Ask The Pilot

[anat0l]

It's just criminal in my opinion. It is beyond me why you would want to point one at an aircraft...

The problem is that the perpetrators more often than not get away, and if they are caught are penalised very little. Frankly they should have their legs broken as a minimum.......

 

[markis10]

The problem is that the perpetrators more often than not get away, and if they are caught are penalised very little. Frankly they should have their legs broken as a minimum.......

Penalised very little???? Not sure I would call 10K little.

Laser Pointer Safety - Sentences for laser offenses

One of the first prosecutions was over two years custodial.

If it keeps happening the courts will increase penalties as they have done in the states:

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles...year-sentence-for-shining-laser-at-helicopter

 

[anat0l]

Penalised very little???? Not sure I would call 10K little.

Laser Pointer Safety - Sentences for laser offenses

If it keeps happening the courts will increase penalties as they have done in the states:

California Man Walloped With 14-Year Sentence for Shining Laser at Helicopter - US News

And what about the consequences for the pilots who had the laser shone into their eyes? $10,000 is hardly any compensation for that kind of damage, let alone fear or potential endangerment of the flight due to that hazard.

I would harbour a guess that if the perpetrators were minors (viz. less than 18 years old), they will hardly be punished, except perhaps juvenile detention.

I'll believe the courts have some "balls" about how serious this can be when they actually hand down a stringent sentence for something which people don't seem to see the danger in, cf. people (and law makers) understand the penalty for attempting to blow up an aircraft with a bomb because they can actually understand what that does to an aircraft.

Anyway, this is going off-topic, but for the pilots here, I hope you never experience any kind of irreparable damage due to any delinquents or other idiots out there who insist on making trouble with laser pointers.

 

[jb747]

Thankfully I've never experienced any laser issues. My aircraft is less exposed, simply because we only do long haul.

It isn't a minor issue, and 10k or two years custodial aren't even close. Get both pilots at once and you could be cleaning up the pieces, so as far as I'm concerned it's an attempt at mass murder and should be treated that way.

 

[Mark3000]

Thankfully I've never experienced any laser issues. My aircraft is less exposed, simply because we only do long haul.

It isn't a minor issue, and 10k or two years custodial aren't even close. Get both pilots at once and you could be cleaning up the pieces, so as far as I'm concerned it's an attempt at mass murder and should be treated that way.

I agree.
Just for clarification though, a laser strike would not make a pilot completely blind / completely in the dark. It would create a blurry patch, and if this was in the centre of the macula it could render them unable to read the instruments, but they would still have normal peripheral vision and be able to see around the coughpit, see out the windows etc. It wouldn't always be in both eyes either. That's not to say it is crazy dangerous and stupid behaviour, but just to help reassure any pilots on here, they would not be totally in the dark. Also, some of the effect would wear off over the following minutes as the after image faded.

 

[Boris spatsky]

I agree.
Just for clarification though, a laser strike would not make a pilot completely blind / completely in the dark. It would create a blurry patch, and if this was in the centre of the macula it could render them unable to read the instruments, but they would still have normal peripheral vision and be able to see around the coughpit, see out the windows etc. It wouldn't always be in both eyes either. That's not to say it is crazy dangerous and stupid behaviour, but just to help reassure any pilots on here, they would not be totally in the dark. Also, some of the effect would wear off over the following minutes as the after image faded.

I was only affected in one eye. I had a burning sensation initially, then a bad ache for over an hour. A dull ache remained for three days.

I also had blurred vision for the remainder of the approach.

 

[Mark3000]

I was only affected in one eye. I had a burning sensation initially, then a bad ache for over an hour. A dull ache remained for three days.

I also had blurred vision for the remainder of the approach.

Not nice, I bet you wish you could get your hands on the fool who did it to you!
Have you made a complete recovery do you think?
Did you see an ophthalmologist at the time? These days with modern imaging they can usually see the spots on the retina if it did any damage.

 

[Boris spatsky]

Yes, i had it checked out properly. No permanent damage, thankfully.

 

[Craigie]

Sorry this is off topic but that's horrible Boris. You guys do an amazing job. The safety that goes into a flight that can all be undone by some idiot is ridiculous.

 

[anat0l]

For the pilots, is there any such process for handling the aircraft in the case you are... shall we say... "temporarily disabled"... for example, in the case of the laser pointer, but could also happen in the event that say one of the pilot or co-pilot needs to be sick or something...

I mean, I'm guessing it's not like when you drive a car, where either hit the breaks or pull off to the side... for handling an aircraft you could well be in the middle of a procedure.

 

[jb747]

For the pilots, is there any such process for handling the aircraft in the case you are... shall we say... "temporarily disabled"... for example, in the case of the laser pointer, but could also happen in the event that say one of the pilot or co-pilot needs to be sick or something...

I mean, I'm guessing it's not like when you drive a car, where either hit the breaks or pull off to the side... for handling an aircraft you could well be in the middle of a procedure.

