EDITORIAL
by Andy Boquet
In the beginning Herb brought renewed life to Love Field, with SWA Mr. Mustard livery bi-jets abounding the heavens over Big "D". Unemployed pilots flocked to Mecca, swapping their ploughshares for uniforms; and with many of them came spouses and offspring, all with dreams of how their fortunes might improve. And it was good. And life was simple.
Came success, LUV-like outstations sprouted at the ends of the earth in HOU, PHX, and another, somewhere in the midwest near a lake that is great: MDW, it is called by those lepers who populate that frontier colony.
Yet, you can take the boy/girl out of Texas, but rarely the Texas out of the girl/boy; thus many birdfolks, hesitant to uproot from Mecca, choose to stress themselves by doing the "C" word (commuting) to these distant outposts.
As SWA prospered and grew, productive 10-minute turns slid to 15-20 minute turns; and 9 hour crew days became 12 hours days...with three and four-day sequences, and training requirements stressing men/ladies (circle whichever is appropriate) to their design limits.
With more than a few SWAers coming from the military, many chose to augment their incomes; complete military reserve retirement; ensure at least one secure job in an insecure industry; maintain their Tom Cruise images; and/or rise (or lower) to the rank of general officer (circle whichever applies). Nowadays, these patriotic boys and girls continue to fly in the military reserves, some double commuting from home to their distant SWA domiciles; then commuting to a military reserve base: adding another 8-10 days a month to their already busy 15-18 days of SWA employment.
And, the taxman cometh; and many nouveau-riche pilots sought relief in financial legerdemain in order to maximize income and minimize outcome. Invariably, the result among otherwise intelligent birdfolks were two truths: 1-don't quit your day job as an aviator; and 2-leave in a sonic boom when your buddy says he has a great investment opportunity. And many good-buddies were no more as fortunes begot ashes. And stress abounded the heavens.
Meanwhile, back at the ranches in Mecca, families, though their harvests flourished with bounty from the commuters/reservists (circle one or both) toils, harried housemates tired of sleeping alone, except for quickie 4-5 days/month visits by their beloved aviators; tired of paying the taxman for penalties assessed by the IRS for previous "but it's a great deal, honey" investment opportunities; tired of raising the little darlings solo; tired of being alone with all of life's travails. Such spouses sought relief from Mssrs. Jacoby and Myers for their perceived pain and suffering; to wit, divorce city. And for birdfolks commuting, reserving, training, chartering, JAing, it was and always will be stress city.
A recent talk with an Oncologist---most of us, fortunately, don't know what specialty that is (cancer doctor...now we know...aren't you glad?)---indicated that everyone who lives long enough, WILL get some form of cancer (does that mean we should die young to beat the odds?).
STRESS, the University of Chicago Medical School Oncologist said, is, in his opinion, the BIGGEST CAUSE OF CANCER. "And," he said, "EXERCISE, more than any pill or treatment, more than anything modern medicine can do...IS THE BEST WAY OF DEALING WITH STRESS."
A psychiatrist I met while jogging in SAN agreed: he said he has a pair of worn running shoes hanging behind his desk on the wall in his office. "That's the message," he said. He tells most of his patients to either work up a sweat running, walking, golfing, scuba diving, fly fishing, whatever, or pay him $150 an hour to listen until noon...and that was when the doctor, himself, was going out to work up a sweat.
Commute to Chi-town from a high mortgage in beautiful Lake Tahoe, and you'll be stressed; fly 100 hours monthly at SWA (include a few all-night Buffalo charters) plus another 20 in a F-16 (sheer stupidity), and you'll be stressed; allow your little darlings to become teenagers, and unless God is gracious, you'll be stressed; have an investment crash and burn and you'll be stressed; fly one-too-many all-night charters during your few days off, and you'll be stressed; get overweight, drink too much, smoke, diddle-about with someone other than your spouse, and you'll be stressed; let your overhead own you, and you'll be stressed.
In 1967 a 10th grade educated, black marine drill instructor addressed an all-white platoon of college boys; boys about to return to ivory-tower campuses awaiting graduation, while the sarge went back to Vietnam..."because there's no place for me here in the real world." Sgt. Jones told us to remember one thing...in marine tactics...in issuing orders...in living life. The wise and kindly Sgt. Jones said to "KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID." Tough to do nowadays in a remote controlled world of innumerable TV channels; in a world of pastel, expensive cars; in a world of delicious, greasy, fast foods. Where's Sgt. Jones when I need him now? I wish I knew.
Tough to step off the speeding train of life and to browse alone on the side station. Tough to take that jump when it's easier to hang-on and blindly await the inevitable throwoff.
Stress is a silent killer that affects us all; deal with it before it deals with you...heed Sgt.Jones...keep it simple, stupid.
1992 Fokker Crash
The crash of a USAir Fokker F28-4000 at LaGuardia Airport last year is being attributed to a combination of ice contamination on the aircraft's wings and rotation for takeoff at a lower than normal airspeed, according to federal investigators.
These combined factors led to a stall and subsequent loss of lateral control shortly after liftoff from Runway 13. The aircraft struck an ILS localizer ground plane antenna, a pumphouse and a dike, before flipping and crashing in Flushing Bay. The accident killed 27 people.
The NTSB's final report determined that the probable cause of the accident was "the failure of the airline industry and the FAA to provide flight crews with procedures, requirements and criteria compatible with departure delays in conditions conducive to airframe icing."
It also cited the pilots' decision to take off without confirming the F28's wings had no accumulation after 35 minutes of exposure to precipitation following a second deicing operation. USAir Flight 405 was deiced twice with Type 1 deicing fluid before leaving the gate, and the wings were clear of ice when the aircraft taxied. Despite the FO's visual assessment that the wings were still free of ice just prior to takeoff---35 minutes after the last deicing treatment---investigators concluded that the wing was contaminated. Type 1 deicing fluid's published "holdover time" under the weather conditions that night was calculated to be 11.37 minutes. Taxi time and takeoff delays totaled 28-32 minutes.
The Fokker captain elected to lower the V1 rejected takeoff speed to 110 knots, instead of using the calculated 124 knots for dry-runway conditions. His decision was driven by concern that an aborted takeoff initiated at the higher speed could cause the aircraft to run off the relatively short, wet runway.
