Cathay Pacific 777 Chief Pilot Sacked

[mokhzani 0]

Read in the news today and the rest of it...

 

 

http://www.airliners.net/discussions/gener...d.main/3858371/

 

and countless others.

[S V Choong 4]

Heard about this, but not sure if it actually happened.

 

Perhaps he should have applied for approval before attempting such thing?

[Loh Wilson 0]

GWPS screaming its lungs out "Pull UP !!! Gears !! Flaps !!!"

 

anet's forum claims that the CEO was on board of the plane

[kelvin L 1]

Pity the Chief pilot, he must have gotten a good round of lecture right up to Hong kong during the long flight.

 

Might be the reason because the big boss is in the aircraft and if anything happen then the company gets a bad name. My 5 cents comment.

Edited February 25, 2008 by kelvin L

[Gavin Andrew David 6]

GWPS screaming its lungs out "Pull UP !!! Gears !! Flaps !!!"

 

anet's forum claims that the CEO was on board of the plane

 

GPWS

 

Can inhibit , no problem

[Loh Wilson 0]

GPWS

 

Can inhibit , no problem

 

yeah thanks for pointing the typo there. Ground Proximity Warning System

 

 

 

[H Azmal 0]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/fe...ineindustry.usa

 

One of Britain's most senior airline pilots has been sacked for flying a passenger jet just 28ft off the ground as a stunt to entertain a group of VIPs.

 

Captain Ian Wilkinson was dismissed by Cathay Pacific after the low-flying manoeuvre, cheered by spectators, was posted on websites, including YouTube.

 

The footage shows the £100m jet swooping over the runway at Boeing headquarters in Seattle, Washington, USA, with its undercarriage raised.

 

The 55-year-old pilot was cheered by spectators and received a champagne toast reception after landing the 230-ton Boeing 777-300ER in Hong Kong, according to the Daily Mail. He was even pictured in Cathay Pacific's newsletter toasting the maiden flight with airline executives who had been on board. Among the 30 VIP passengers was Cathay Pacific's British chairman Chris Pratt.

 

But the fly-by manoeuvre had not been approved by the airline, although Wilkinson had cleared it with air traffic controllers in Seattle, according to the Daily Mail. He was suspended after the stunt appeared on the internet, and dismissed from his £250,000-a-year job at a disciplinary hearing last week. His co-pilot Ray Middleton, 47, who is said to have been unaware the fly-by was unauthorised, was suspended from training duties for six months.

 

Wilkinson, who was the chief pilot for the airline's 777 fleet, is reported to be considering an appeal against his dismissal.

 

Another senior Cathay Pacific pilot told the Mail that Wilkinson might still be in post had his stunt not ended up on the internet

 

"If no one else had found out about it, the incident would probably have gone no further. But once it began circulating on the internet and Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department got wind of it, that was the end of him," he said.

 

"Maiden flights are treated as a bit of a jolly for executives with lots of champagne flowing and these fly-bys used to be done for a wheeze in the old days. But they are dangerous, because however good the pilot thinks he is, he isn't trained for it and the planes aren't designed for it.

 

"Wilkinson was showing off, and most of the pilots might be sympathetic but they feel he got what he deserved when he was sacked."

 

I believe this is the offending manoeuvre:

 

Edited February 25, 2008 by H Azmal

[Simon 3]

Ripley's believe it or not

[BC Tam 2]

The discussion over at a.net hints ever so slightly that the chap wasn't held in the highest esteem by fellow pilots - conspiracy theories will surface in due course I reckon !

 

Furthermore, he was shown "toasting" in flight - toasting with what ? He was captain in command of flight at that point in time ?

[Nik H. 3]

The discussion over at a.net hints ever so slightly that the chap wasn't held in the highest esteem by fellow pilots - conspiracy theories will surface in due course I reckon !

 

Furthermore, he was shown "toasting" in flight - toasting with what ? He was captain in command of flight at that point in time ?

 

NO Management Pilots have ever been held in high esteem by the majority of his fellow pilots. This comes with the territory. At best, grudging respect, never more than that. Every pilot knows that.

[BC Tam 2]

No exceptions whatsoever ?! C'mon lah, no need to be modest with us here !

