Fri, Dec 19, 2008
Incomplete Transition Training Results In Return To
Cardiff
If
you plan a trip somewhere with a non-instrument-rated private pilot
in a general aviation aircraft, you should be prepared for the
possibility that unexpected poor visibility will force him to
abandon your original destination. That's just good aeronautical
decision-making, and it should give you confidence in his
judgment.
But if you've paid for a flight on a commercial airliner, and
your 30-year pilot says he's turning back because of IMC, you're
not likely to be quite as favorably impressed.
Breitbart reports that very thing happened to passengers on a
British Flybe airliner on a trip from Cardiff to Charles de Gaulle
Airport in France. Just minutes before landing in Paris, the pilot
reportedly got on the PA and told astonished passengers that he was
not qualified to land the airplane in fog, and was turning
back.
A spokeswoman for the low-cost airline explained, calling the
pilot "an experienced aviator with more than 30 years commercial
aviation experience flying a number of different passenger aircraft
types.
"He has relatively recently transferred his 'type-rating' from a
Bombardier Q300 to a Bombardier Q400 and has not yet completed the
requisite low-visibility training to complete a landing in
conditions such as the dense fog experienced in Paris Charles de
Gaulle. The captain therefore quite correctly turned the aircraft
around and returned to Cardiff; a decision which the company stands
by 100 percent." Civil aviation officials agree.
A passenger, 29-year-old Cassandra Grant, said she ended up
missing an appointment for a job interview in Paris. "The whole
thing beggars belief. If I had not been on the plane, I would not
have believed it."
The next time you're tempted to complain about your flight on a
low-cost carrier in the US, remember -- it could be worse!
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