Normal practice for USAir F28 FO's is TO CALL V1 AND ROTATION Vr SPEEDS TOGETHER, since the two figures are normally the same in USAir operations. Vr for Flight 405 should have been 124 knots, but the FO, out of habit, called V1 and Vr together; or about 11 knots early for Vr. The captain actually rotated about 5 knots early, achieving a 2.5 degree/second rotation rate.
Trying to take off 5 knots lower than flight manual prescribed speed produced a higher-than-normal peak angle-of-attack at liftoff. That, coupled with degraded lift caused by ice on the wing, eliminated any stall margin the F28 might have had under dry-weather conditions. As a result, the left wing dropped sharply at an aircraft altitude of 20-30 feet. The wingtip struck the ground, further degrading climb ability. Investigators believed the pilots could not have recovered control before the F28 hit the ground and obstructions next to the runway.
The F28 does not have leading edge slats, and stall AOA is sensitive to small amounts of wing contamination. The NTSB report noted that accident histories show "non-slatted, turbojet, transport-category airplanes have been involved in a disproportionate number of takeoff accidents where upper-wing ice contamination has been cited as the probable cause or sole contributing factor."
Fokker wind tunnel studies on upper wing surface roughness determined that particles of 1-2 mm. dia., about 1-2 mm. deep and having a density of 1 particle/sq. cm. can reduce F28 wing lift by 22% in ground effect and 33% in free air.
Another factor cited was an inability to visually detect minute amounts of ice on wings from the F28 cockpit or cabin windows. Although the FO visually checked the wing leading edge from the flight deck using a fuselage-mounted light aimed slightly ahead of the wing, investigators determined that he could not have seen small accumulations.
The NTSB's Report included 15 recommendations such as modifying air traffic control procedures to reduce the time between deicing operations and takeoff; providing flight and ground crew training to improve visual and tactile identification of wing contamination under varying light conditions; and studying how aircraft wings with and without slats are degraded when upper surfaces are contaminated.
"Aviation Week & Space Technology" 2-22-93
(Editor's note: perhaps the captain's decision to lower V1 was influenced by a company 737-400 that went into the same Bay during a previous abort attempt. Unfortunately, the FO's habit, caused by company procedures, to combine the V1/Vr call, resulted in a lower rotation airspeed. Until last year SWA's procedures were to combine that callout---we now must make separate callouts for V1 and Vr.
In years past a SWA 737 rolled off just above Bachman Lake due to icing; fortunately, the pilots saved the day. Thus, occurrences such as the F28 accident do not occur only on non-leading edge equipped aircraft: combine a bit of frozen precip, a lower than proper rotation speed and/or too brisk a rotation, and you, too, will drop a wing.)
NEVER...NEVER...NEVER
PULL A JET
OFF THE DECK
QUICKLY
OR BELOW Vr
STUPID...STUPID...STUPID
(unless there's a truck in front of you)
TRIVIAL PURSUIT
1. Only one piece of information cannot be change on a dispatch release: the ___________.
2. An new airworthiness release is required every 3,5,7,or 9 days (circle one).
3. Yellow hold short lines painted on the concrete are difficult to see at night (true); fortunately the FAA has wisely placed flashing orange lights, and/or runway identification lights adjacent to the hold short lines to likewise mark the hold short positions at night (at most major airfields near you). True/False
4. TCAS II bases a resolution alert on an expected crew reaction time of _____ seconds.
5. A Cessna 152 is screaming skyward at 400 fpm. Your TCAS II indicator will show an "up" arrow next to the Cessna's diamond to reflect the climb by said Cessna. True/False
6. How many seconds before a RA will you get a TA alert?
7. All TCAS II audio warnings are inhibited below 400 feet AGL.
Buy That Man a Beer (for life)
All takeoff checks completed, a 737 crew prepared for takeoff when the flight attendant called: a deadheading pilot wanted to make sure that the pilots knew their spoilers were deployed. The surprised and horrified crew made a visual check which revealed that the spoilers were fully deployed into the breeze, despite the lever being down and without any indications or warnings indicating deployment in the cockpit. Seems that a cable connects the spoiler cockpit handle to the actuators in the wing, and in this incident (almost accident) the cable was disconnected, which left the spoilers in the deployed position. The copilot had noted that the spoilers were deployed during preflight, but forgot to mention them when he got to the cockpit: and, after engine start, everything seemed normal.
While the FAA and all 737 operators deal with this near-tragedy, we can add our own visual check since the outboard spoilers can be seen from the cockpit...in the daytime. Folks, this isn't suppose to be able to happen...had that jet crashed, would the NTSB have been able to sift through the wreckage and determine that the spoilers were up?
Trivial Pursuit Answers
1. Only the date on a release cannot be changed.
2. One week...7 days...requires a new airworthiness release.
3. True...flashing yellow lights mark holdshort lines at night.
4. Five seconds reaction time (at .25 G's).
5. False...TCAS only reflects vertical rates of 500 feet per minute or greater.
6. Normally you get an oral and visual TA 15 seconds before a RA.
7. True
Deep Thoughts #1 - on professional achievement: "As Miss America, my goal is to bring peace to the entire world and then to get my own apartment." - Jay Leno
AEROMEDICAL NEWS
From the Flight Surgeon:
THE EYES HAVE IT
by Joe Battersby, D.O.
(The following article is reprinted with permission from "Arizona Flyways"-thanks to publisher Arv Schultz...L. Kline-publisher)
This month I'm going to fool our readers into believing this is a technical discussion of the FAA near-vision requirements for airmen. Then I'll cleverly reveal my true intent, a discussion of Eastern philosophy. How's that for whacko? Well, read on.
To summarize the FAA's near-vision regs, for the First and Second Class medicals, they require 20-40 or better in both eyes, which can be either uncorrected or achieved with correction lenses.
Then the regs continue, "if the applicant meets the uncorrected near-vision standard of 20-40, but already uses spectacles to correct his vision to better than 20-40, it is recommended that the examiner enter the limitation for near vision correcting glasses on the certificate."
I swear to you the above is a direct quote from the regs. It's the "enter the limitations" part that I don't get, under the described circumstances. Is the AME (aviation medical examiner) supposed to do that so as to give one of my guys and a fed a little something to talk about on a slow line check or something? I must admit that, in spite of my best efforts, I often simply forget this particular paragraph relating to pilots with compliant uncorrected vision and neglect to do as it suggests.
Now for some personal prejudices. I think that a pilot with 20-40 or 20-60 near-vision should have a backup pair of specs in his flight bag just in case. In case of what, for instance? In case things in the cockpit change, like illumination, making things a little dimmer than Doc's brightly lit office where you last checked your eyes, for instance.
