Because there isn’t already enough to worry about when piloting a giant piece of metal flying in the sky, law enforcement in New York say they busted a man accused of shining a powerful laser beam into the cockpits of several aircraft at LaGuardia Airport, injuring the eyes of three pilots. [More]
pilots
United Airlines Warns Pilots About Safety Concerns
By 2.25.15
Following four incidents that United Airlines dubs “safety events and near-misses,” the carrier has issued a warning to its pilots about “significant safety concerns,” and asking them to cut down on potentially disastrous mistakes. [More]
Air Canada Pilots Warned To Stop Sneaking Porn Into The Cockpit, Because Seriously?
By 10.2.14
Perhaps there’s something about the name that makes it a tempting locale to stash porn, but Air Canada pilots have been warned to stop sneaking porn into the cockpit, after several incidents where the airline found explicit content on planes. Because you know, there are other things to concentrate on when you’re flying a ginormous piece of metal through the sky, thousands of feet above the ground. [More]
Passenger Tells Female Pilot That Cockpit Is “No Place For A Woman”
By 3.5.14
Of all the things that airline passengers should care about — schedules, airfares, fees, delays, weather, that guy across the row from you who refuses to put his shoes back on — one thing that shouldn’t matter at all is the pilot’s gender, as I’m pretty sure the Y chromosome contains no special aviation-related genetic information. And even if you do think that only brawny men named Rex or Ace should be flying your airplane, what is the point of leaving a nutty, angry note when your pilot happens to be a woman? [More]
More Rest For Pilots Could Mean Fewer Flights For Travelers
By 1.10.14
Fewer pilots and longer resting requirements could be trouble for regional airlines. The issues that grounded hundreds of JetBlue flights this week could be just the start after new FAA regulations on rest for pilots went into effect Saturday. [More]
FAA Orders All Overweight Air Traffic Controllers And Pilots To Get Tested For Sleep Disorders
By 11.21.13
In an effort to guard against sleepy or fatigued pilots taking a snooze behind the controls, as well as air traffic controllers who might doze off, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced a new regulation requiring both kinds of staff undergo testing for sleep disorders if they’re overweight. [More]
Pilots Who Nap Together Should Not Be Responsible For Flying A Plane Together
By 9.26.13
Here’s some simple, scary math: If you have two pilots flying an Airbus passenger plane going at a speed of X miles per hour, how many pilots are flying the plane when both are asleep? The answer is: Zero pilots. No pilots were flying a UK-operated aircraft on an August flight when the two pilots fell asleep at the same time. Unless you count auto-pilot, which… Yeah, not a good scenario. [More]
American Airlines To Hire 2,500 Pilots While Still Dealing With Contract Disputes
By 10.25.12 — Updated: 12.19.12
American Airlines has been struggling to get its act together for quite some time now, what with rows of airplane seats coming loose mid-flight, typhoid scares and continued contract disputes with its pilots. But even while the company accuses some of those pilots with staging sick-outs and hasn’t reached a deal with the pilots’ union yet, it announced this week that it’ll be adding 2,500 pilots to its payroll in the next five years. [More]
Leader Of Pilots Union Tells American Airlines Members To Stop Pulling Sick-Out Shenanigans
By 9.28.12
American Airlines has already clearly expressed its annoyance with any of its pilots who may be staging “sick-outs,” causing delayed or canceled flights in the midst of an ongoing dispute with the company, and now the acting president of the union that represents those same pilots is also telling them to simmer down now. [More]
US Airways Sues Pilots Over Alleged Work Slowdown
By 8.1.11
While Continental has had to cancel dozens of flights due to suddenly “sick” pilots, the management at US Airways say its pilots have been more subtle about hobbling the airline’s operations — an allegation the pilots deny. [More]
Continental Cancels 24 Flights After Pilots Come Down With Mystery Illness At The Same Time
By 7.27.11
Some sort of mysterious flu bug must be circulating the in cockpits of Continental flights. The airline has been forced to cancel 24 flights today because too many pilots called in sick. [More]
UPDATE: TSA Says Pilots Can Skip Scanners & Pat-Downs
By 11.19.10
Earlier today, TSA chief John Pistole hinted on Good Morning America that airline pilots might soon be able to skirt the agency’s stricter screening procedures. Now one of the unions that had recently told pilots to refuse being scanned says a deal has actually been reached. [More]
Pilots Might Soon Get A Pass On Stricter Security Measures
By 11.19.10
As we wrote last week, two of the nation’s largest airline pilots unions had recently told their members to refuse full-body scanners at airport security, arguing that pilots have already undergone rigorous background checks before getting their jobs. Now the head of the TSA says their could soon be a rule change that would treat pilots differently than passengers. [More]
Unions Tell Pilots To Just Say No To Full-Body Scanners
By 11.11.10
Only weeks after an ExpressJet pilot refused to submit to either a full-body scan or a pat-down, unions representing the pilots at U.S. Airways and American Airlines have advised their members to not submit to the revealing scans. [More]
ExpressJet Pilot Just Says No To Full-Body Scan Or Pat-Down
By 10.20.10
A pilot of Continental’s ExpressJet line has stirred up a ruckus after refusing to submit to either a full-body scan or the alternative, a hands-on pat-down from a TSA screener. [More]
Pilots Confess: We're Tired, Hungry & Just As Confused As You
By 10.18.10
For many of us who travel on planes, believing the pilots are well-fed and rested is a necessity. But according to some of the industry secrets that airline pilots have divulged to the editors of Reader’s Digest, the men and women behind the controls are — for better or worse — just like the rest of us. [More]
Ryanair's Newest Cost Cutting Idea: Remove Second Pilot
By 9.7.10
Did Ryanair’s publicity-chasing CEO Michael O’Leary read about that American Airlines flight back in June? In a recent interview, he suggested that one way to reduce costs would be to get rid of the second pilot and just make sure every flight has a flight attendant with a pilot’s license. [More]
Pilot Detained After Dropping Pants During Security Screening
By 6.27.10
Look, pilots, we know that times are tough, but when security asks you to remove your belt and shoes, you probably shouldn’t laugh and drop your pants, ok? Because if you do, you’re going to end up detained and will have to explain yourself to a judge. Just ask United Airlines pilot Michael Slynn, who forgot this relatively simple advice yesterday in Rio de Janiero. [More]
