Narrative:

On jul/sun/93 for the departure of air carrier flight, my first officer placed me in a position requiring me to exercise my 'command authority' to proceed with the flight. She also apparently created a falsified load manifest that would show that the flight was not legal concerning fuel. The first officer refused to fly the aircraft while issuing orders to add to the fuel load at the gate and immediately before departure. I overrode her objections because they were emotionally based and operationally unfounded. The flight departed legally in all respects, specifically regarding fuel on board relative to WX and alternate requirements. The falsification of a load manifest to attempt to create the illusion of illegality must carry its own penalties. The acceptance and conduct of flight while knowingly operating with less than required fuel on board also must carry its own penalties. If this crew member did not knowingly permit these events to occur and was unaware of the actual status of the flight, then a review of the first officer's preflight skills would be in order. Concerning this incident with first officer, she argued and created a disruption in a critical phase of flight but did accept the operation as she had it manifested. It would appear to me that her convictions regarding the safety issues raised before flight were not firm enough to risk assuming command of this flight and steps were not taken to prevent what she presented as a 'safety of flight' issue from occurring. The first officer selected pit (return to origin) as an alternate (which is a low priority alternate for trips to cak), she created the illusion of illegality concerning required fuel for the trip. She added to this illusion by showing fuel weight to be lower than actual fuel on board. She also showed required fuel to be higher than actual fuel on board. The first officer in question was fired the following day for refusing to fly and has taken the issue to the FAA. I have been advised that they will be conducting an investigation and I am awaiting a registered letter to that effect. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporting captain states that he has been terminated after 9 yrs with the company. A hearing was held with the company which was scheduled in such a way that the reporter's union representatives could not attend. The reporter's union is fighting the dismissal and wants full back pay for the reporter. The first officer was initially terminated, but has since been reinstated. The union would like to see her get some retraining on weight and balance preparation, and would like the company to simplify its weight and balance procedures. The captain admits that he let things get a little out of hand, but blames the incident on the first officer's rigid attitude and other personality problems. The captain believes that the first officer was reinstated because of friends in high places with the parent airline. Supplemental information from acn 245984: leg #4 jul/sun/93. Light transport flight Y departing pit en route to cak. Scheduled departure time XF30 EST. At XF15 EST, I noticed that our aircraft was not fueled. We intended to bring the fuel up to 2600 pound. I said 'we weren't fueled.' captain immediately responded 'we have enough.' I then asked captain what the WX conditions were like in cak. He said that it was 'good,' but he did not have a copy of the actual WX or the forecast for cak wit him. At that point, I determined that I should go inside the gate area and pull up the current and forecast WX conditions for pit and choose an appropriate alternate if necessary. As I was walking down the aircraft stairs, I heard the captain yell out a remark and later found out what the remark was all about through our flight attendant who was seated in 2D. He labeled me as a 'F-----G bitch...as a crew member I'm worthless.' if you need more details about what happened while I was off the airplane, please call flight attendant. While walking towards the building, captain elected to start the right