I'm sure those of you with a lot of experience can come up with some other good reasons as well. I think that the $8 you might have to drop from some "readers" is a good outlay. I realize that for this amount of money you could invest in two six-packs, but as I always say, life can be very hard at times.
Now for the switcheroo. It often happens that when one of my guys finds that he is "down" to 20-40 visual acuity, my office atmosphere becomes less partyish than the local morgue. Some guys take the news about the Walgreen's specs being a good idea as though I had just told them they weren't going to wake up the next morning. A tear or two gets wiped away, and I hear, "I guess I'm getting older," or "It's embarrassing in front of my younger copilots," or "I don't have any trouble." (As though the idea was to wait until you have trouble before you act. No preventive maintenance-only damage control.)
When I get into an exchange like this with one of my guys I may say a few words like: "What's the matter - you don't want to get any older?" or "You've got 8,000 safe hours more than your copilot. What could he possibly do or say that could conceivably embarrass you?"
"You seem to have an as yet unspoken fear of being somewhat less attractive to members of the same or opposite sex. In terms of the latter 'problem', I personally had to wear glasses for a long, long time. So what I did was to cultivate skills to camouflage my true intentions; to become better at subterfuge and deceit. Glasses didn't enter into my personal equation in my younger days."
I'm a doc. I do and enjoy other medical things, and my guys who come to me for airman physicals believe me, like when I point out that a possible problem you can solve for eight bucks is no problem at all.
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot the Eastern philosophy part. Seems this Buddhist guy wakes up in the morning and says, "I can see. I can move. I can walk. I can drink water. I can eat. I can carry wood."
I try to remember what this guy, whom I have never met, has said at those times when I'm feeling sorry for myself on those mornings when I have to take a couple of aspirin because I'm a little stiff from arthritis, or because I can't read the (bleep) newspaper yet because I left my glasses on my (bleep) nightstand.
Think about it! I wrote this column because one of my guys said I should, and I promised him I would. I'd like to think he made it to Walgreen's. Maybe he did. I'll know the next time.
Best,
Joe
Deep Thoughts #2 - on eating: "Advice to expectant mothers; you must remember that when you are pregnant, you are eating for two. But you must remember that the other one of you is the size of a golf ball, so let's not go overboard with it. A lot of pregnant women eat as though the other person they're eating for is Orson Welles." - Dave Barry
HEALTH NEWS
by L. Kline
YOGURT CAN PREVENT CANCER - the University of Southern California has found when it matched 746 colon cancer patients with 746 healthy persons of similar age, sex, and race that the primary difference in their eating habits turned out to be that the healthy persons ate yogurt. The researchers are not sure exactly what properties in yogurt account for this at this time. - "Running & Fitnews" -5/93
BEST PROTECTION AGAINST CANCER? - researchers at U.C.-Berkeley, having reviewed over 150 studies, found that the single most effective means of preventing cancer is eating fruits and vegetables - the more the better. Apparently the added fiber, vitamin C, and beta-carotene can significantly reduce the risk of cancer.
In a related study, the National Cancer Institute found that vitamin supplements reduced cancer rates for portions of the population at high risk. Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicate that our friends beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium cut the risk of death from cancer 13% and the overall death risk 9%. These vitamins and minerals may prevent cancer because they are anti-oxidants - substances that can prevent DNA damage in cells. Good dietary sources of beta-carotene are vegetables such as carrots, squash and broccoli. Vitamin E is in vegetable oils, nuts, and grains. Selenium can be found in seafood and liver.
SKIPPING BREAKFAST BACKFIRES - two things happens when breakfast is skipped; metabolism will be slower meaning that you will burn less calories during the morning and, the lack of nourishment makes it easier to snack mid-morning.
Nutritionists list breakfast as the day's most important meal. Elements of a good breakfast include:
1. Complex carbohydrates. Most calories should come from complex carbs such as breads and cereals - no sweet rolls or doughnuts!
2. Fruits and vegetables. Provide added fiber and vitamins.
3. Protein. Small quantities of protein in the form of skim milk, low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat yogurt, peanut butter, and hard-cooked eggs without the yolk are beneficial. Aviation Medical Bulletin - 10/93
IT'S THE COLD AND FLU SEASON, SO... - subjects at the Dartmouth Cold Clinic who sucked on zinc gluconate lozenges one day after they first felt a cold coming experienced less severe symptoms and recovered in half the time, compared to those who did not. Self - 1/93
KIDNEY PUNCH - according to tests performed by the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, drinking a little more than a quart of orange juice a day is nearly as effective at keeping kidney stones from forming as standard medication. The citrate in the juice inhibits formation of calcium stones.
Healthfact #1: Americans eat four times as many potato chips as pretzels, which are one-tenth as fattening.
DO YOU LIKE AM'S OR PM'S - afternoon workouts may be more beneficial suggests a new study from Japan. It was found that men who exercised on a stationary cycle at three o'clock improved their aerobic fitness more than men who worked out at nine in the morning or eight at night. Researchers theorize that body changes that occur in the afternoon may make exercise more effective at that time. Men's Health 10/93
FOOD LABELING CHANGES - under proposed changes in food labeling, there will be strict definitions for what is "low-fat" and "low cholesterol." The FDA will also no longer allow food makers to hide the fact that a product is half sweetener by listing sugar, honey, corn syrup, and other sweeteners separately so they are scattered in the ingredients-by-weight list. They must be lumped together. Can You Trust A Tomato in January? by Vince Staten
Healthfact #2: Your odds of winning the state lottery jackpot (one in 4 million) are almost as great as your odds of dying in an airplane crash (one in 4.6 million).
[insert cartoon A here]
Deep Thoughts #3 - on happiness: "Happiness? A good cigar, a good meal, and a good woman - or a bad woman. It depends on how much happiness you can handle." - George Burns
BENEFITS OF VITAMIN E TO HEALTH
AND LONGEVITY
by L. Kline
There is mounting evidence that suggests that vitamin E is a potent, and low risk, booster of a vast number of important body functions. Hundreds of studies conducted in the last few years have borne out the benefits of this vitamin, found primarily in vegetable oils, whose chemical name, tocopherol, means "life-giving". The most compelling evidence shows that the vitamin bolsters the immune system, reduces the risk of heart disease, strokes, and certain cancers, repairs muscle and even fights arthritis and neurological disorders.
