Ask The Pilot

[jb747]

Time for a comeback? That's hilarious and scary at the same time JB.
What does RHS CPT mean please?

I was surprised that I hadn't been purged.

They're actually after an FO. An RHS Captain, is a right hand seat qualified Captain. That generally means a training captain, but there was a short period around 2017 when they were short of FOs, but flush with Captains, where they got a half dozen to do a couple of sims and who then flew solely as FOs for a couple of months. The real FOs hated it, 'cos they went straight to the top of their seniority list.

 

[jb747]

Some comments at the bottom of this suggest its a write off! Which seems a bit extreme but we assume it’s not a duct tape fix.

Details: Qatar Airways Cargo 777 Badly Damaged At Chicago O'Hare

A Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777 hit a light post at Chicago O'Hare Airport while taxiing, causing major damage. Here's what happened.

onemileatatime.com

Using that map, I'd say they were supposed to go into apron 1W, but took 1 instead.

The span of a 777 is 200'. Sadly centreline of '1' to the light pole is about 89'. So, about 11' of oops. Even more if they made the mistake of trying to turn away.

There seems to be form at ORD with freighters. Take a look at the China Airlines video further down

They are very much what I'd describe as the 'usual suspects'.

 

[Quickstatus]

Do you think I should tell them?

Lots of people have come out of retirement?. If you could what would be the process?

 

[jb747]

Firstly I’d have to extract the bullet that my wife would have put into me.

I’m over 65, so I can’t hold the international licence needed. And I’d probably fall asleep mid take-off roll.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just got this "Dear A380 F/O and RHS CPT, Please contact operations if you are able to assist with crewing a LHR trip starting tomorrow 10AUG....Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.......Kind Regards, LHFC Operations".

Do you think I should tell them?

I’m all for screwing management, so I’d say go for it , except for the fact that you’d also screw a bunch of passengers when they found you couldn’t fly and that wouldn’t be good at all.

But perhaps you could just send a request for clarification as to route timing, remuneration etc.

 

[flyer89]

And I’d probably fall asleep mid take-off roll.

Would that be any different to when you were flying the line?

 

[stm1sydney]

I wonder what this QF A380 is up to?

 

[jb747]

I wonder what this QF A380 is up to?

They're requalifying pilots. After they complete the sim sessions they do a couple of large laps in the aircraft.

 

[Quickstatus]

I would appreciate some insight into actual crew hours for this flight, thanks
7Aug2022 VH-ZNF PER-FRA-LHR (QF9). Medical diversion into FRA

 

[jb747]

My only data source is FR24...

The flight time Perth to Frankfurt was 18:05. You can add a bit to that at each end for chock to chock, but close enough to 18:20. By the time you add in the pre departure duty time, and some time on the ground in Frankfurt, you're close enough to 20 hours. I don't know what hours rules they work to on these flights, but you'd be turning into a pumpkin going by the rules I'm familiar with.

According to FR24 they landed in Frankfurt at 4:39 UTC, but didn't depart until 11:03 UTC. The only reason for spending so long on the ground would be getting a replacement crew from London. The original crew would be at a duty period of something in the order of 27-28 hours by the time the aircraft arrived in London.

 

[Quickstatus]

getting a replacement crew from London

Thanks.
When would they have pulled the replacement crew trigger?When diversion was triggered? Or upon arrival into FRA?
How would the scenario have played out for the replacement crew to get them from a hotel in London to the flight deck in FRA.?

Is there a standby 789 crew in LHR?
When do the original crew go to LHR?

 

[jb747]

Thanks.
When would they have pulled the replacement crew trigger?When diversion was triggered? Or upon arrival into FRA? Is there a standby 789 crew in LHR?

I don't know the details of what they are doing now, but when the 787 from Perth first appeared, they used to build a standby period into the slip time in London. The cabin crew are UK based, so having a standby for them would be reasonably normal. This wasn't needed for the 380 or 747 operation, as it was almost certain that any diversion that wasn't mechanical would be able to resume the journey within the crew's flight/duty time limits. My guess is that they would have pulled the standby trigger as soon as they heard of the diversion. Going early doesn't have any downside, as it can be cancelled at any point along the way. I certainly wouldn't be the first time a standby crew has arrived to watch their aircraft taking off.