engine. I came back on board with WX in hand and said that I would like to put on some fuel. The fuel trucks were parked within 50 ft of or aircraft. By this point, or first passenger was coming up the stairs. We taxiedoff the gate with 1400 pound of fuel registered on our left and right fuel gauges combined. We knew when we landed in pit at XE30 EST that ZOB radar was down and to expect delays outbound. We left gate en route to cak at XF35 EST. Pit ramp control cleared us to taxi on 'Y' north to hold short of 'a.' when we reached 'a,' I looked to the right and saw massive aircraft beacons flashing in the distance, all lined up to use pit's 28R. After making it down taxiway 'a' to 'V,' I thought to myself 'we are going to be here a while.' at that point, I said to captain that I wanted to return to the gate and get fuel. It appeared that we were about #30 from takeoff. As we continued to advance and more fuel was being burned, I again stated that I wanted to go back to the gate to either get fuel or let me off. Captain raised his voice and said, 'we have sufficient fuel to go to akron...we're going with it...do you want to lose your job over this.' I then said that I didn't care if I lost my job over this and I want to go back to the gate...I'm calling company to see if the fuelers are still on the commuter ramp.' while I was company frequency waiting for them to call the fuelers and get back to me, captain took the call from pit tower to taxi into position and hold 28R. I could not, and cannot, believe that he took position on the active runway for the intention of flight when I was still talking to the company and further voicing my opinion as a required flight crew member that I thought we did not have enough fuel for flight Y on jul/sun/93. He took off without concern. I did not want to go and I am appalled at captain actions as PIC. Cak ATIS information stated: measured ceiling 3000 ft broken, 8000 ft overcast 5 mi visibility with light rain showers and fog. Temperature of 70, dewpoint 67, winds 250 degrees at 17 gusting to 22 KTS. Altimeter 29.93. ILS 23 in use. Thunderstorm ended. Convective SIGMET 1E and 5E for thunderstorms in the vicinity. The forecast WX for cak was for IFR conditions and an alternate was required for flight, which was listed on the weight and balance form as pit. By the timewe took off, our fuel total was 1200 pound. A flight from pit to cak normally takes anywhere from 18-28 mins depending on traffic, WX, and the cak controller's workload. We had roughly 1.2 hours of fuel at normal cruise when we departed pit. To fly to cak equals 25 mins, fly back to our alternate pit and shoot an instrument approach equals 30 mins plus 45 mins IFR reserve equals 1 hour 40 mins of fuel required. We had roughly 1 hour 12 mins. This is an far violation. Do you see why I wanted to return to the gate! I was a hostage onboard flight Y on jul/sun/93. I did not want to go with what fuel we had. At XQ51 am EST, my immediate supervisor phoned me at home to ask why I called in sick. I simply stated that I was mentally unable to fly with captain X this morning when nothing has been resolved. He then fired me from my first officer position. I have gone to my supervisor in the past with safety related problems I have had with captain. I went to him again last night as soon as we landed in cak and his response last night, jul/sun/93, was that you 'made it there safely didn't you.' well, in my book that is not good enough. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporting first officer says that she was terminated and reinstated all within 20 mins! Her boss is known to shoot first and ask questions later. The captain on this trip is known to have many personal problems, i.e., his wife left him with the kids in the last yr, etc. He has had problems with other pilots in the company and the chief pilots. The rochester FSDO suggested to her that she file an ASRS report. She has had no letter of investigation from the FAA. She believes that the unionization of the pilots will cause problems in the future.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A FIGHT OVER FUEL LOADING AND REQUIREMENTS ON AN ACR LTT RESULTED IN BOTH CREWMEN BEING FIRED. THE FO WAS REHIRED.