How can a single element have such sweeping health benefits? The key to vitamin E's powers lies in the fundamental nature of our biology. We live in an oxygen environment. Yet, while every cell needs oxygen, its metabolism-both in the atmosphere and in normal chemical processes inside our bodies-produces free radicals. These unstable molecules attract particles from other molecules, setting off a chain reaction of cell damage that can trigger a variety of degenerative diseases.
Like vitamin C and beta carotene, vitamin E is an antioxidant, a sort of Pac-Man gobbling up destructive free radicals, which are highly reactive substances that possibly can initiate cancer growth. Antioxidants are the body's line of defense against these detrimental free radicals. Having less vitamin E around may mean that fewer free radicals are stopped, thereby increasing the chance that they will cause damage.
Current research suggests that, even acting along without the other antioxidants [vit.C and beta-carotene (vit.A)], vitamin E helps reduce the incidence of three of the four leading killers of Americans: heart disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. Besides its apparent ability to decease cancer risk, The New England Journal of Medicine recently reported that large doses of vitamin E - a minimum of 100 I.U. - reduced the incidence of heart disease in both men and women by 40%. Scientists speculate that vitamin E decreases the oxidation of harmful LDL cholesterol, thereby reducing plaque buildup in the arteries. This ability to prevent blood-platelet "stickiness" may also lead to E's ability to prevent stroke.
And if you are still not convinced that vitamin E is necessary to your diet, consider that recently the World Health Organization concluded a study of 16 European nations. The study concluded that a lack of vitamin E was a more important risk factor for heart disease than was either high cholesterol or high blood pressure!
We've discussed the benefits of vitamin E to cancer and heart disease prevention. What about infectious diseases? A Tufts study gave vitamin E supplements to subjects aged 60 and older. These tests patients found themselves with immune systems that would be normal in people in their thirties and forties. (Gradual loss of immune function is one of the pitfall of aging.)
Is that all? The latest findings hint that tocopherol may play a role in staving off or relieving the symptoms of arthritis, epilepsy, and certain nerve disorders, as well as slow the progression of Parkinson's disease.
How much vitamin E to intake to receive all these health benefits? While there is no current consensus on this amount, most experts agree that 100 to 400 I.U. should result in positive health effects - far higher than the current RDA of 30 I.U. The Tufts study is evaluating megadoses of the vitamin. There is no apparent ill effect at using megadoses, although doses at several thousand I.U. may result in nausea and diarrhea. Trying to intake vitamin E without using supplements may be unwise. Foods rich in vitamin E - nuts and vegetable oils - are high in fat.
Finally, since many of us workout regularly, it appears that vitamin E has some benefits in this area as well. Recent research indicates that vitamin E enhances endurance, in that it allows oxygen to be absorbed better. Additionally, the nutrient can protect the body from damage and discomfort resulting from the free radicals produced during exercise. This allows muscles to heal quicker and fends off attacking cells that contribute to further damage - especially in older men. References: Muscle and Fitness 8/93 and Men's Fitness 8/93
Deep Thoughts #4 - on maturity: "Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she'd come in and sink my boats." - Woody Allen
IPA HEALTH & SAFETY SYMPOSIUM
by Becky Howell
(Publisher's note: HOU based Becky Howell will be assuming the publishing duties of "Crossfeed" starting the next issue. She is a registered pharmacist and has a Master's degree in Safety Education. She has authored a number of articles on motor vehicle safety, and brings great experience and enthusiasm to the Safety Committee and this publication. - Larry Kline)
[insert B. Howell's article here.]
INDUSTRY NEWS BRIEFS
by L. Kline
PROPOSED STANDARDS WOULD REDEFINE V1 SPEED - Revised standards for determining the runway length required for takeoffs and landings have been proposed. The FAA's current V1 standards would be amended as follows: to improve the method of accounting for pilot reaction time in the event of a rejected takeoff, to consider the effect of wet runways on takeoff performance, and to account for the reduced stopping capability of worn brakes.
"SEE AND AVOID" ASSAILED - a recent court ruling has exonerated the crew of a AeroMexico jet that collided with a light aircraft over Cerritos, California in 1986. The court ruled that the crew was not negligent and did nothing to contribute to the accident. The FAA had argued that the crew was negligent in that they had not exercised the required vigilance by failing to spot the other aircraft. The court held that the crew met the required standard for vigilance by exercising the care that "a reasonably prudent" pilot would exercise.
LEGAL DECISIONS:
BUT THEY WEREN'T THERE WHEN I DID THE WALK-AROUND - the NTSB has denied an appeal of an America West first officer who received a 15 day suspension of his ATP for violating FAR 121.315 (c). In October of 1989, the flight that the first officer was acting as crew member had to return to PHX as the aircraft was unable to retract the nose gear. It was found that the nose gear's downlock safety pin was still in position. The FAA argued that the FARs had been violated by the first officer's failure to complete the checklist for the aircraft. The checklist included an item to check the removal of the downlock pin. The judge rejected the first officer's arguments that the pin did not have a red streamer to facilitate a visual check. The judge further found that FAR 91.9 had been violated by the additional inflight drag created by the nose gear.
According to the NTSB, "The checklist clearly set forth [the FO's] responsibility. He was to check for and remove any nose gear pin. The potential endangerment need not be proven, because the hazard to safety was implicit in [the FO's] failure to properly perform the checklist." Administrator v. Haney
THE BUCK STOPS IN THE LEFT SEAT - an appeal to the NTSB by a former Piedmont captain for violations of FAR 91.75(a) and 91.9 has been denied.
The captain of Piedmont F1154, while on approach to PHX 08R apparently incurred an altitude violation. The first officer was flying the approach and misread the DME (from the SRP) VOR instead of the localizer DME. Using the wrong DME resulted in an early descent, causing the flight to cross several miles west of the localizer below the assigned altitude.
The captain argued that the altitude deviation did not result from any act or omission on his part and therefore, there was no foundation for the FAR violations. He maintained that he was attending to his duties as PNF and he justifiably relied on his first officer to obtain the proper DME information and perform the approach correctly. He argued he should not be required to "ride the controls" for his copilot.
The Board, in denying his appeal, stated, "We are of the opinion that [the captain] must bear a share of the responsibility for the flight's deviation from its assigned altitude because he did not take appropriate steps to assure that his first officer...(navigated properly). Additionally...[the captain's] assertion that he should not be liable for the FAR violations because he relied on the first officer was misplaced. There was no legal support for the proposition that a pilot-in-command may assume that a fellow crewmember will perform a task correctly merely because he has done so in the past." Administrator v. Heidenberger
TRUST, BUT VERIFY - the NTSB has confirmed the 60 day suspension of the ATPs of a Continental crew for unauthorized altitude deviation.
