Pilots arm comes off while landing

[hifly 925]

BBC News today, a Flybe pilots prosthetic arm became detached while landing a Dash 8 at Belfast City airport on a flight from Bristol in gusty condition back in February. Apparently it bounced heavily, none of the 47 pax were hurt and there was no damage to the plane.

 

With legs collapsing on the plane and arms coming off the pilot, whatever next?

[goosenka 9]

I heard this as well. Amazing story. Apparently is also one their best pilots.

[MyPC8MyBrain 273]

I’m not being discriminatory but you’d think they would have little more strict physical requirements

[hifly 925]

I’m not being discriminatory but you’d think they would have little more strict physical requirements

 

Not so Chris, there are strict guidelines here, I'm sure the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) would not allow pilots they deemed physically incapable to fly and Flybe adhere to rules regarding employing people with disabilities. 

 

[goosenka 9]

And to think that years ago i believe you couldn't become a commercial pilot without 20/20 unassisted vision.

[allardjd 1,853]

One of the WWII spit pilots had a prosthetic leg. Bader?

John

[hifly 925]

I'd rather have an armless pilot than one who is legless.

 

For our colonial friends, legless is a colloquial term for being very drunk.  

[Andrew Godden 943]

I'd rather have an armless pilot than one who is legless.

 

For our colonial friends, legless is a colloquial term for being very drunk.  

 

Legless, is also a common Aussie vernacular along with plastered, smashed, sloshed, pissed, and shitfaced.

 

Personally, I am legless all the time, just not from drinking.

 

Even worse still, Bader had two prosthetic legs.

[flybytes 34]

Seem to recall that pilots sprouting beards were frowned upon, but allowed.

 

This was due to the beard possibly interfering with the sealing of the oxygen mask around the face.

 

Ray.

 

[allardjd 1,853]

Have heard (and been) all those terms for drunk, but never heard legless used in that context. You learn something new every day.

John

[britfrog 180]

I’m not being discriminatory but you’d think they would have little more strict physical requirements

 

HA! Thats rich ! in the US all you have to do to get a flying medical is be able to fog a mirror held under your nose

 

[allardjd 1,853]

Not true, bf.  It's pretty strict and a lot of pilots lose their tickets to medical conditions that are relatively minor.  I had to engage in a year-long letter writing campaign with the FAA to keep mine after having a kidney stone and being dumb enough to mention it to the FAA medical examiner.  (I won it, eventually).  I personally know at least three pilots who lost their medical certificates in mid-career and had to find other work.  Of course ATP is more strict than commercial which is more strict than private.  There's a new Sport category for LSA that is essentially the same as drivers license requirements with a couple of un-intended quirks that crept in accidentally, affecting pilots who have lost a medical.  Those are daytime only, one pax only, VFR only, etc.  

 

I don't know how it compares to what's required in other countries, but there are medical standards and requirements and they are enforced.  Only certified FAA medical examiners can perform flight physicals, including for private pilots - your family doctor cannot do it unless he has the certificate - most do not.

 

I had a partial amputation of a thumb (table saw accident) and before I could fly again, had to be interviewed to see if I had developed any suicidal tendencies over the accident.  I kid you not - you can't make this stuff up.  NOTHING the government administers is as easy as you say except possibly crossing our southern border.

 

John

[britfrog 180]

John ,

I had a faa atpl for 30 odd years so you dont need to tell me,

[allardjd 1,853]

 

...you dont need to tell me,

 

 

Your ATP was a US license?

 

 Are you saying all you had to do for an ATP for 30 years was fog a mirror?  I only had a private license and for a lot less than 30 years, but my experience and those of some friends (1 ATP and 2 commercial) was quite different from what you describe.  All three can fog mirrors, but can't fly any more.  Most ATP pilots here consider the greatest threats to their careers are their periodic medical exams and simulator re-quals.

 

John

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

I guess the pilot was deemed 'armless enough to work for them!

