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