While on a flight from Houston to New York, the B737 was issued a clearance to 23,000 feet and the clearance was acknowledged. The crew testified that the clearance altitude was entered into the aircraft's MCP. A short time later, ATC observed the aircraft climbing through 24,900 feet. A query by ATC at this time, and the crew noticed that 26,000 feet was displayed in the MCP altitude window. The captain responded that the aircraft was cleared to 26,000 feet.
The judge rejected the respondent's defense that they were entitled to rely on the proper functioning of the equipment, given their extensive cockpit duties. He concluded this defense failed to show the high degree of care required of ATP-rated pilots. The NTSB further noted that Continental had issued flight crews a training bulletin warning of problems of inadvertent changes in MCP altitude.
"Respondents did not exercise the highest degree of care when they relied solely on equipment to ensure their compliance with clearances," stated the NTSB. Administrator v. Bjorn
Deep Thoughts #5 - on male commitment: "If you never want to see a man again, say, 'I love you, I want to marry you, I want to have children...' - they leave skid marks." - Rita Rudner
FROM THE TRAINING CENTER
EPT
by Jim Federer
SWA Training Department
[insert Federer article here]
Deep Thoughts #6 - on humility and profound modesty: "People hate me because I am a multifaceted, talented, wealthy, internationally famous genius." - Jerry Lewis
CHARLIE'S CORNER
by Charlie Marcell
SWA Training Department
Electrical System Pre-flight
Question: After accomplishment of the stand-by power check, the D.C.Meters selector is positioned to TR3 and it shows zero (0) amps and twenty-eight (28) volts. Is this normal?
Answer: NO! This could possibly indicate that TR3 is possibly not powering the battery bus.
Engine Anti-ice Valve -300/500
The engine anti-ice valve is electrically controlled and pneumatically operated on the -300/500 aircraft. On occasion the valve or valves will not open at idle RPM. The thrust levers may have to be advanced to provide more bleed air to operate the valve if this occurs.
An inoperative engine anti-ice valve may be locked in the open position per MEL 30-4 if icing conditions exist. The 9th stage modulation valve must be locked in the closed position for this procedure. With the engine at idle RPM, the nose cowl may seem cool to touch but will heat up at higher RPM.
The engine bleed valve is designed to close if the aircraft pneumatic manifold has greater pressure than the engine manifold, therefore the engine anti-ice valves will normally not operate with the engines shut down. However, on occasion the engine anti-ice valve or nose cowl valve will operate on the ground with the engines shut down. Cycling the engine bleed switch to off and back on normally corrects this anomaly.
If the above anomaly occurs with the engine anti-ice valve locked in the open position, the APU bleed air will port to the nose cowl and it would be difficult to start the engine. Most likely you would receive a report of a warm nose cowl and air noise as well from the ground personnel.
FROM THE SAFETY COMMITTEE
FROM THE CHAIRMAN
Winter Ops:Please take the time to review the appropriate section of your FOM and OPS Manuals. The key to staying safe this winter is knowing what is going on with the weather. If it is an icy day or night, call your dispatcher and compare notes. Pireps are important. Correct phraseology is important. If you say "it is pretty slick out here" you do not convey the same meaning as "braking action is poor or nil." Please do not hesitate to call dispatch and tell them about icy ramps or gate areas. Dispatch has to be the central clearing house for this type of information.
Have A Plan:Southwest Airlines pays us pretty good money to fly their jets, and with that pretty good money comes an expectation of performance and judgement from the occupants of both seats. When we have gone back and looked over the several less than sterling situations that our operation has generated this year, we have come up with some common observations. We present this for your consideration. In many of these cases, the crew has accepted someone else's judgement for what was safe only to find themselves in a crack later. Nobody is in a better position to judge something than the crew on the scene (after all it is your behind in the seat). Nobody is a better source of reported (down the road) information than Dispatch or Flight Service. Using the on scene and the reported weather and information, you come up with your own plan and then you compare it to your Dispatcher's plan. A recent example - everybody was holding at one our busy airports for weather. The EFC's were getting pretty long and diverting for real was rapidly becoming more likely. Several Company flights were calling Dispatch on the downlink and giving them their plan, ie: we'll hold to X and then divert to Y. After a short time, a flight calls up and asks Dispatch to work up a bingo fuel to Z. The Dispatcher came up with a fuel load several thousand pounds less than other flights comparable diversion fuel. Why? Pilots (little ole ladies) are more conservative than dispatchers --possibly. More likely in this case was that everybody was holding on the east side of the field and had to fly through the weather to the west to shoot approaches to the east. If a miss occurred, it would probably be after a lot of extra flight maneuvering with a long flight back out to the hold area with a divert from there. In this case, the pilots were probably in a better position on scene to judge what was safest. Dispatch is there to JOINTLY plan your flight. Relying on their sole judgement is not earning your bucks. Equally, not using them as a resource of information and ideas is not earning your bucks.
1993--THE YEAR IN REVIEW: It's hard to believe that a whole year has already gone by, but by the time this hits your boxes, 1993 will be almost over. Since the Air Safety Committee (ASC) is funded by your dues, you are owed a year-end report on what we did for you. The committee has worked very hard this year and the work we have completed is the product of many individual's dedication to you.
The following is a quick list of goals that were submitted to the last 1992 Board meeting:
"In 1992, we handled several safety issues as they arose. For example: Shamu, MEL 32-6, BUR Near-Midairs, LDA 28R SFO, Deicing Conference, AQP, Air Safety Forum, ATA Operations Forum, ADF Safety Conference (hosted by SW Dispatch), several ATC user meetings, New Techniques Chapter Ops Manual, established many new Industry contacts at ALPA, APA, Boeing, FAA, NTSB, regular communications to membership through Reporting Point and Crossfeed, regular contact with Chief Pilots and Milt Painter, and started Liaison Program with other departments within the Company. The ASC will continue to serve both the membership and the Company in promoting and maintaining a safe operation."
We then went on to set specific goals that included "Safety Survey, Burbank traffic conflict problems and solutions (interfacing with company), Turbulence Procedures, Liaison Program, Rudder PCU Problems, LDA 28R SFO, continued attendance at Industry meetings, ATPAC, Go Team, and finally regular publication of Crossfeed.
