USAPA President's Message: September 12, 2011
For some time now, US Airways has been escalating the rhetoric of its theory that USAPA's safety concerns are nothing more than a negotiating tactic. USAPA's Safety initiatives are multi-faceted, balanced between managing day-to-day safety concerns and larger projects, such as the Safety Culture Survey, which was born from a deep concern that Management was pushing this group far too hard and creating a culture that is unquestionably unhealthy.
US Airways is rapidly degenerating into an organization intent on moving airplanes no matter what stands in their way, even if it's a well-trained flight crew exercising impeccable judgment. What happens when flight crews need responsible guidance from Flight Operations? The Chief Pilots Office is where that guidance and good judgment should come from. But in far too many instances, US Airways' Chief Pilots are behaving like a disciplinary arm of Management. They are apparently far too focused on the premium pay for their positions, rather than proper attention to safety or legality.
As a glaring example, US Airways was very recently found guilty through enforcement action by the FAA of operating without Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS) authority and service checks from Larnaca, Cyprus (LCLK) to Philadelphia on May 6, 7 & 8thof this year. Fuel contamination in Tel Aviv necessitated a fuel stop in Cyprus, prior to the westbound ETOPS Atlantic crossing. The first crew to face this situation was pressured by the PHL Chief Pilot to operate the flight under an interpretation of the rules that most favored economics; the norm here at the "new" US Airways. What is surprising and very disappointing, to say the least, is that the Philadelphia International Chief Pilot's Office issued the following statement to the crew:
"Per US Airways' FAR and maintenance experts, paragraph (3) (a) ETOPS Status Revalidation of chapter 55-03 of the MPP is interpreted by the FAA to permit a flight to depart an airport after being ETOPS certified by maintenance, and land at a refueling airport prior to the ETOPS portion of the scheduled flight. The flight is then authorized to depart the refueling airport using the procedures outlined in this paragraph as long as the situation is beyond the control of the carrier and an unexpected situation. FAA POI has been advised and has concurred with this statement. Signed; Yarko Stawnychy"
The last sentence is seriously problematic and here's why - it's a lie. Our POI never concurred with Stawnychy's statement - then or now. There is proof that US Airways knew of the necessity for the Larnaca fuel stop before the aircraft left PHL for TLV on May 6th and thereafter. At no time did the POI ever authorize these known fuel stops to take place absent an ETOPS check in Larnaca, therefore the violation. It is USAPA's opinion that an organization operating with this level of reckless abandon for the truth is unquestionably suffering at a safety culture deficit. What will it take for US Airways management to finally be introspective and admit that they are over-cooking the completion factor/on-time bonus scheme and thereby placing undue pressure on the Safety Culture at this airline?
The FAA has completed its investigation of this series of flights and is proceeding with enforcement action against our airline. This reality should bring each and every one of us a moment of pause. We should take stock of the fact that twelve crew members placed their trust in Chief Pilots and were let down and were exposed to potential certificate action. Management compromised the safety of our passengers and crew by knowingly flying without ETOPS service checks. The pilots were lied to by their supervisor and were placed in harm's way, and along with our passengers, were along for the ride. According to our research, every other airline found a way to conduct operations from Tel Aviv without violating ETOPS requirements; only US Airways pretended the fuel contamination was an "unexpected" situation for several days.
Aviation is a serious business. This reality seems hopelessly lost on Management whose inclination to politicize everything and litigate their way toward an endless delay at the negotiating table has overpowered their sense of responsibility to maintain a safe operation. Management appears to have the same response for every operational consideration brought to light by USAPA: Job Action. And their misguided and insulting opinion of your organization's role and the expertise of your Safety Committee is filtering down to the Chief Pilots who are now in the business of judging your taxi speed with third party data (of dubious accuracy) and second-guessing your need for crew oxygen quantities. Because of their documented unwillingness to engage the US Airways pilots on serious issues, we can only hope that a non-fatal event will awaken this management "team" to the reality that their continued disrespect for safety and myopic focus on money will eventually be paid for with blood.
In the face of this deplorable example as well as countless others, it should be clear that neither USAPA pilots, nor any US Airways employee has the luxury of trusting Management to make responsible decisions. We must remain ever vigilant and realize that when faced with unusual operational circumstances, we must side-step Management to acquire legitimate answers that won't put us, our passengers or the airline itself in harm's way. Should you have any doubts about the way US Airways wants you to operate an aircraft, we recommend you first obtain a hard copy of the guidance being offered by the Chief Pilot. Next, call the USAPA Safety Committee or call the FAA Certificate Management Office at 412-262-9034 to speak with Mark Mulkey, ext 272, Joe Zylwitis, ext. 247, Charlie Ruggiero, ext. 239 or Darrell Miller, ext. 284. You can also call the FAA Aviation Safety Hotline at 1 800 255 1111 to report suspected violations.
We have no estimate of the financial penalty that US Airways is now facing for operating these three flights without ETOPS authority. For now, the next time a Chief Pilot assures you he's checked with the FAA or offers you any other such assurance, I urge you to either call your USAPA Safety Committee, exercise your own judgment, or find other resources.
Sincerely,
Captain Mike Cleary
President
