Relax - Cockpit Capers

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Cockpit Capers

By Mavis Toh, The Straits Times | Wed, Nov 4 2009

Recent case of US plane going off course puts spotlight on what pilots get up to during flights.

Keywords

northwest

pilot

What goes on behind closed doors is not the business of others - except when it is an aircraft cockpit door.

At least that is what two American pilots know now in the wake of an Oct 21 incident where their jetliner overshot its destination by 240km.

Last week, the Northwest Airlines pilots told investigators they were so focused on a new crew roster on their laptop computers that they flew past their Minneapolis stop.

Air traffic controllers could not reach them for 91 minutes. A flight attendant had to alert them on an intercom. They then turned the plane around, with 144 passengers on board, and landed safely. The two pilots' licences were revoked last Wednesday.

This headline-making incident has raised the poser: What can pilots do when they take a break, especially on long flights?

For sure, aviation regulators will be examining the issue of pilots using laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other personal electronic devices in the cockpit.

Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration - the United States' regulator - does not specifically ban pilots' use of such devices, once the plane is above 10,000ft.

In Singapore, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore prohibits the use of portable electronic devices below 10,000ft and during take-offs and landings.

Also, airlines do not have a standard 'flight deck' policy, a Sunday Times check found. Singapore Airlines (SIA) does allow its pilots to take personal electronic devices into the aircraft, but their use is subject to certain guidelines.

Its spokesman said: 'The crew are cognisant that situational awareness and flight management must not be compromised at any time.'

At Delta Air Lines, using laptops or engaging in activity unrelated to the pilots' command of the aircraft during flight is against company policy.

But several pilots told The Sunday Times they do use such devices once the aircraft is cruising.

One pilot, 32, said laptops or PDAs are often used to look up e-manuals and to check e-mail and rosters.

He added: 'We also use them to view photos we had taken of the country we had just flown off from.'

Another pilot, 42, who has been flying for 12 years, said once the auto-pilot is activated, it is not unusual for pilots to read newspapers or magazines. One pilot he has worked with reads the Bible.

Former pilot Kenneth Toft, 73, recalled a case years ago when a Europe-bound plane, which took off from South Korea, overshot its destination - because its pilots were playing poker.

'Pilots just can't be distracted with card games and computers,' he said. 'This is serious; you have the lives of your passengers at stake.'