Safety Survey: We set out to write a safety survey that had management's blessing. The first draft turned out to be too leading and generated a lot of concern from the Company. We rewrote it into the final form that many of you responded too. There were no surprises, but it did confirm where we needed to focus our energies. So, this last year we have worked with Dispatch, BUR (more to follow), some Training issues, and Ground Ops. Both Paul Sterbenz and Hugh Knighton have been very receptive to feedback from the safety survey. We decided not to publish any results because of the potential for misquotes or misuse by elements outside the Company or the pilot group. We are grateful to the Company for working with us on this as we are to you for taking the time to fill it out. By the way, most of you thought we ran a very safe airline, but you all had a lot of good suggestions or comments on how we could improve.
Burbank: Stan Humphrey, our ATC Chairman, along with Dave Edens, PHX Check Airman, have taken the ball and run with this one. While we would like to report to you that we fixed all the problems and you are at no greater risk than Amarillo, we cannot. However, a few things have happened. You have read the Read-Before-Fly 93-77. This is a major short term fix that was the joint effort of a SWAPA and NATCA sponsored meeting. Who is NATCA? It is the controller's SWAPA. One of our goals is to develop more national contacts. In furthering this goal, we met Rod Hieronymus, Chairman-National Safety Committee for NATCA. Stan contacted Rod and they decided jointly what might be helpful is a local meeting of the controllers and pilots. A meeting was arranged with the help of the Company and FAA Management. Some minor changes were implemented without having to go all the way to Washington. The idea is to cut down on nuisance RA's in VFR weather . In other words folks, everybody realized that if you got a "bs" RA every time you went into BUR, you would begin to ignore them or not respond immediately (negative reinforcement or training). Then one day, it is for real, but you feel that it is another "bs" RA and you don't react - only to get almost smacked in the face by a Cessna 182 who's pilot had green eyes and a mustache (a true Near-Midair). Enough said, you get the picture.
Our thanks to Jon Tree, Rod Jones, and Dave Edens, who have been the Company's point men on this project. Also, I would like to personally thank Stan Humphrey for his hard work on step one of a multi-step program to make operations in southern California less stressful. There is still more to be done and we (the Company and SWAPA) are continuing to work the issue at different levels. A recent Human Factors study showed effective use of TCAS, autopilot, and Crew Coordination and Communication can greatly reduce the chances of a midair in high density traffic environments like (half the places we go) California. Effective use of TCAS was defined as letting it point out traffic before it became a conflict. Effective use of the autopilot was defined as used to reduce crew workload and inside cockpit time. Effective Crew Coordination and Communication was defined as procedures developed to create a high level of situational awareness. We will continue to work on this and also to monitor the development of the new Super-tracon and airspace concepts for Southern California.
Turbulence Procedures: After having several Flight Attendants hurt by turbulence in 1992, we looked into some ways to shore up our turbulence procedures. Captain Bob Ahders, Sheri Hassler (In Flight Liaison to ASC) and I worked up some suggestions after reviewing the incidents, interviewing many of the crew members, and researching other airlines procedures. The crux of our suggestion was to improve communication between the cockpit and cabin prior to anticipated turbulence. Captain Milt Painter has taken our suggestions and done his own word-smithing and promises some minor changes to the FOM. As we have previously stated, the key relies in effective communication on what you as pilots want the F/As to do and what the all clear signal will be. Please keep in mind that while the PA is often your only timely tool for unanticipated turbulence, it is sometimes not clearly heard by F/A's working in the rear galley.
Liaison Program: If there was any one area for 1993 that we think will serve the pilots and the Company best, it is the Liaison Program. We have developed working relationships with other departments within the company to further SWAPA's safety interest. However, the biggest benefit has been right in our own department. Paul Sterbenz appointed Hugh Knighton to the newly created position of Manager of Flight Safety. Through Hugh, we have been able to chip away at many of the "little" safety issues that the survey brought up. Paul has also started to meet quarterly with the Chairman of the ASC and the Manager of Flight Safety to go over agenda items. We have tried to track items from meeting to meeting to measure our progress. Paul's willingness to work with SWAPA on safety issues is very much appreciated. We dare say that many of the other airlines do not have this arrangement with their pilot group's union safety reps.
Rudder PCU Problems: After the Colorado Springs Accident, the B-737 Rudder PCU got a lot of attention. We have been able to keep in the loop on this through our contacts at both Boeing and ALPA. At this writing, all the PCU's in the world wide fleet will be replaced over the next few years.
LDA 28R SFO: ALPA did an effective job of combating some of the problems that the initial poor design and implementation of this approach would have caused. SWAPA and APA were represented at many of the meetings, but ALPA effectively shut down use of this approach by giving it a black star and recommending to their members that they not fly it. The approach, while technically flyable, is hardly used by ATC due to the very poor acceptance rate by pilots operating into SFO. The fixes for the approach are currently languishing on a FAA mid-level manager's desk in Washington. We will continue to monitor this and report to you any developments. A good by-product that being involved in this situation generated was an awareness on our part as to how the
Safety Committee can effect changes to poor deals that come out of the FAA. This has led to our involvement in ATPAC (more later) and our increased desire to develop contacts in the industry to develop our own "intelligence network."
Meetings: We have continued to send representatives to the meetings we feel will best serve the membership. This last year we have greatly improved our connections within ALPA and APA. This has led to their offering accident investigation assistance if that should ever be necessary. ALPA, with all it's faults as a pilot union, has made many contributions to safety from the pilot's perspective. They have a $3 million a year budget and a whole staff of safety engineers. We can call them on most issues and find out what they know. In return, we have offered help on issues and assistance at airports where we are the dominant carrier. We have also agreed to disagree. In the same light, we have tried to work closer with APA (American). APA is currently working on a program with the FAA that will allow them to avoid certain pilot violations. This is being worked on at the Associate (FAA) Administrator level in Washington. Scott Griffith, APA's Safety Chairman, has graciously offered us the program once they get it approved.
The other benefit that increased national involvement has generated is people are seeking out our opinions. Why is that important? First, it gives our pilot group a shot at commenting on issues during the developmental stage. We don't fly airplanes or do business the same as everybody else. What works for an ALPA carrier may not work for us. We are a different animal in many ways. Second, it gives our pilot group national exposure and credibility. The Company has become a household word in the industry and our involvement in national issues is starting to be expected by those who make decisions. Finally, the Company cannot always be a member of a committee or industry group. By our getting involved where we can, we better represent the pilots, and also the Company. This is where the high level of communication between the ASC and Flight Operations management is a benefit too. We get to put each others' two cents worth in at the various forums available to each side of the house.
