This may be an established routine, but I never noticed it until this week.

On 10-28-01 I was flying PDX to MSP on NW. During the flight, one of the flight crew came out of the cockpit. A FA from Y class came scooting past me (I was in F) and went straight into the cockpit and closed the door behind her. The pilot used the WC, hung around the galley, and did some chatting with the other FAs. After about ten minutes, the pilot reentered the cockpit and the FA left the cockpit. As she walked back down the aisle, I asked her if she was getting some flight hours in on 757s. She replied that if a flight crew member wanted to leave the cockpit, a FA had to swap places and stay in the cockpit until the flight crew member returned. I thought it odd that a FA from Y came up when there were two FAs in F, much closer to the cockpit. I did not, however, ask her about this.

I wonder if this is to help guard the cockpit from attack or is a pre-September practice to have someone in the cockpit in case the remaining pilot has a heart attack or something.

Edited to try for some clarity


[This message has been edited by Shinkansen (edited 10-29-2001).]

Around 10 minutes, you say? Perhaps the other pilot and the flight attendant were holding a mile high club meeting?

This is just wild speculation, but here's my theory: Prior to 9/11, it may have been standard practice for the cockpit door to remain ajar, or at least unlocked, when one of the pilots was absent. After all, if the remaining pilot were to become incapacitated, you'd certainly want the other pilot to be able to get back in, wouldn't you?

Post-9/11, I suspect that they must keep the door closed and locked except when a person is actually using the door. As such, you'd want another body in the cockpit to be able to unlock the door.

This brings up another question. Let's say it's prior to 9/11, and there's only one pilot in the cockpit, and they pass out. Assuming the auto-pilot is on, if they were to slump onto the control yoke, would this do anything? That is, does application of the yoke disengage or otherwise override the auto-pilot, or must it be specifically turned off before manual control input is allowed?

Typically, it is still possible to manually operate the aircraft with the autopilot engaged. However, the control inputs (force) necessary to manipulate the controls increases substantially. On the planes with which I am familiar a slumping body wouldn't create enough force to override the autopilot.

same thing occured on an AA from Den-Lax. My guess is, in order for them to LOCK the door with the new hardware, someone has to go it..otherwise the Co Pilot would have to get out of the seat to handle the new hardware.... now a FA does it.

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Askworldtraveler, EXP,4 million AA miles+++

Then there's the perhaps apocryphal story about the Ethiopian Airlines plane where the right seater came strolling into the passenger cabin and then came the left seater. A little turbulence and the cockpit door slammed shut. No key.

They took turns with an emergency axe and were able to gain entry just before the plane was about to enter Libyan airspace.

I actually saw a newspaper clipping about it.

I've wanted to tell that one forever!

Jim