Narrative: ON JUL/SUN/93 FOR THE DEP OF ACR FLT, MY FO PLACED ME IN A POS REQUIRING ME TO EXERCISE MY 'COMMAND AUTHORITY' TO PROCEED WITH THE FLT. SHE ALSO APPARENTLY CREATED A FALSIFIED LOAD MANIFEST THAT WOULD SHOW THAT THE FLT WAS NOT LEGAL CONCERNING FUEL. THE FO REFUSED TO FLY THE ACFT WHILE ISSUING ORDERS TO ADD TO THE FUEL LOAD AT THE GATE AND IMMEDIATELY BEFORE DEP. I OVERRODE HER OBJECTIONS BECAUSE THEY WERE EMOTIONALLY BASED AND OPERATIONALLY UNFOUNDED. THE FLT DEPARTED LEGALLY IN ALL RESPECTS, SPECIFICALLY REGARDING FUEL ON BOARD RELATIVE TO WX AND ALTERNATE REQUIREMENTS. THE FALSIFICATION OF A LOAD MANIFEST TO ATTEMPT TO CREATE THE ILLUSION OF ILLEGALITY MUST CARRY ITS OWN PENALTIES. THE ACCEPTANCE AND CONDUCT OF FLT WHILE KNOWINGLY OPERATING WITH LESS THAN REQUIRED FUEL ON BOARD ALSO MUST CARRY ITS OWN PENALTIES. IF THIS CREW MEMBER DID NOT KNOWINGLY PERMIT THESE EVENTS TO OCCUR AND WAS UNAWARE OF THE ACTUAL STATUS OF THE FLT, THEN A REVIEW OF THE FO'S PREFLT SKILLS WOULD BE IN ORDER. CONCERNING THIS INCIDENT WITH FO, SHE ARGUED AND CREATED A DISRUPTION IN A CRITICAL PHASE OF FLT BUT DID ACCEPT THE OP AS SHE HAD IT MANIFESTED. IT WOULD APPEAR TO ME THAT HER CONVICTIONS REGARDING THE SAFETY ISSUES RAISED BEFORE FLT WERE NOT FIRM ENOUGH TO RISK ASSUMING COMMAND OF THIS FLT AND STEPS WERE NOT TAKEN TO PREVENT WHAT SHE PRESENTED AS A 'SAFETY OF FLT' ISSUE FROM OCCURRING. THE FO SELECTED PIT (RETURN TO ORIGIN) AS AN ALTERNATE (WHICH IS A LOW PRIORITY ALTERNATE FOR TRIPS TO CAK), SHE CREATED THE ILLUSION OF ILLEGALITY CONCERNING REQUIRED FUEL FOR THE TRIP. SHE ADDED TO THIS ILLUSION BY SHOWING FUEL WT TO BE LOWER THAN ACTUAL FUEL ON BOARD. SHE ALSO SHOWED REQUIRED FUEL TO BE HIGHER THAN ACTUAL FUEL ON BOARD. THE FO IN QUESTION WAS FIRED THE FOLLOWING DAY FOR REFUSING TO FLY AND HAS TAKEN THE ISSUE TO THE FAA. I HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT THEY WILL BE CONDUCTING AN INVESTIGATION AND I AM AWAITING A REGISTERED LETTER TO THAT EFFECT. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTING CAPT STATES THAT HE HAS BEEN TERMINATED AFTER 9 YRS WITH THE COMPANY. A HEARING WAS HELD WITH THE COMPANY WHICH WAS SCHEDULED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE RPTR'S UNION REPRESENTATIVES COULD NOT ATTEND. THE RPTR'S UNION IS FIGHTING THE DISMISSAL AND WANTS FULL BACK PAY FOR THE RPTR. THE FO WAS INITIALLY TERMINATED, BUT HAS SINCE BEEN REINSTATED. THE UNION WOULD LIKE TO SEE HER GET SOME RETRAINING ON WT AND BAL PREPARATION, AND WOULD LIKE THE COMPANY TO SIMPLIFY ITS WT AND BAL PROCS. THE CAPT ADMITS THAT HE LET THINGS GET A LITTLE OUT OF HAND, BUT BLAMES THE INCIDENT ON THE FO'S RIGID ATTITUDE AND OTHER PERSONALITY PROBS. THE CAPT BELIEVES THAT THE FO WAS REINSTATED BECAUSE OF FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES WITH THE PARENT AIRLINE. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 245984: LEG #4 JUL/SUN/93. LTT FLT Y DEPARTING PIT ENRTE TO CAK. SCHEDULED DEP TIME XF30 EST. AT XF15 EST, I NOTICED THAT OUR ACFT WAS NOT FUELED. WE INTENDED TO BRING THE FUEL UP TO 2600 LB. I SAID 'WE WEREN'T FUELED.' CAPT IMMEDIATELY RESPONDED 'WE HAVE ENOUGH.' I THEN ASKED CAPT WHAT THE WX CONDITIONS WERE LIKE IN CAK. HE SAID THAT IT WAS 'GOOD,' BUT HE DID NOT HAVE A COPY OF THE ACTUAL WX OR THE FORECAST FOR CAK WIT HIM. AT THAT POINT, I DETERMINED THAT I SHOULD GO INSIDE THE GATE AREA AND PULL UP THE CURRENT AND FORECAST WX CONDITIONS FOR PIT AND CHOOSE AN APPROPRIATE ALTERNATE IF NECESSARY. AS I WAS WALKING DOWN THE ACFT STAIRS, I HEARD THE CAPT YELL OUT A REMARK AND LATER FOUND OUT WHAT THE REMARK WAS ALL ABOUT THROUGH OUR FLT ATTENDANT WHO WAS SEATED IN 2D. HE LABELED ME AS A 'F-----G BITCH...AS A CREW MEMBER I'M WORTHLESS.' IF YOU NEED MORE DETAILS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED WHILE I WAS OFF THE AIRPLANE, PLEASE CALL FLT ATTENDANT. WHILE WALKING TOWARDS