Straighten up and fly right

My experience with pilots (which is considerable given that I spent four years on an aircraft carrier and 15 years working at commercial airports) is that they are a cocky, self-assured bunch. But even I was appalled at the gall displayed last week by Northwest Airlines Captain Timothy Cheney and First Officer Richard Cole, who have appealed their suspensions by the Federal Aviation Administration.

On Oct. 21, the two experienced pilots flew an A-320 with 149 people aboard nearly 150 miles past their destination, Minneapolis-St. Paul International, one of the biggest and busiest airports in the United States. The aircraft was out of communication with air traffic controllers for more than 90 minutes. The pilots told National Transportation Safety Board investigators they lost track of time and position because they were working on their personal computers.

Whether that's true or not, the FAA rightly judged the mistake so egregious that the agency grounded the pilots by yanking their licenses to fly.

The NTSB usually grants administrative hearings for appeals within a few months. If Cheney and Cole win, I'll find an airline other than Northwest and its parent Delta for my next trip. More important, the Cheney/Cole case is yet another troubling sign that the level of professionalism in the cockpit is eroding.

Professionalism, not heroism, is what saved 155 souls on Jan. 15 when U.S. Airways pilot Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger landed a crippled Charlotte-bound A-320 in the Hudson River. In numerous appearances and in his book, Sullenberger has repeatedly pointed out he and his crew were simply doing what they were trained (and paid) to do.

He's not being modest. The execution of their training was so professional that Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles were able to save lives on the very first day they ever worked together.

Every passenger - including those on the Cheney/Cole flight - has every right to expect the same level of professionalism from their crew as the "Miracle on the Hudson" passengers received from theirs.

If there's a silver lining to the wayward Northwest pilots' debacle, it's the call for increased professionalism from an unlikely source - FAA head honcho Randy Babbitt, once an outspoken defender of pilots. Back in the day, Babbitt was the feisty head of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). Babbitt could be counted on to equate smaller raises and more productivity with unsafe skies. Nearly all airline union heads use this ploy, but no one argued it better than Babbitt, a former Eastern pilot himself.

Imagine my surprise last week when Babbitt attacked the professionalism of a fellow pilot. In a speech to the International Aviation Club, Babbitt unleashed a scathing critique of the Northwest pair.

"As a pilot, it doesn't matter much whether they were using their laptops, or re-enacting the Lincoln-Douglas debates - what they did was wrong and they lost total situational awareness and that's why their Airman's Certificates have been revoked. There is no substitute for situational awareness. They knew a lot better and they were trained a lot better. And they ignored it."

Indications are that Babbitt will continue to be a bulldog. This is important because momentum is building for Congress and the FAA to review pilot work rules, training and experience. One of the best analyses of the declining levels of airline pilot training and experience was issued last month by ALPA. It's a sober assessment and is void of vitriol aimed at management that usually populates union white papers. ALPA's recommendations, particularly those that address mentoring, evaluation and falling levels of flight experience, deserve serious attention.

Still, recommendations and rules only go so far. They mean nothing to pilots who would rather spend time on a laptop instead of on a flight checklist. That's why Babbitt's relentless call for professionalism is so important to you and me. Despite the impressive technological advances in commercial aviation, the most important safety feature on any aircraft remains a pilot professional enough to pay attention.

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