Lucky to have a qualified airline pilot on board when the co-pilot was incapacitated, but there seems some doubt as to who he/she flies for and whether they are qualified on 747’s or 767’s.
By: Doors4 - 22nd November 2012 at 08:37
I don’t know how others feel about this
You expressed exactly what I thought when I saw this article. We can only hope that the truth isn’t quite as reported.
By: Arabella-Cox - 22nd November 2012 at 07:30
The frightening thing is that perhaps a half-qualified pilot is one who has been taught only to fly straight and level with the throttles set to maximum.
I can certainly concur with those of us on this thread who expressed terrorism-related concerns.
By: AlanR - 21st November 2012 at 17:14
What’s the difference between a “Qualified” pilot, and a “Fully Qualified” pilot ?
Can you have a “Half Qualified” pilot ? 🙂
By: Arabella-Cox - 21st November 2012 at 16:43
It may well be that the pilot’s status was verified before he was allowed to enter the flightdeck.
I presume the aircraft in question was not Lufthansa’s new B747-8. 🙂
By: EGTC - 20th November 2012 at 23:20
There’s probably more to the story than what the mail really reports.
Having another pilot, eventhough they’re not type rated, would have helped reduce the work load. I remember an instructor of mine 9yrs ago telling me about when he flew an airliner back on his own while the first officer spent most of the time in the toilet, he said it was okay but the workload was higher.
I don’t see the problem of the other pilot being there, since 9/11 everyone immediately thinks about terrorism but I don’t think there was much danger of that in the circumstances reported.
By: Matt-100 - 20th November 2012 at 22:39
I don’t know how others feel about this (and this is a daily mail article so whether every fact is correct must be called into question), but I’m appalled by the Lufthansa captain’s decision – quite frankly he should be suspended by the airline.
Now don’t get me wrong; the 767 pilot who offered his help gets my praise – but for all the captain knew, this stranger could have been a terrorist.
If my first officer goes down ill (possibly poisoned?) and the next thing I know I’ve got a complete stranger claiming he’s a qualified pilot offering his help out of the blue – alarm bells should start to ring.
I didn’t think passengers were allowed into the cockpit during flight?
The captain could have landed the aircraft by himself (this happens more frequently than you might imagine, a couple of years ago a continental first officer had to land a 777 by himself after the captain suffered a cardiac arrest over the Atlantic). Or, if need be, the captain could have asked for a cabin crew member to read off check-lists and provide an extra pair of eyes.
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November 20, 2012 at 9:20 pm