 

[flybytes 34]

John.

 

never ceases to amaze me some of the concerns that 'shrinks' have about physical trauma on their mental attitude to life - I'm sure that some serious life-changing injuries can affect a person's attitude to life & so many of those people do not get the psychiatric support they should have..

 

Sorry about your injury - my dad was a joiner & fortunately he never had any serious finger/thumb injuries using circular or band saws throughout his working life, but I did sometimes meet some of his colleagues who had missing digits.

 

'Shrink' concerns aside, physically, having a missing or shortened right thumb probably would result in difficulty to adjust the 'pickle switch' (vertical trim) on the a/c yoke.

 

I believe that the incident that triggered this topic happened at the worst possible moment - when the Captain was about to flare the a/c on touchdown.

 

Whilst vehicles, cars or aircraft, etc  can be adapted to cater for drivers/pilots with particular physical differences or needs, there is a problem with commercial vehicles/aircraft which are used around the clock, controlled by different people on a shift basis.

 

Have just been reading last weeks edition of 'New Scientist' where its headline article is fully automated/no pilot airliners. The balanced argument in the article is that statistically (in recent times) most crashes have been due to pilot error, but, on the other hand many fatalities have been avoided or minimised by pilots recognising an aircraft or environmental problem & taking action.

 

The article mentioned an example of pilot control, which current automated systems could not handle, was the aircraft which was taking off from New York City suffering a bird strike which took out both of its engines (losing all your engines is bad enough, but losing them at low altitude & in the middle of a large city must have been a nightmare) & the Captain took the option of gliding it down into the Hudson River. Everyone on the aircraft survived.

 

Ray.

 

[brett 2,315]

As long as the pilots can pass any tests it's fine by me. I would worry more about them losing their heads.

[flybytes 34]

So true Brett,

 

has been so much speculation about the missing Malaysian flight recently, we would hope that when we board a plane that the aircrew want to get us to our destination as much as we as passengers do.

 

Ray.

 

[J G 927]

Pilotless aircraft are best left to the military.

The landing of the airbus in the Hudson river couldn't have been done purely by a robot.

[J G 927]

Seem to recall that pilots sprouting beards were frowned upon, but allowed.

This was due to the beard possibly interfering with the sealing of the oxygen mask around the face.

Ray.

Must be civvies as only the Royal Navy are allowed to grow a beard, and then it must be a full set (beard and mustache). Even then you have to apply for permission, and grow a respectable beard in 30 days.

[flybytes 34]

John,

 

Was referring mainly to civilian commercial pilots, but as you say, out of all the forces, the Royal Navy always had a relaxed attitude to hairy faces.

 

On the other hand, during times spent at RNAS Yeovilton, Somerset where the Sea Harrier flight sim was based, I never came across a bearded navy pilot.

 

Love the expression that a 'respectable' beard has to be grown in 30 days!

 

Ray.

 

 

 

[jaspar 0]

After the armless incident one of our papers has asked the caa how many one handed pilots we have on our books and the reply was that there are 4 ATPL medicals held for pilots with only one arm and 6 with only one leg. The caa couldn't provide any details as to whether any of these pilots were employed as aircrew at present. All wer assessed on a case. By case basis and seen as fit to fly.

I would praise this pilot for coming forwards to report this incident as it shows he has integrity and a thought for flight safety. As he could have ignored this problem and hid it from his employer blaming the gusty weather conditions for the heavy landing but chose to report it so that this thing won't likely happen again.

He has an attachment that he fastens to the yoke which his prosthetic arm locks into but the gust was severe enough to throw his arm out of the attachment

[stu7708 244]

I can't help but wonder if Majestic will include this type of "Failure" in their PRO and Training versions of the Dash-8 

[dodgy-alan 1,587]

So what happens when you get a one armed, one legged, pilot with two plastic boobs and an artificial beard and 7 kids wanting a job at Virgin?

[goosenka 9]

He ain't no virgin for starters.