Co-pilot gets sick, stewardess helps land airplane

Given this set of circumstances, what types of assistance would a
commercial-rated pilot be able to offer assuming she is not rated on
this type aircraft? I would guess-communications with ATC primarily.
What else?

She, as mentioned, can help run the radio. She also can read "check
lists."

The pilot knows where the various switches/levers are.

She can also call off speeds when landing.

Depending upon how much skill she has, she can double check whether the
pilot correctly did what the check list recommended. Indeed, that and the
radio are the only two areas where "flight" experience is useful.

Once Upon A Time,
John Gilmer wrote:

Given this set of circumstances, what types of assistance would a
commercial-rated pilot be able to offer assuming she is not rated on
this type aircraft? I would guess-communications with ATC primarily.
What else?

She, as mentioned, can help run the radio. She also can read "check
lists."

The pilot knows where the various switches/levers are.

She can also call off speeds when landing.

She can also re-inflate the auto-pilot, Otto, don't forget.


**
Captain Infinity

"Clarence do we have clearance?" wrote in message
...
Maybe he shouldn't have had the fish. Thank goodness Karen Black was
working the flight!

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...and-plane.html
Flight attendant helps pilot land plane
June 15, 2010

A flight attendant who has a pilot's license replaced an ill first officer
during a landing at O'Hare International Airport, officials said today.

The co-pilot of an American Airlines plane that departed San Francisco on
Monday fell sick en route to Chicago, said American spokeswoman Mary
Frances Fagan.

"He was unable to continue his duties and he moved to the passenger
cabin," Fagan said, adding that the flight's captain checked to see
whether any off-duty airline pilots were on board the flight.

A female flight attendant advised the captain that she is a commercial
pilot and the captain asked her to sit in the right-hand seat in the
cockpit, Fagan said.

"The flight attendant became the first officer on landing," she said. "The
cockpit crew did an outstanding job handling the situation."

The flight attendant helped the captain by reading off check list of
procedures and she handled other tasks, in addition to providing a second
set of eyes in the cockpit, Fagan said.

The plane, a Boeing 767 with 225 passengers and seven crew members on
board, arrived at O'Hare at 4:24 p.m. Monday. The landing was normal,
officials said.

The condition of the ill first officer was not serious, officials said. He
was met on the ground at O'Hare by paramedics and transported to a local
hospital, where he was treated and released.

The first officer was based in Chicago. He was resting on Tuesday,
officials said.


She must not have had the fish...

Hatunen wrote:
On Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:59:17 -0700, Floyd ""Ralph\"@
ralphs.com" wrote:

Clarence do we have clearance? wrote:
Maybe he shouldn't have had the fish. Thank goodness Karen Black was
working the flight!

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2...and-plane.html

Flight attendant helps pilot land plane
June 15, 2010

A flight attendant who has a pilot's license replaced an ill first
officer during a landing at O'Hare International Airport, officials said
today.

The co-pilot of an American Airlines plane that departed San Francisco
on Monday fell sick en route to Chicago, said American spokeswoman Mary
Frances Fagan.

"He was unable to continue his duties and he moved to the passenger
cabin," Fagan said, adding that the flight's captain checked to see
whether any off-duty airline pilots were on board the flight.

A female flight attendant advised the captain that she is a commercial
pilot and the captain asked her to sit in the right-hand seat in the
cockpit, Fagan said.

"The flight attendant became the first officer on landing," she said.
"The cockpit crew did an outstanding job handling the situation."

The flight attendant helped the captain by reading off check list of
procedures and she handled other tasks, in addition to providing a
second set of eyes in the cockpit, Fagan said.

The plane, a Boeing 767 with 225 passengers and seven crew members on
board, arrived at O'Hare at 4:24 p.m. Monday. The landing was normal,
officials said.

The condition of the ill first officer was not serious, officials said.
He was met on the ground at O'Hare by paramedics and transported to a
local hospital, where he was treated and released.

The first officer was based in Chicago. He was resting on Tuesday,
officials said.

Is it hard to land when sitting in the captain's lap? Just kidding, I
hope the attendant gets a chance to fly for American as a pilot.

It's a very big step from being licensed as a commercial pilot
and being licensed with an ATR (airline transport rating).

I know.

Floyd ""Ralph\"@ ralphs.com" writes:

I hope the attendant gets a chance to fly for American as a pilot.

Without valid and current pilot's certifications, her chances are zero. And
she's past 60 years old, so she probably wouldn't be a good investment as a
pilot at this point in time.

Hatunen writes:

It's a very big step from being licensed as a commercial pilot
and being licensed with an ATR (airline transport rating).

It's an even bigger step when the CPL and medical expired twenty years
earlier.

GrtArtiste writes:

Given this set of circumstances, what types of assistance would a
commercial-rated pilot be able to offer assuming she is not rated on
this type aircraft? I would guess-communications with ATC primarily.
What else?

The same things any non-pilot could do: move levers and buttons when the
captain asks her two, read checklists, communicate with ATC, etc. It helps a
bit if she has piloting experience, but that doesn't mean that she will be
doing anything that _requires_ piloting experience.

vaughn writes:

Of course, what seems to have been left out of this story is that the Captain
was likely perfectly capable of flying the plane all by himself ...

Not merely likely but certainly, by design. It's a non-event.

On Jun 17, 2:42*pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
Hatunen writes:
It's a very big step from being licensed as a commercial pilot
and being licensed with an ATR (airline transport rating).

It's an even bigger step when the CPL and medical expired twenty years
earlier.

Think of this as a learning experience. PP and CP Licenses do not
expire.

On Jun 17, 2:44*pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
GrtArtiste writes:
Given this set of circumstances, what types of assistance would a
commercial-rated pilot be able to offer assuming she is not rated on
this type aircraft? I would guess-communications with ATC primarily.
What else?

The same things any non-pilot could do: move levers and buttons when the
captain asks her two, read checklists, communicate with ATC, etc. *It helps a
bit if she has piloting experience, but that doesn't mean that she will be
doing anything that _requires_ piloting experience.

This is absolutely correct. At no time was this attendant actually
flying this aircraft. She came up front and sat down in the right seat
acting as an extra set of hands to select, push, pull, and turn, any
and all switches and levers as asked for by the Captain. She acted as
an "assistant" and that's all.
Not to take anything away from this lady who performed as asked to
perform under trying circumstances, and indeed she personally appeared
on national TV this morning to "set straight" all the hype being
presented about her acting in any other capacity than that I have
stated above.
It helped certainly that this nice lady had flying experience but it
was by NO MEANS essential to what she was asked to do or what she
actually did in the cockpit.
Had the Captain opted to, he most certainly could have completed the
flight to a safe completion from the left seat without assistance. He
might have had to extend his reach a bit at times, but nothing earth
shattering for sure.
All in all, this was a class crew and they did a class job, right down
to the stew who very classily and politely deflated the media hype on
her role in the completion of this flight.
Dudley Henriques