As best you can probably sums it up. Flying 'solo' is simple enough and is regularly practiced, but you can't really practice for the effects of a laser strike, unless you actually use a laser...and that won't be a sim I'd come in for.

 

[Dmac6345]

Hi jb,

Just wondering if any of the other QF Captains, or any pilots for that matter catch up socially?
Don't want to touch on your private life, but I gather there must be guys (and girls) you would like and do like socialising with. Having a few beers away from being in charge of 400 odd lives sounds like a nice option.
Thanks again.

 

[jb747]

Just wondering if any of the other QF Captains, or any pilots for that matter catch up socially?
Don't want to touch on your private life, but I gather there must be guys (and girls) you would like and do like socialising with. Having a few beers away from being in charge of 400 odd lives sounds like a nice option.

I think the answer to that will vary with every pilot. For some their best mates are also pilots and they get together all the time. Others have nothing to do with other company pilots once they get home. There aren't any other pilots in the town in which I live, so I guess I fall into the later category.

 

[por930]

Hi jb,
Great thread. Amazing you have stuck with it so many years now...
On long flights such as QF9 or QF15 etc you would need to have additional pilots on the a/c. Discounting the occasional need for check captains, is one of the additional pilots a captain such as your self? I have often wondered about seniority if two FO's were the two pilots on the flight deck, while you were taking a rest break.
When the a/c first disembarks, do these additional pilots sit up front or sit in the cabin? I suppose on the 380, the additional flight crew have their new flash? rest area they can stay, which looks more livable than the those for the 747?

Geoff

 

[QF WP]

My neighbour, a VA check captain, is doing his SIM renewal this week. He was boning up yesterday "on the books". jb747, is that something you (and other QF captains) do??

I wished him luck this morning, but don't believe it's luck he needs - just do what comes naturally...

Would the VA sim be materially different to the QF sim exercise? I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to post what he did (assuming he passes and tells me ). I remember the previous post of your sim exercise and found it really informative.

Other readers might find it interesting.... It's quite likely that their entire training methodology would differ from QF. They'd still have a CASA matrix of items to do, but would probably tackle it in a different manner.

I saw my neighbours wife this morning and she said it was a week of sims - but he passed. Now to get him over for a drink so he can share with me - because his wife is over listening to how good he was

jb747, assuming the "week" was correct - would that have been him being reviewed as a flight captain, as well as his duties as a check captain?? Do I presume that a SCC was doing his review??

 

[jb747]

Great thread. Amazing you have stuck with it so many years now...
On long flights such as QF9 or QF15 etc you would need to have additional pilots on the a/c. Discounting the occasional need for check captains, is one of the additional pilots a captain such as your self? I have often wondered about seniority if two FO's were the two pilots on the flight deck, while you were taking a rest break.

Augmented crews work differently across the airlines.

Some use extra FOs.

Others will add an extra Captain, and, if they need more, then another FO, so there will always be a Captain/FO pair.

QF only adds SOs if extra are needed, so normally there will only be one Captain and one FO. The FOs are specifically licensed for 'command in the cruise', which effectively makes them the same as the 'cruise' captains employed by some airlines.

Seniority has no place. If there are multiple of anything, the company will have designated who is the captain or FO prior to the start of the trip. In the QF system, normally there won't be two people of the same rank sitting together anyway.

When the a/c first disembarks, do these additional pilots sit up front or sit in the cabin? I suppose on the 380, the additional flight crew have their new flash? rest area they can stay, which looks more livable than the those for the 747?

The additional pilots stay in the coughpit during from start through to cruise, and from the cruise until after shutdown. They are involved in what is going on, and are not just there as passengers. Because we almost always have additional crew, they have standard jobs that they are given on every sector.

 

[jb747]

I saw my neighbours wife this morning and she said it was a week of sims - but he passed. Now to get him over for a drink so he can share with me - because his wife is over listening to how good he was

jb747, assuming the "week" was correct - would that have been him being reviewed as a flight captain, as well as his duties as a check captain?? Do I presume that a SCC was doing his review??

QF uses 4 sims and a couple of classroom days, spread across the year. Other airlines bunch them up, and have training 'week'. Probably positives and negatives to both, though we used to have our sims in two groups of two...I prefer the current system.

Not all of the sims are necessarily pass/fail. In a week of them, it might only be the last one, with the others used for training.

 

[Skyhigh777]

QF only adds SOs if extra are needed, so normally there will only be one Captain and one FO. The FOs are specifically licensed for 'command in the cruise', which effectively makes them the same as the 'cruise' captains employed by some airlines.

So who would sit on the left while the captain is away, the FO?

 

[jb747]

So who would sit on the left while the captain is away, the FO?

No, the FO sits where he always does. As does the Captain when in the coughpit.

 

[por930]

No, the FO sits where he always does. As does the Captain when in the coughpit.

So, the only time the left seat is used in flight is by a pilot with a captain's rank? The FO and SO would always use their usual seating, and if there was a second captain for what ever reason, then he would sit in your place when you are on a rest break?