ATPAC: Air Traffic Procedures Advisory Committee. As we have mentioned before, we have become involved with this committee. What's so great about ATPAC? Well, simply put, it is the only committee that reports directly to the Administrator of the FAA on how to improve the Air Traffic Control System. The committee consists of industry reps, military reps, and upper FAA Management. This is one of those committees the Company is represented through ATA, but not directly. We, on the other hand, can be a member along side ALPA, APA, etc. While this committee does not move mountains over night, there is no other place that a pilot group can have such direct input at such a high level within the FAA about Air Traffic issues and the related safety issues.
Gary Keran's message video to the membership discusses ARAC (Aviation Regulatory Advisory Committee). If not from the video, perhaps you remember something in the budget about the ARAC. What we have learned from both ATPAC and ARAC is that if you are not involved at this level, you have almost no chance of input on an issue. By the time an item becomes an NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking), the issue is all but decided. We would not be offering effective representation of this pilot group if we did not seek to have SWAPA involved at these levels. The other benefit of working on these committees is the contacts both within the FAA and the industry. We can now call so-and-so, the program manager of such-and-such at FAA Headquarter, and talk turkey about what is the latest. These are invaluable contacts for a pilot group and a Company that are becoming such high profile entities.
Deep Thoughts #7 - on self esteem: "I grew up to have my father's looks, my father's speech patterns, my father's posture, my father's opinions, and my mother's contempt for my father." - Jules Feiffer
Go Team: One of our goals was to finalize the Accident Response Plan for our Accident Go Team. Ty Gregory, assisted by Keith Griffith, did an excellent job tying up all the loose ends on this. The plan is printed and ready. We continue to train those responsible for the gruesome duty of investigating an accident. Again, ALPA has been a leader in this area and they have offered us much assistance. A Delta Captain named Paul McCarthy is ALPA's Chairman for Accident Investigation. Paul is internationally recognized as the world's expert on accident investigation from the pilot's perspective. He has briefed almost every major carrier in the world. Captain McCarthy won the highest Air Service Safety Award ALPA bestowes this past August in Washington at the Air Safety Forum. He is a licensed attorney practicing admiralty law in Massachusetts.
So why all the hoopla on Captain McCarthy? Because he has offered to come down to li'l ole Southwest and brief our SWAPA Go Team, SWAPA attorneys, and any management folks that care to attended. He puts on a two day accident training seminar that is highly regarded as the best in the industry on how to take care of the crew. Since representation is what we at SWAPA provide and since if there is ever a time we will need to have our act together it will be for an accident. We hope you as members can see the importance of having Captain McCarthy come down. The biggest cost will be assembling our Go Team and trip loss as Captain McCarthy will do it for expenses. If you want your Board members to support this cost, please let them know so that our Go Team can do the best job for you if and when that dark day arrives. We hope to do this sometime in the first half of 1994.
Crossfeed: Larry Kline agreed to take over as publisher of Crossfeed for one year. I personally would like to thank Larry for all his hard work and dedication this year. He made our ASC goal of getting Crossfeed back up and running on schedule a reality. Larry also did a great job getting outside folks to contribute articles this year. Becky Howell, a HOU based FO, will be taking over as the publisher. She brings to the job experience in safety education and training. Larry has agreed to stay involved with writing safety articles particularly relating to health. Our thanks to the many folks both on the ASC and off that have taken the time to write an article this year.
Thanks: Volunteerism makes SWAPA go round. The ASC is no different. Without the time, support and dedication of our volunteer members, the work would not get done. Safety work has two aspects. One, sometimes there is work you have to do. Two, at all other times there is work you can be doing. Fortunately, we have had a dedicated group that works in both areas. With that in mind, please allow us the opportunity to publically thank some other folks who have worked hard for you this year. This is in addition to those mentioned previously. Our thanks goes to: Mark Monse, Dave Jordan, Charlie Marcel, Jim Fedder, Joey Legreco, Steve Lackey, Paul Buhler, Russ Gallagher, Jack Kittleson, John Otiker, Roy Hendrickson, Andy Boquet, Jeff Murrin, Shari Hassler, Ben Harpe, the Chief Pilots and Milt, the office staff at SWAPA, and special thanks to Gary, Len, and John Kramer for their support on the 1994 Budget.
Howard Dulmage
Chairman
Deep Thoughts #8 - on Ross Perot (sort of): "Never give in. Never. Never. Never. Never." - Sir Winston Churchill
THE ILLUSION OF KNOWLEDGE
By Mark Monse
Dispatch Liaison to SWAPA Safety Committee
CIS 75320,3457
The increased number of variables associated with winter operations (and their potential effects) underscores the need for the continued clear, concise and timely transfer of information. Neither side of the microphone equation--the dispatcher nor the captain--can be in absolute possession of all the pertinent data, as each can and will have information that the other does not possess.
It's been said that knowledge itself isn't dangerous, but that the illusion of knowledge is. Illusional knowledge can lead to being spring-loaded, such as this initial radio call-up:
"Ah dispatch, 1234 here, we're holding over MOTIF at FL230, fuel 15.0, we're gonna hold down to 10.0 and proceed to DTW..."
MDW was below minimums, IND was the listed alternate, and DTW was the next (and terminating) point for the flight, aircraft and crew. DTW, marginal at 1234's departure time, had since deteriorated and was right at minimums, and attempts by the dispatcher to contact 1234 while enroute were unsuccessful. No weather request was made by the crew upon initial call-up, just their ready-made decision based upon weather data no longer valid.
Illusional knowledge can sometimes turn into delusional knowledge and decision-making, such as this radio conversation with a ground-bound 737-200 at an increasingly snowy MDW:
Dispatcher: "How deep is the snow on 22L for clutter purposes?"
Flight: "I'd call it 1/2 inch, better go with Class-2"
Dispatcher: "OK, your ATOG is now 86.6"
Flight: "Better make that Class-1, we're already at 90.0"
Subsequent information from the city indicated there was actually 3/4" of snow on 22L, and the flight was then held at the gate (and de-icing delayed) until 22L could be plowed, and payload unrestricted.
