The Wings Stayed On!: Terminal Distraction

Jan 14, 2007

Terminal Distraction

One of Captain Ren Fortine's* duties was to conduct Base Checks on newly-trained DC-9 pilots released to his base. This gave the company one final quality control check on both the pilots and the training programs. It also gave the pilot familiarization-time on some key airports in his new route structure. In some cases the base check would routinely stretch over two or three days.

New DC-9 First Officer Branyen Burke* was on the second day of a three-day base check and everything was going fine. During the reduced work-load of cruise, supervisory Captains often conduct quizzes about details of the aircraft and discuss nuances that may have been missed during training.

In the midst of such a discussion, Ren glanced up and saw a lovely view of the city of Regina as it was about to pass under the nose of the airplane. He figured this would be a good time to see if Burke was fluent in the use of the P.A. system. He turned to the first officer and said; "Would you make an announcement please and let the passengers know we're jsut about to pass Regina."

"Regina?" Burke exclaimed, "We're supposed to be landing in Regina!"

A demonstration of the DC-9's excellent steep-descent capabilities soon followed.

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What"s this about?

An eclectic series of articles based on my experiences as a commercial pilot. Sometimes behind-the-scenes tales; sometimes more technical descriptions of Jet Transport Aircraft - and the people who fly them. While the stories are based upon actual experiences and real people, I use composite characters and made-up names*. If they seem familiar, they are. They're the people you live and work with every day. The world is full of interesting people - if we only knew!

The title of this blog comes from my first observation after test-flying my home-built aircraft: "The wings stayed on!" And later I realized that life is often like that. We are continually faced with new adventures. And though we study and train and prepare as much as we can, finally we have to launch and put all this preparation to the test. And unexpected things still happen. As the bumper sticker says, Life Happens. And we deal with it - hopefully with a good dose of humour and hope. And if the "wings stayed on!" well at least that's the main thing. And everything else is just details.

My stories are usually drawn from looking back over my career, which thankfully has been pretty dull. Trust me. When flying a commercial airliner, boring is good. You wouldn't like exciting... So don't expect many stories about engines exploding, and wheels falling off, and cabins catching fire. Though that kind of stuff goes on, thankfully, it hasn't been my experience. My stories are the more mundane things, the little things that inhabit real life.

And while mundane is the reality of modern airline flying, still it's an amazing feat, a dramatic and dynamic accomplishment that we shouldn't take for granted. Perhaps day-in, day-out our world-wide airline industry represents our civilizations' most complex achievement. And though it has become mundane we should never forget that the real drama lies in the times when these bigger disasters are too close for comfort. The times when some small factors could produce seriously different outcomes.

Sometimes all the calm around you is an illusion -- a little like the movie Jurassic Park where the investors are touring the not-quite-ready-for-opening facility, while the technicians thrash away at command central, trying to keep everything together - trying to keep up the facade that it's all under control. But if it is, it's not by much.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Like everyone in the airline industry who's blogging, I'm hoping to write a book, and I'm practicing on you folks. I'm always trying to hone my story-telling skills so if you have any comments please leave them. Also, please respect the copyright thing.

Thanks.

Aluwings