Pilot whose gun went off will be fired

[AP Tech]

Sorry folks, but give the man a second chance!!! Should they take away his permit to carry while at work, absolutely!!! But fire him, NO WAY!!!!!!

Parker still working after his DUI? How about the IT team who assured all there would be little problem with the Res Cutover? How about the person who forgets to ship a part resulting in 12hrs of additional a/c downtime? How about the mechanic who makes an error?

The FFDO program is not mandatory company program, sure he screwed up, but so have many others at this company, Hell if he was upper management and this happened they would make him a VP!!!!

 

[jimntx]

You are misunderstanding the term "put his weapon away" That does not mean he was playing with his weapon, or showing off what a big gun he had.
It is misunderstanding just like this that lead to your next thought.

What I am understanding is that the company stated several times that they would have no comment pending the outcome of their investigation. They are now stating that they are moving to terminate the employee. There is a strong suggestion in that statement that they have enough evidence to make a run at proving that he was violating stated/written policy. As I stated in response to another poster, when it comes to us represented employees most of our companies don't even bother starting a termination proceeding unless they have a reasonable expectation of winning.

You trust these guys with your life all day everyday and yet you make the statement about how these are the last people you would trust with a gun.

This is an argument of the "you don't like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; so you must not like BLTs" school of illogic. Of course, I trust them to fly the a/c. I trust the mechanics to repair them. That doesn't mean I have to trust either group's cooking (or ability to handle a gun. Just so you don't respond with "I didn't say nuthin about cooking.")

I am not bashing you in any way, I just have to point out that you are flat out mistaken in your idea of what went on with that discharge.

How do you know that I am mistaken about what went on? Were you in the cockpit at the time? Were you intimately involved in the company's investigation? This whole thread is pure speculation and opinion anyway. As I said, the company is moving to terminate the employee--which I agree is too harsh. There must be something there that isn't kosher.

 

[jimntx]

deleted by me. System must be under stress this morning. It doubled posted when I went back to edit the original for a spelling error.

 

[N965VJ]

So only the police and highly trained professional government agents should be allowed to carry?

 

[TRAVIS]

What if this pilot made an operational error (having nothing to do with the gun) commanding the plane that resulted in aircraft damage and threatened the safety of other passengers. Suppose he made a gear up landing because he "accidentally" thought the gear was down. The plane comes in for a belly landing and comes to a screeching halt with bent metal and sparks flying. Yet, in the end everyone walked away safe and all that was lost was an aircraft for a month or two while it could get its belly skin, engines and other associated hardware replaced.

Would he still have a job?

See, in my mind, the accidental discharge of the weapon isn't much different. If it happened at altitude, the results could have been catastrophic. If it was pointed a little more to the left or right, the other pilot might be dead.

I'm sorry, but he's got to go.

How about this, Let them have a shoulder holster and cocked and loaded and tell the TSA we don"t need your bull #### Job's for the TSA any more

 

[jimntx]

The need (or lack thereof) for the TSA is a whole 'nother thread.

 

[TRAVIS]

The need (or lack thereof) for the TSA is a whole 'nother thread.

TSA BS

 

[TRAVIS]

I Think we need it at us aviation.com .A spot for TSA and get there views.(MODS what do you think).

 

[sharktooth]

There must be something there that isn't kosher.

One, you are dealing with US for which arbitrary employee punishment seems to lead to promotion. Lawyers have quite US because the company demanded they participate in unethical behavior. One poster asked if the individual was a "good guy". One symptom of a (very) sick corporate culture is when employees conflate whether a specific incident is intertwined with whether he is a "good guy" or not - see most any Dilbert cartoon.

Two, FFDOA made the original "firing" announcement and tasked themselves with a resolution.

Three, there may have been issues subsequent to the incident about which the company is concerned (timely notification, among other issues, come to mind) which may or may not be a USAPA/ALPA issue
.
Four, there have been other "incidents" that have occurred for which no one was fired but did lose their carry "privileges" (calling individual FAs to the cockpit and "practicing" a quick draw on them as they enter, having FAs hold a weapon while the pilot goes to the bathroom, leaving weapons in hotel room/van/cockpit and various and sundry "misfires", supposedly off company property).

 

[Edward]

I Think we need it at us aviation.com .A spot for TSA and get there views.(MODS what do you think).

I agree & will pass this along to the proper person for consideration. Now lets get this one back on topic. Thank you.

 

[ClueByFour]

Seems a real waste to dismantle the ONLY system available that can prevent "bad guys" from taking over the cockpit because of an ACCIDENT, not to mention RUIN someone's life over it. He obviously had enough training and common sense to have it pointed in a relatively safe direction when it went off.

The more effective system to ensure that the bad guys won't get near the cockpit are the 100s of people in the back who will beat the bad guys to a pulp before they get the armored door open (Assuming any present FAMs don't get them first). The FFDO is the last line of defense.

 

[ClueByFour]

So only the police and highly trained professional government agents should be allowed to carry?

In a pressurized tube that's 10 or 20 feet across with several hundred people in close proximity? On the sterile side of an airport?

Answer: Absofrickinglutely.

Anywhere else? No.

 

[BeenThereDoneThat]

He didnt injure anyone.

So IYO, someone should have been shot?
Isn't that special?

 

[700UW]

Didnt say that, dont put words into my post.

All I said was no one was injured, refuting what another posted typed.

 

[fr8tmastr]

How do you know that I am mistaken about what went on? Were you in the cockpit at the time? Were you intimately involved in the company's investigation? This whole thread is pure speculation and opinion anyway. As I said, the company is moving to terminate the employee--which I agree is too harsh. There must be something there that isn't kosher.

No I wasnt there, watch the video on Utube and you will see how this happened. Some people also get updates from sources other than the company. This guy was not playing with his gun.