[Denny Yen 0]

This is not the first time for CX to sack its pilots for disciplinary reasons. About 9 years ago I assisted in a case at UK's Employment Tribunal involving an expat CX pilot (hired by CX a HK co.) but based in Heathrow.

 

Capt Wilkinson can lodge his complaint at an industrial tribunal either in HK or UK (depending on circumstances) asking them to review his sacking. There are 2 ways a tribunal can decide, if that dismissal was unfair (sacking was not justified) - CX may be ordered to reconcile with him and give his job back or pay-off him a large severance pay (as in most cases because relations are already sourt).

 

If it is wrongful dismissal (justified, but notice period was not properly given) - he may only a small compensation and he'll never get his job yet.

[LeeCH 0]

NO Management Pilots have ever been held in high esteem by the majority of his fellow pilots. This comes with the territory. At best, grudging respect, never more than that. Every pilot knows that.

 

Well said. 100% true.

 

[Irni Mastura 0]

NO Management Pilots have ever been held in high esteem by the majority of his fellow pilots. This comes with the territory. At best, grudging respect, never more than that. Every pilot knows that.

 

Well said. 100% true.

 

 

Oh wow... I wonder how they survive.. too many alpha males around..

 

But seriously, to stay in the job, do well at it and still maintain their humble humor re the above statement is something commendable. In my opinion, grudging respect sounds better and of more value than simple respect, especially if they originated from such enmities.

[Pieter C. 5]

Would the Chief Pilot also have been sacked, if no high officials or other 'passengers' would have been on-board i.e. positioning/delivery-flight ??

[Nik H. 3]

Would the Chief Pilot also have been sacked, if no high officials or other 'passengers' would have been on-board i.e. positioning/delivery-flight ??

 

This incident happened under very interesting circumstances. A so called dangerous maneuver with a planeload of bosses who;

 

a. were either oblivious the fly past took place ( very unlikely )

 

b. knew about it but did not take action until the authorities took action against the pilot.

 

Guess this is a classic example of something I believe in the flying discipline;

 

" Nothing is Illegal until you get caught " He He He...what a great profession. 30 years and counting and never a dull moment. I love it to bits.

 

ps. My heart goes out to the Pilot. He probably got chewed by a bunch of Rule Huggers using 'what ifs' as argument. ( I think there would have been lots of Habsheim 19880626 talk used as leverage. )

[Robert 0]

This incident happened under very interesting circumstances. A so called dangerous maneuver with a planeload of bosses who;

 

a. were either oblivious the fly past took place ( very unlikely )

 

b. knew about it but did not take action until the authorities took action against the pilot.

 

Guess this is a classic example of something I believe in the flying discipline;

 

" Nothing is Illegal until you get caught " He He He...what a great profession. 30 years and counting and never a dull moment. I love it to bits.

 

ps. My heart goes out to the Pilot. He probably got chewed by a bunch of Rule Huggers using 'what ifs' as argument. ( I think there would have been lots of Habsheim 19880626 talk used as leverage. )

 

Would he be able to walk into a job with another airline or will this blacklist him? I've heard of some BA people getting fired who started pretty much straight away with another airline.

[Kenneth T 0]

I wonder why he risking his life and career for such action. To get popularity?

[Nik H. 3]

I wonder why he risking his life and career for such action. To get popularity?

 

It was hardly a life threatening maneuver. A low pass with gear up over a runway is no big deal. Secondly, he probably has clearance from the control tower, otherwise the FAA will also be out for his blood. He also did not think that the maneuver would have threatened his career in any way. He must have thought all this thoroughly before he did it.

 

Boeing test pilot Tex Johnson barrel rolled the B707 during a demo flight with all the Boeing big guns and customers years ago. There were gasps of horror but eventually it became good PR for Boeing later, and has gone down the annals of aviation history as one of many great memorable events that's being talked about to this day.

[Seth K 3]

I remember MH pilots did this for photographers when the Heliconia roll out....

[Louis L. 2]

ouch ... there goes the €250 grand ......

[BC Tam 2]

Continuing the 'toasting' lead - any news of any pre-flight celebratory function with champers toasts ? Could possibly have clouded better judgement if so, but then admittedly this will all be mere conjecture until proven otherwise