How would the scenario have played out for the replacement crew to get them from a hotel in London to the flight deck in FRA.?

About 45 minutes after the phone call, there would be transport at the hotel (or just get the hotel to grab some taxis). I have no idea who they'd have used to fly them to Frankfurt...presumably the first people with seats on an early departure. They'd be launched into the fray at Heathrow, although the airport manager may have been able to help there. Arriving at Frankfurt, it would just be a case of getting to the right terminal. The immigration stuff might have thrown up more paperwork, but in my experience the Germans were always very helpful.

When do the original crew go to LHR?

Probably the next morning.

Working backwards...they got airborne out of Frankfurt at about 1100UTC. Call it 90 minutes on the ground, which would have them arriving around 0930UTC. Flight time is a bit over an hour, so call it off chocks in London at 0800UTC. Mucking about at Heathrow...probably an hour minimum, so 0700UTC. 30 minutes from hotel to airport, so left hotel by 0630UTC. That makes the phone call about 0530-0545UTC.

ULR operations will always be extremely problematic with regard to diversions.

 

[Fergo747]

Probably the next morning.

If there was a suitable number of vacant seats available (i.e. F or J), would they have any of the crew pax immediately to LHR on the same aircraft? I'm thinking more tech crew so that further future flights aren't potentially disrupted?

Also, what would be the rest period for the crew post performing the short hop from FRA to LHR - I am assuming that they would not likely be able to complete the remainder of their scheduled trip?

 

[jb747]

If there was a suitable number of vacant seats available (i.e. F or J), would they have any of the crew pax immediately to LHR on the same aircraft? I'm thinking more tech crew so that further future flights aren't potentially disrupted?

There is never a set rule on how this is done. Scheduling used to be an extraordinary bunch of people who could come up with all sorts of amazing, and quite lateral, plans. I don’t know what their capabilities are these days, but hopefully not enhanced. If they continued, their total tour of duty would be quite extreme, so you’d probably find you could get them back into the system sooner by stopping in Frankfurt.

By the time they get to London, about the only thing likely to be disrupted would be their ‘planned’ standby period. I’m assuming that system still exists, but it had enough space to accommodate this sort of disruption.

Also, what would be the rest period for the crew post performing the short hop from FRA to LHR - I am assuming that they would not likely be able to complete the remainder of their scheduled trip?

The crew who picked the aircraft up would have started duty at around 7am, and finished about midday. The ULR ops will have a pre flight rest requirement of at least 24 hours, so they wouldn’t be usable until the next day. But, more than likely, that’s when they’re scheduled to fly anyway, so it has the effect of disrupting their time off in London, but probably not their overall pattern.

 

[Fergo747]

There is never a set rule on how this is done. Scheduling used to be an extraordinary bunch of people who could come up with all sorts of amazing, and quite lateral, plans. I don’t know what their capabilities are these days, but hopefully not enhanced. If they continued, their total tour of duty would be quite extreme, so you’d probably find you could get them back into the system sooner by stopping in Frankfurt.

By the time they get to London, about the only thing likely to be disrupted would be their ‘planned’ standby period. I’m assuming that system still exists, but it had enough space to accommodate this sort of disruption.

The crew who picked the aircraft up would have started duty at around 7am, and finished about midday. The ULR ops will have a pre flight rest requirement of at least 24 hours, so they wouldn’t be usable until the next day. But, more than likely, that’s when they’re scheduled to fly anyway, so it has the effect of disrupting their time off in London, but probably not their overall pattern.

Thanks - appreciate the response. I also hope there have been no 'enhancements' either

 

[jukebox333]

Hi JB - been awhile since I asked a question here.

Back on 3rd August I was on QF6 PER-SYD, B789. Mid morning departure into a very stormy sky, about 1 min into the take off climb we were struck by lightning.

Bright orange flash in the cabin, loud bang. Once we levelled at at the top of the climb, one of the flight crew came on and explained we'd been hit, but everything was AOK and we would proceed to SYD as normal.

