The Air Line Pilots Association says Airbus is proposing adding a toilet to the flight deck of its aircraft to eliminate the need for relief pilots and pave the way for single pilot operations or Extended Minimum Crew Operations (eMCO). According to paddleyourowncanoe.com, the planemaker wants to put the open potty behind the captain's seat and perhaps install a radio console beside it so the otherwise indisposed can stay in contact with the outside world. As might be expected, pilot unions are dumping all over the plan. "Think about that for a moment; that's no-pilot ops," the publication quoted an unnamed ALPA source as saying regarding the issue at a recent meeting of its board of directors.
Consider 9/11. A few terrorists with easily concealed boxcutters destroyed the lives of thousands of humans and directly affected the families of hundreds of thousands. The aftermath has affected everyone on this planet that travels. It is irresponsible of Airbus or any other transportation related business to remove half the security and safeguards to save a few shekels for an investor. A sad day that we have come to contemplate this proposal. Emphatically no to single pilot ops for airlines. Lest we forget…
Airbus posed this a few years ago, but for freighters. But we can be sure that they would want to extend it to two pilot operations and make them single pilot.
Safety is the issue. All pilots make occasional mistakes and the second pilot is there to catch it. Equipment failures occur and it takes two to sort it out …
I started jet flying in a Citation 500 single pilot and I was buzzed with the speed - but it really takes two because things happen very fast.
I think pilots are just mad there would be fewer jobs. The planes can essentially fly themselves today, the pilot is largely a “minder”. It’s not “security” to have a cockpit full of pilots; how many plane crashes have been caused by that elite group? Most of 'em.
Mr. Phillips, I disagree.
Crew workload is pretty light at cruise altitude with the autopilot humming away.
But when something goes wrong, the workload gets furious, and it can get that way in the blink of an eye.
Approach to minimums at a busy airport, hard IFR at night, they switch runways on you. . . that’s not even something going wrong, but that’s when the cockpit needs more than one pilot.
It’s good that people are trying to think the whole notion through, the discussion will be messy.
I can think of better ways to implement the notion. And I’d want stretch breaks - sitting for 9 hours is not good for health.
(Jokes will abound - and what is that hole and human hand where the right seat usually is? Oh, on second look it seems to be a loop of something blue and a pair of leggings and lap blanket or skirt not in flying position. I hope Russ didn’t pay a lot for that photo.)
I just has another thought: Why not build the potty into the pilot’s seat, so he or she never has to leave their station? Add a bidet, add “drop trow” to the pre-start checklist, and we’re ready to go.
This brings the demise of Elvis Presley to mind. Which also makes me wonder if single pilot operations will require constant eye scanning to access if the pilot is awake, attentive, and alive? (Whether they are seated on the flight deck or the poop deck). It also brings a new level of privacy concerns over the NTSB’s proposed Cockpit Image Recorders.