AA Captain Dies In Flight

unsafervguy said:
Because all basic autopilots have cat3b function right. Also how many airports have 3b approaches?
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The point was what is achievable with today's technology, not the actual implementation, which is politics and money related. Autoland systems have been around for decades. With today's WAAS and LAAS it would be much easier and cheaper to install than in the past, and you don't need it at every airport, just the larger ones.
 
RotorDude said:
The point was what is achievable with today's technology, not the actual implementation, which is politics and money related. Autoland systems have been around for decades. With today's WAAS and LAAS it would be much easier and cheaper to install than in the past, and you don't need it at every airport, just the larger ones.
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This was covered ad nauseam in a "pilotless airplane" thread, but there's a lot more to doing a Cat III autoland then just "set it and forget it." Without a tremendous leap in technology/monitoring/redundancy, it's not going to happen anytime soon without a fuzzy pink warm body sitting in one of the front seats. At least not on a commercially viable scale. That's my opinion only having sat through many simulated and actual Cat III autolands.
 
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Sluggo63 said:
This was covered ad nauseam in a "pilotless airplane" thread, but there's a lot more to doing a Cat III autoland then just "set it and forget it." Without a tremendous leap in technology/monitoring/redundancy, it's not going to happen anytime soon without a fuzzy pink body sitting in one of the front seats. At least not on a commercially viable scale. That's my opinion only having sat through many simulated and actual Cat III autolands.
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I agree with you that it won't happen any time soon, but I think the reasons are political/economic, not technological. And I think "pink body" is not PC. :)
 
RotorDude said:
I agree with you that it won't happen any time soon, but I think the reasons are political/economic, not technological. And I think "pink body" is not PC. :)
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I think it's a combination of all three, but of those, I'm saying technology is leading the way, which would force the exorbitant economic problem.

You're probably right... I better go fix it before I get snitched on!;)
 
Even if it is in house, they would still need to comply with part 67 and associated BS.
 
N801BH said:
IIRC...

Airlines have " their own AME's" conducting 1 class medicals.....:rolleyes:
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I am not afraid to say that United doesn't. We used to have a medical department but they didn't require the pilots to get their medicals there. The department now no longer exists.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
I am not afraid to say that United doesn't. We used to have a medical department but they didn't require the pilots to get their medicals there. The department now no longer exists.
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From what I get from my meager input is, this guy has a history of heart problems but was passing his yearly tests.

How does that work?
 
Tom-D said:
From what I get from my meager input is, this guy has a history of heart problems but was passing his yearly tests.

How does that work?
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I'm not a doctor, but apparently he met the FAA requirements. Really nothing more needed to be said.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Yeah, it was mentioned in Post 41, just a few above yours. :rolleyes:
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Okay, thanks... I double promise never to make that mistake again. If I do, I deserve 30 years in the electric chair.

I'm happy to see you are perfect....
 
Kritchlow said:
I'm not a doctor, but apparently he met the FAA requirements. Really nothing more needed to be said.
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I guess then, the FAA standards meet real world conditions, You can have the big one in the cockpit, and the world won't stop.
 
Tom-D said:
I guess then, the FAA standards meet real world conditions, You can have the big one in the cockpit, and the world won't stop.
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Yup. That's why we have two in the cockpit.
 
Tom-D said:
From what I get from my meager input is, this guy has a history of heart problems but was passing his yearly tests.

How does that work?
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He probably had a 'Special Issuance' for cardiovascular disease. They typically require results from a post- treatment cardiac cath and results from a exercise stress test and/or nuclear stress-test.

Many private pilots just hang it up after a heart attack because the cost to maintain a SI is prohibitive, but if you have a family to feed and this is your career, you are just going to spend the money on the tests and keep flying.
 
weilke said:
He probably had a 'Special Issuance' for cardiovascular disease. They typically require results from a post- treatment cardiac cath and results from a exercise stress test and/or nuclear stress-test.

yep I have a friend that does that each year (5 way bypass)

Many private pilots just hang it up after a heart attack because the cost to maintain a SI is prohibitive,
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Yep, thats me, I'd quit, but I'm 75, I'd just go hug the grand kids, cry my eyes out, then say "Oh well it's been a good run. bye bye CYA
 
Greg Bockelman said:
I am not afraid to say that United doesn't. We used to have a medical department but they didn't require the pilots to get their medicals there. The department now no longer exists.
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The reason I say that is back when I was a kid growing up in Coral Gables /Miami, we had airline pilots all through the neighborhood...