Less than a week later, a regional B738 out of PER was struck, and the pilot diverted:

Concern aboard WA flight as LIGHTNING strikes plane

Passengers travelling to Port Hedland have had their plans delayed after their plane was struck by a bolt of lightning.

www.perthnow.com.au

Any thoughts on why one flight pressed on, whilst the other didn't? How would the Dreamliner driver know everything was fine?

Cheers.

J'Box

 

[ChrisGibbs]

The 13/8 QF94 arrival into MEL diverted to BNE earlier this morning. Assuming the tech crew are close to running out of hours and their isn’t a 787 crew base in BNE, what are the options here:

- wait for a crew to be pax’d into BNE
- push passengers onto domestic services
- others?

Edit: I see QF94 got away from BNE at 0625 landing into MEL at 0817. It would make sense to assume the same crew continued to MEL. What are the duty time limitations in this case?

 

[jb747]

The 13/8 QF94 arrival into MEL diverted to BNE earlier this morning. Assuming the tech crew are close to running out of hours and their isn’t a 787 crew base in BNE, what are the options here:

- wait for a crew to be pax’d into BNE
- push passengers onto domestic services
- others?

Edit: I see QF94 got away from BNE at 0625 landing into MEL at 0817. It would make sense to assume the same crew continued to MEL. What are the duty time limitations in this case?

I could well be out of date with my limitations. I do know that companies, world wide, were pushing for ridiculous limits...I just don't know how successful they were, and weak the regulators were. I'll ask one of my 787 mates.

In any event, looking at the flight time for the 94, I get a duty period of about 18:45. Limit of 20 hours.

I can't tell whether the crew were replaced in Brisbane. It's not impossible. I expect that there are still commuters living there, so a ring around might have garnered them a couple of replacement pilots, possibly within the flight time from the turnback. Also, the company has placed standby people in position for occasions when a divert might be necessary, so they might have been planning ahead (if that still happens). That might also explain why it went to Brisbane and not Sydney (i.e. that's where the standby was). It was a late call to divert...you normally try to avoid backtracking.

 

[jb747]

Back on 3rd August I was on QF6 PER-SYD, B789. Mid morning departure into a very stormy sky, about 1 min into the take off climb we were struck by lightning.

Bright orange flash in the cabin, loud bang. Once we levelled at at the top of the climb, one of the flight crew came on and explained we'd been hit, but everything was AOK and we would proceed to SYD as normal.

Thunder from just a few feet away is pretty impressive.

Less than a week later, a regional B738 out of PER was struck, and the pilot diverted:

Any thoughts on why one flight pressed on, whilst the other didn't? How would the Dreamliner driver know everything was fine?

You're looking at it the wrong way around. Why did the 737 guy divert? At a guess, a relatively new Captain, who'd never been hit before.

Whilst the noise and flash can be pretty impressive, its very unusual for there to be any damage at all. And even when there is, it's almost always trivia that can be signed off. Many, and perhaps most, hits aren't even recorded, but the engineers find scorch marks on the engines or perhaps static wicks are missing. The aircraft are designed to take the strike, and if they can't do so without needing to divert, then I don't want to fly on them.

BTW, my record is seven hits in one flight. The 767 didn't care.

 

[ChrisGibbs]

I could well be out of date with my limitations. I do know that companies, world wide, were pushing for ridiculous limits...I just don't know how successful they were, and weak the regulators were. I'll ask one of my 787 mates.

In any event, looking at the flight time for the 94, I get a duty period of about 18:45. Limit of 20 hours.

I can't tell whether the crew were replaced in Brisbane. It's not impossible. I expect that there are still commuters living there, so a ring around might have garnered them a couple of replacement pilots, possibly within the flight time from the turnback. Also, the company has placed standby people in position for occasions when a divert might be necessary, so they might have been planning ahead (if that still happens). That might also explain why it went to Brisbane and not Sydney (i.e. that's where the standby was). It was a late call to divert...you normally try to avoid backtracking.

By the looks of things QF94 landed into BNE around 5:30am and was on the ground for less than an hour... Could the curfew in SYD play a part in a decision to backtrack to BNE? As for the reason for the diversion given the diversion was abeam Williamtown and curfew in SYD would it more likely medical or weather related?