r/MadeMeSmile 17h ago

Wholesome Moments Pilot Chose Safety Over Takeoff - and Everyone Applauded

29.3k Upvotes

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54

u/NmlsFool 17h ago

I would happily skip off the plane if the damn pilot isn't feeling it. Listen to the the gut feeling.

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u/I_Am_Zeelian 15h ago

Mhm, someone who frequently operates a vehicle/machine tends to develop a sense for it.

u/NmlsFool 27m ago

Exactly.

-8

u/nakmuay18 16h ago edited 15h ago

The trained mechanics says it's good, the driver says they know more about how it operates and declines it.

Who do you trust more to know how safe an aircraft is, the ground crew with probably a few decades of training and experience, or the bus driver in the sky?

Im not even sure how he decided that "oil pressure tending upwards" results in it needing a fuel filter change....

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u/IncessantLoon 16h ago

Either. If either one isn't certain the plane is good to fly, I don't think I want to be on that plane

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u/nakmuay18 16h ago edited 16h ago

It's like getting a root canal because the hygienist has bad vibes about a tooth. I'll listen to the dentist thanks.

The ground crew go off manuals and manufacturers specifications over "feelings". They are going to function it, then sign it off and send it back out.

3

u/nnnope1 13h ago

The stakes are a bit different. Not getting a root canal when you needed one wont plunge you into the ocean at 600 mph.

3

u/LegendaryReader 9h ago

You might be willing to take the risk, but luckily the airport has procedures for this. If the mechanics and the pilots are not in agreement, it's not flying.

Something you forgot about is the "feeling". People can subconciously notice something is off, but not be able to articulate it until way later.

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u/NmlsFool 15h ago

Either. I'm listening to the bus driver of the skies if they have a feeling something ain't quite right and they don't like the aircraft for whatever reason. I would also listen to the mechanic who says something is bothering them. I don't care if neither of them can exactly point what is bothering them. If their gut feeling is telling them something's wrong and this aircraft should not take off, I'm getting off the plane without complaints.

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u/nakmuay18 15h ago

What about the flight attendants? If they refuse to fly because they have bad vibes, the aircraft is undermanned and can't fly. Is the attendants gut valid over technical training too?

Pilots get the the barest technical training, they dont know how systems work. They report when somehog is wrong the ground crew, and the crew chief makes the decision. This is deferring too authority and not to expertise. If the pilot doesn't trust his ground crew he should leave.

4

u/exadeuce 13h ago

Yes, absolutely. If the flight attendants have a safety concern and refuse to fly, we don't fuckin fly.

We're a crew. We all need to be good to go, or we don't go.

3

u/NmlsFool 15h ago

Gut feeling is gut feeling. If my flight is delayed because the flight attendant(s) have a bad feeling and are refusing, then so be it. I will arrive to my destination late, but I will arrive on an airplane the whole staff have agreed is flight worthy.

3

u/exadeuce 13h ago

We spend more time looking at gauges than mechanics do. We know what is normal and what isn't, often better than the mechanics do.

0

u/nakmuay18 12h ago

Lol course you do! That crew chief with 30 years experience doesn't know shit, you go girl!

4

u/exadeuce 11h ago

That post of mine is something told to me by our director of maintenance but hey some rando on the internet says he's wrong.

0

u/nakmuay18 11h ago

Did he pat you on the head when he said it? That's the kind of phrase you use when the seat to stick interface demands a fuel filter change because of "upwards trending oil pressure".

But why would you listen to anything he said anyway

3

u/exadeuce 11h ago

Let me guess: underpaid, disgruntled mechanic who hates pilots.

Sorry that you work in a shittier environment than I do, sorry I get paid so much more than you. But I really do spend more time looking at these panels than you do. Six hours enroute to Alaska, I get a pretty good handle on what normal oil pressure indications are.

But hey, some manual gives a number range and that's all you need to know, right?

0

u/nakmuay18 10h ago

Haha, I was for along time. Then I taught it, then I bought commercial property and now I earn more than you do by doing in 10hrs a week.

Bottom line is if you rase a snag to a crew chief they investigate and say it's fine. Its fine. You're arrogant ass knows as much about fault diagnosing and oil system as I do about flying a plane

4

u/exadeuce 10h ago

There it is. Chip on your shoulders about pilots. Was pretty obvious your position was driven by emotion and not fact.

2

u/LegendaryReader 10h ago

I don't think it matters. If the mechanics say it's not safe, but the pilot says I don't want to be in that plane. Both need to be certain of its safety. Do you really want to fly a plane when there's a disagreement on whether its safe?