I would guess on our block of 30 houses.. 20 were airline pilots.... National, TWA, Pan Am, Braniff., Chalks... But mostly Eastern... I can clearly remember them talking at neighborhood BBQ's that they needed sober up a little for the upcoming " poke and prod" at the company's DR's office...

Which could lead to a new thread about their lifestyles and the" over consumption of adult beverages"...:eek::hairraise:...
 
JimNtexas said:
In the old Soviet Air Force pilots had to take a physical before every flight. Maybe airlines should do that here.
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One day a friend (in his 30s) got a stress test with a (non-FAA) physical and passed with no problems. He died that night from a massive heart attack. His wife said she thought he was having a nightmare, and in the morning discovered that he was dead.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
One day a friend (in his 30s) got a stress test with a (non-FAA) physical and passed with no problems. He died that night from a massive heart attack. His wife said she thought he was having a nightmare, and in the morning discovered that he was dead.
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I know someone whose wife is a health professional, and he also had what seemed like a nightmare at night. She spotted it for what it was, the beginning of MI, rushed him to the emergency room, and because he got treated so quickly he's alive and well today.
 
I've thought about the single pilot aspect in my job before. I try and stay healthy and keep in shape but man, you never know. I've seen older not so in shape guys still flying 135 as well. You have an MI, stroke or aneurysm while flying, you better get it on the ground in a hurry.:yes:
 
RotorDude said:
I know someone whose wife is a health professional, and he also had what seemed like a nightmare at night. She spotted it for what it was, the beginning of MI, rushed him to the emergency room, and because he got treated so quickly he's alive and well today.
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Wow. I never thought of that. Thanks for posting. I'll have to tell my wife.
 
Velocity173 said:
I've thought about the single pilot aspect in my job before. I try and stay healthy and keep in shape but man, you never know. I've seen older not so in shape guys still flying 135 as well. You have an MI, stroke or aneurysm while flying, you better get it on the ground in a hurry.:yes:
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That's the part I didn't get about the medical argument against extending the retirement age to 65 (or beyond). If anything, there should be a restriction against commercial single pilot operations for holders of certain SIs or above a certain age.
 
weilke said:
That's the part I didn't get about the medical argument against extending the retirement age to 65 (or beyond). If anything, there should be a restriction against commercial single pilot operations for holders of certain SIs or above a certain age.
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I agree. In the future, at least on the helo air ambulance side, that the aircraft will be able to autoland if the pilot was to become incapacitated. I think Augusta has that capability right now on one of their helos. Won't be long before I become a systems manager and only intervene when "George" breaks.
 
RotorDude said:
How is that? A basic autopilot programmed to land at the nearest suitable airport could have presumably done it just as safely as the FO.
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So who will instruct the autopilot to land the plane, when the only pilot is dead?

A flight attendant?

If so, how will the flight attendant detect, from the other side of the locked cockpit door, that the only pilot is dead?
 
NoHeat said:
So who will instruct the autopilot to land the plane, when the only pilot is dead?

A flight attendant?

If so, how will the flight attendant detect, from the other side of the locked cockpit door, that the only pilot is dead?
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In the future, I see more likely the role being a 'pilot' on the ground controlling the aircraft via linked automation much like a UAV.

That will work great until the link is broken or said operator falls asleep.....
 
So how will this person on the ground detect that the single pilot in the air is dead?
 
NoHeat said:
So how will this person on the ground detect that the single pilot in the air is dead?
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The dog in the cockpit will bark when the pilot doesn't feed it.

Nauga,
and the inevitability of technology
 
NoHeat said:
So how will this person on the ground detect that the single pilot in the air is dead?
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Once he stops moving on the live camera feed and doesn't respond on the intercom.
 
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