The above examples should have been prefaced by the disclaimer clearly stating that dispatchers are no more totally infallible than crews are, but I hope everyone can clearly see the points that (1) neither party can have all the relevant information in hand UNLESS THEY COMMUNICATE, and (2), the information may not be what we want to hear. Winter operations have been historically unforgiving of forays into self-deceptive and reality-evasive personnel behaviors, no matter which side of the microphone they occur.
Other potential "gotchas" and suggestions for the winter operation:
SWA Fuel policies notwithstanding, FAR 121.647 specifies "factors for computing fuel", including anything "that may delay the landing of the aircraft." There are obviously many things that can fall into this category, and the prudent pilot/dispatcher looks beyond the mere SA/FT for determining proper fuel planning, and at factors such as:
Winds: Short-segments using "canned" fuel burns are only predicated on 50 knots of headwind westbound, and zero wind eastbound, using standard altitudes. Flight that receive computer-generated flight plans should also keep in mind that the wind data utilized is forecast data, so if your flight plan data reveals a wind "bust", tell us (immediately) so we can take immediate action on other flights yet to depart.
Engine and/or Wing Anti-ice: Will it be on for the entire flight?
Forecast accuracy: As dedicated as those public servants down at the NWS are, FT accuracy can sometimes suffer greatly. Amended FT's are often issued only once the special (SP) weather observation has been issued, and are thus essentially "after the fact" amendments. Dispatch has the SWIFT capability to look at weather for other area airports, and these "picket" airports can often provide an early indication of what will occur later at the SWA airport in question. Most of these picket airports will not appear on SWA's tailored hourly collectives, so ask your dispatcher. Some popular sites: NUQ for SJC; SBA, SMO, TOA, HHR and LGB for LAX; and NZY and NKX for SAN. The Navy (ours) also has two sites (NSI and NUC) about 60nm offshore from LAX/SAN that also can provide excellent intelligence on the movement of area fogbanks and marine stratocumulus decks. NGZ works well for OAK/SFO, and SQL will also give you conditions near the bridge for 28L/R visuals.
Another caveat on forecast accuracy is that SWA airports served by ASOS equipment (currently AMA, OKC, and TUL) often seem to have a higher number of amended FT's, based upon the limitations of the ASOS-observations that are feeding them. As mentioned in a previous CROSSFEED, an ASOS weather observation is taken in the upward conical view, as if a human observer was on their back looking up. Any weather in the periphery (horizon) will be missed by the automated sensor. Observations from AO2A-type ASOS sites are supposed to be augmented by human observers for significant weather, but this is not uniformly the case. Some SWA alternate airports are also equipped with ASOS, such as SPS, ACT, BTR, JAN, COS, PUB, and ICT, and you'll be seeing more in the future.
Also worthy of mentioning again, is that the ASOS freezing precip sensor, once sufficiently coated, will go into a 5-10 minute defrost cycle, and there is no detection capability during this period. After several hours of ZL- at OKC one day last January, two other airlines had runway excursions within 15 minutes of one another, and speculation was that an undetected ZL/ZR event occurred during an ASOS defrost cycle. A third aircraft excursion occurred at ICT within an hour of the two at OKC. The moral of the story is to ask for (and volunteer) timely braking action reports, especially at ASOS-equipped airports.
ATC Delays: The big driving factor here is airport acceptance rate (AAR) which can obviously vary from normal (weather CLR and 100 miles) to highly impacted (LIFR ceilings/vis). There are many AAR's in between for any given airport, based on ceiling, vis, surface winds, runway(s) in use, and other factors. For example, SFO might be forecast CLR 50 winds 0320G30. A fixation on purely ceiling and vis might lead some into planning minimum arrival fuel, but the reduced AAR of such an airport configuration (landing 1R/L, departing 10L/R) would be conducive to ATC delays. As another example, with SAN at M4 OVC 2F 2705, ATC delays could readily be expected as approaches to 9 are alternated with departures off 27. The extent of your airborne hold inbound would be determined purely on dynamic traffic demand, and when your flight actually arrived in the area.
FAA System Command in Washington (ATCSCC, formerly "Central Flow") monitors major domestic airports, and will issue various delay programs as appropriate, including the dreaded "ground stop" and "EDCT times". ATCSCC will usually send info on major delay programs out to the airline users via teletype message, but most intra-center delays are not reported to us.
A key factor in predicting ATC delays (and thus the fuel to endure them) is good situational awareness and threat assessment skills with respect to each airport, the local weather, area weather, and field conditions (including snow plowing and aircraft de-icing operations). Crews can assist the SWA operation by initiating pireps at the time situations are actually encountered, as waiting until the next stop delays our reactions.
Communications: With an ever-expanding fleet and route system, it is imperative that communications be accurate and timely. Crews can greatly assist the operation by targeting their communications specifically at the dispatcher responsible by calling the specific desk phone number on the release. There is also a new procedure in effect when calling by radio (FOM 05.10.03) to specify the desk number on your initial call-up. Flights are subdivided among 10 different desks, and we need your help in properly directing calls, and avoiding delays and mis-communications.
Another communications item concerns the "bat phones". I recently spoke with a captain, somewhat irritated that he had to get out of a cockpit and get to a phone to return my requested call for a weather brief before departure. When I mentioned that he could have saved the trip to the gate by downlinking me right from the cockpit, the response was "Oh, I used that once X years ago, and it didn't work, so I don't even mess with it anymore." While there have indeed been some past problems with the system, it should pointed out that SWA went through considerable time and expense to provide us with a system (including the en route stations at MMH, YUM, PGA, LHX, HYS, and MLU) and that we need to use them as intended. If you experience a true problem with the system, report it so it can be corrected. The en route sites fill in the coverage caps away from SWA stations, and the overall system provides us with a way of contacting you should destination weather and/or field conditions crater while you're en route.
And a final suggestion concerns pireps. First, we can't relay them if we don't receive any. Secondly, we need OBJECTIVE pireps and assessments of operational conditions. Ride reports of "severe chop", icing reports of "heavy", and braking action reports of "really slick" are all meaningless. Please use the proper definitions and criteria spelled out in the FOM, and tell it like it is. The answers may cause other actions, such as applying more restrictive penalties or maybe even suspending operations altogether, but NOT risking/having an aircraft off the end somewhere (with film at 11), is just as much in the SWA's best interest as operating on-time and full, if not more so.
Fly safe, and we'll see you in the spring...
Deep Thoughts #9 - on success: "Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure." - Earl Wilson
