UK airline pilot sacked for sightseeing
tour
Ignored 'Pull Up' warning
By Lester Haines
Published Monday 12th March 2007
The pilot of a passenger plane who flew fives miles off course in
bad weather to "show his co-pilot the scenery" has been sacked, the
Daily Telegraph reports.
Captain Roger Old, 61, was flying from Aberdeen to Shetland's
Sumburgh Airport with 17 passengers aboard a Dornier 328-100 when
he took the unscheduled detour. He ignored an automatic warning
system which told him to pull up, asking the rattled co-pilot to
switch it off.
So concerned was the co-pilot that he "considered wresting the
controls from Captain Old", but decided against it because "he
thought that to attempt to do so whilst the aircraft was
manoeuvring at low level might place the aircraft in a more
hazardous situation".
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report, released
yesterday, elaborates: "The aircraft encountered worsening weather
and inadvertently flew into close proximity with the terrain. The
commander went further to the west than was necessary, in order to
show the co-pilot some of the local terrain features. The crew were
alerted to the situation by on-board equipment, but the commander
did not respond to the 'Pull Up' warnings it generated.
"The co-pilot was alarmed by the situation and considered taking
control from the commander. However, he thought that to attempt to
do so whilst the aircraft was manoeuvring at low level might place
the aircraft in a more hazardous situation, especially as
communication between the two pilots was being hindered by the
warning sounds.
"The co-pilot reported that he could not see the airport as it was
obscured by cloud, but could see high ground ahead and to the
right. As the aircraft descended below the selected altitude the
altitude alert sounded, and the commander asked the co-pilot to
silence the alert."
City Star Airlines parted company with Old following the incident,
which ended with a safe landing. The airline's flight safety
officer, Captain Alan Chalmers, said: "His actions were
inexcusable. We think it was something to do with his personality
rather than any operating procedures in place at the time.
Thankfully, these kind of incidents are less common than they were
because safety equipment is more reliable with not as many nuisance
warnings."
The AAIB ordered City Star Airlines to "improve training and carry
out a safety audit". The Civil Aviation Authority confirmed
ex-Captain Old would not fly again "since he had decided to
surrender his pilot's licence before it was revoked". ®