THE BUILDING, CAPT ELECTED TO START THE R ENG. I CAME BACK ON BOARD WITH WX IN HAND AND SAID THAT I WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON SOME FUEL. THE FUEL TRUCKS WERE PARKED WITHIN 50 FT OF OR ACFT. BY THIS POINT, OR FIRST PAX WAS COMING UP THE STAIRS. WE TAXIEDOFF THE GATE WITH 1400 LB OF FUEL REGISTERED ON OUR L AND R FUEL GAUGES COMBINED. WE KNEW WHEN WE LANDED IN PIT AT XE30 EST THAT ZOB RADAR WAS DOWN AND TO EXPECT DELAYS OUTBOUND. WE LEFT GATE ENRTE TO CAK AT XF35 EST. PIT RAMP CTL CLRED US TO TAXI ON 'Y' NORTH TO HOLD SHORT OF 'A.' WHEN WE REACHED 'A,' I LOOKED TO THE R AND SAW MASSIVE ACFT BEACONS FLASHING IN THE DISTANCE, ALL LINED UP TO USE PIT'S 28R. AFTER MAKING IT DOWN TXWY 'A' TO 'V,' I THOUGHT TO MYSELF 'WE ARE GOING TO BE HERE A WHILE.' AT THAT POINT, I SAID TO CAPT THAT I WANTED TO RETURN TO THE GATE AND GET FUEL. IT APPEARED THAT WE WERE ABOUT #30 FROM TKOF. AS WE CONTINUED TO ADVANCE AND MORE FUEL WAS BEING BURNED, I AGAIN STATED THAT I WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE GATE TO EITHER GET FUEL OR LET ME OFF. CAPT RAISED HIS VOICE AND SAID, 'WE HAVE SUFFICIENT FUEL TO GO TO AKRON...WE'RE GOING WITH IT...DO YOU WANT TO LOSE YOUR JOB OVER THIS.' I THEN SAID THAT I DIDN'T CARE IF I LOST MY JOB OVER THIS AND I WANT TO GO BACK TO THE GATE...I'M CALLING COMPANY TO SEE IF THE FUELERS ARE STILL ON THE COMMUTER RAMP.' WHILE I WAS COMPANY FREQ WAITING FOR THEM TO CALL THE FUELERS AND GET BACK TO ME, CAPT TOOK THE CALL FROM PIT TWR TO TAXI INTO POS AND HOLD 28R. I COULD NOT, AND CANNOT, BELIEVE THAT HE TOOK POS ON THE ACTIVE RWY FOR THE INTENTION OF FLT WHEN I WAS STILL TALKING TO THE COMPANY AND FURTHER VOICING MY OPINION AS A REQUIRED FLC MEMBER THAT I THOUGHT WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUEL FOR FLT Y ON JUL/SUN/93. HE TOOK OFF WITHOUT CONCERN. I DID NOT WANT TO GO AND I AM APPALLED AT CAPT ACTIONS AS PIC. CAK ATIS INFO STATED: MEASURED CEILING 3000 FT BROKEN, 8000 FT OVCST 5 MI VISIBILITY WITH LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS AND FOG. TEMP OF 70, DEWPOINT 67, WINDS 250 DEGS AT 17 GUSTING TO 22 KTS. ALTIMETER 29.93. ILS 23 IN USE. TSTM ENDED. CONVECTIVE SIGMET 1E AND 5E FOR TSTMS IN THE VICINITY. THE FORECAST WX FOR CAK WAS FOR IFR CONDITIONS AND AN ALTERNATE WAS REQUIRED FOR FLT, WHICH WAS LISTED ON THE WT AND BAL FORM AS PIT. BY THE TIMEWE TOOK OFF, OUR FUEL TOTAL WAS 1200 LB. A FLT FROM PIT TO CAK NORMALLY TAKES ANYWHERE FROM 18-28 MINS DEPENDING ON TFC, WX, AND THE CAK CTLR'S WORKLOAD. WE HAD ROUGHLY 1.2 HRS OF FUEL AT NORMAL CRUISE WHEN WE DEPARTED PIT. TO FLY TO CAK EQUALS 25 MINS, FLY BACK TO OUR ALTERNATE PIT AND SHOOT AN INST APCH EQUALS 30 MINS PLUS 45 MINS IFR RESERVE EQUALS 1 HR 40 MINS OF FUEL REQUIRED. WE HAD ROUGHLY 1 HR 12 MINS. THIS IS AN FAR VIOLATION. DO YOU SEE WHY I WANTED TO RETURN TO THE GATE! I WAS A HOSTAGE ONBOARD FLT Y ON JUL/SUN/93. I DID NOT WANT TO GO WITH WHAT FUEL WE HAD. AT XQ51 AM EST, MY IMMEDIATE SUPVR PHONED ME AT HOME TO ASK WHY I CALLED IN SICK. I SIMPLY STATED THAT I WAS MENTALLY UNABLE TO FLY WITH CAPT X THIS MORNING WHEN NOTHING HAS BEEN RESOLVED. HE THEN FIRED ME FROM MY FO POS. I HAVE GONE TO MY SUPVR IN THE PAST WITH SAFETY RELATED PROBS I HAVE HAD WITH CAPT. I WENT TO HIM AGAIN LAST NIGHT AS SOON AS WE LANDED IN CAK AND HIS RESPONSE LAST NIGHT, JUL/SUN/93, WAS THAT YOU 'MADE IT THERE SAFELY DIDN'T YOU.' WELL, IN MY BOOK THAT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTING FO SAYS THAT SHE WAS TERMINATED AND REINSTATED ALL WITHIN 20 MINS! HER BOSS IS KNOWN TO SHOOT FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER. THE CAPT ON THIS TRIP IS KNOWN TO HAVE MANY PERSONAL PROBS, I.E., HIS WIFE LEFT HIM WITH THE KIDS IN THE LAST YR, ETC. HE HAS HAD PROBS WITH OTHER PLTS IN THE COMPANY AND THE CHIEF PLTS. THE ROCHESTER FSDO SUGGESTED TO HER THAT SHE FILE AN ASRS RPT. SHE HAS HAD NO LETTER OF INVESTIGATION FROM THE FAA. SHE BELIEVES THAT THE UNIONIZATION OF THE PLTS WILL CAUSE PROBS IN THE FUTURE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.