Copilot jumps out
 

This is a first. On my return from LAX to SFO, we arrived at SFO about 10 mins early and at a different gate than the one originally scheduled. As a result, there was no one to operate the jetbridge, and the pilot was not having any luck finding someone to come meet the plane. We waited around 10 minutes. The copilot then took it upon himself to 1) open the door while it was still armed, 2) lower himself out the door and then drop himself to the pavement below (we were on a 737), 3) and then proceeded back up into the airport to find someone. After about another 5 minutes, someone finally showed up to operate the jetbridge. The flight attendant was having a fit over the obvious breakdown of procedures. I wondered to myself what would happen to the copilot, since the pilot was just standing there smiling at this and didn't seemed to be concerned. What kind of leeway does the crew have in a non-emergency situation?

The door was armed? Did the slide deploy?

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I would think that the leeway the crew has in a non-emergency situation would not include opening a cabin door while it is still armed, leaving the plane while it is still "active".

Agreed ... door couldn't have been armed (slide would deploy) ... probably was disarmed/ready for bridge to attach ... and >surely< both main engines were shut down too?

Imagine if you faced this day after day as a crew member, with pax grumbling at you (as if it was your fault) that it has been 10+ minutes and no one has either shown-up at the jet bridge ... or perhaps even appeared to marshal you into the gate!

Yeah, I might be tempted too to go to such extreme measures if I faced UA's inefficient ground crews like that ...

Perhaps he was a 737-500/ex-Shuttle driver headed for furlough with nothing left to lose?

Curious ...

- Ian

I wondered too - and perhaps he did "disarm" it, but the FA is the one who kept repeating it was "armed". The engines were shut down - everyone was standing in the aisles waiting to go. I just happened to be in 1B, so I was able to watch this transpire.

Good move! I'd give the guy a GTEM cert, if you could find him, that is.

^ ^

UA's SFO ground staff leaves a lot to be desired.

10 minutes?

Heck...if it had been me, I'd have left the door armed and let the passenger deplane down the Slip 'N Slide! Weeeeeeeeeeee!

:)

Once again, the captain is in charge of the plane, not the flight attendants (there was a thread where the captain invited a passenger into the cockpit and the purser had a fit).

Someone needs to slap some sense into the flight attendant's union and many of their members.

I've experienced waits for the jetway myself, and I agree some of these ground crews could use a good talking-to as well.

From the door sill to the tarmac is about 9 feet; that's quite a ways down. :eek:

Disarming the door, as any frequent flyer realizes, requires a simple flip of the switch.

In any case, ^ to the first officer.

Personally as long as one pilot was on the plane, and it was shut off, whats the harm is speeding things up? As they say, if you want something done right, do it yourself. I guess if you want something done quickly, do it yourself too!

If you're six feet tall, and your arms are two feet long, that's a one foot drop.

Only if he dismounted in a 2.5 twist pike-position would I have been impressed.

I was heading out of San Diego on Alaska Airlines to SEA on Friday evening and was sitting in front of a vacant UA gate. It said a flight from IAD was due in soon. A plane arrived to a totally empty gate with no staff to be seen. After a couple minutes a guy with the flashlights came running over and made emphatic motions to the pilot that he needs to be at the next gate over to the right. The pilot had already turned to a point he couldnt go to the other gate without backing up which he couldnt do. He tried to cut it over to the right but it was futile. So he just sat... the ground crew guy came back and again waved the pilot to move over... I couldnt see the pilot but imagined him yelling through the window "I cant just move the plane over! What is wrong with THIS gate?". After a couple minutes the ground crew gave in and let the plane into that gate, conceding they could use it.

The reader board then changed to say "Arriving from ORD...", so it must have been the inbound from ORD. They unloaded it and once all was quiet, the ground crew came out to taxi the plane over to the gate it was supposed to be at which was time consuming and took 3-4 guys.

I wonder who was at fault here... I dont know if the pilot was given the wrong gate or he just messed up or the ground ops were out of whack... in any case , it cost time and money...

Lee

I understand that. Still, it takes some finesse to lower yourself from a nine foot ledge dressed in a pilot's uniform. I've seen some pilots who couldn't have done that without ripping something.

Most six footers actually have arms closer to three feet long rather than two feet and that are attached a foot or so from the top of the head - but your net is sound. Shouldn't be more than a foot or so down to the pavement once he lets go. :)