The Importance of Professionalism in Aviation

1) After spending some time at a large passenger airline, I would like to fly for FedEx as a captain. FedEx pays well and is a great airline to fly for once your seniority grows a bit. It also is about as secure as a job comes in the airline industry, with no pilot layoffs in the company's 30 year history.

2) FedEx is a cargo airline based in Memphis Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation and it operates from numerous hubs around the world. FedEx is the world's largest cargo airline. The airline began to thrive in the late 1970s and early 80s with the coming of deregulation. The job that I would like to work up to at FedEx is a wide body captain. The airline flies mostly at night, and in your early years it will be almost impossible to see the light of day when working, but I have read that it is possible to get a majority of day flights and to be home almost every night once your seniority has grown.

3) When the question of safety concerns on this job is raised, the first thing that comes to mind is pilot fatigue. Will the extensive night operations create a hazardous situation on board the aircraft? Or will I simply be able to get used to being awake and alert when the human body is supposed to be resting? Pilot fatigue is much harder to combat in the cargo industry than in the passenger industry due to the night operations and often uncertain schedules. The new crew rest regulations are not mandatory to the cargo carriers and are probably not going to be adopted by most cargo carriers. Another safety concern I have is the decrease in safety during night operations in general. Without the sun to allow us to accurately perceive the landscape that we are flying over (and hopefully not into), flight becomes more dangerous. As a pilot I will be more susceptible to illusions and spacial disorientation. One FedEx accident (flight 1478) occurred when a 727 clipped the tree line on approach to Tallahassee, resulting in destruction of the aircraft. One of the contributing factors to the accident was pilot fatigue, and I am willing to say that a night time illusion also played a part. A final concern is what some of the cargo on board might contain. It would not be difficult for a terrorist to put some sort of an explosive in an envelope and ship it overnight aboard a FedEx aircraft.

The only way that I believe I can mitigate these fatigue issues is to be as well rested as possible. This means not getting distracted by things going on during the afternoon before a night of flying. I would need to have a dark, quiet room to sleep in and sort of assist my body in forgetting that it is day time. I am sure many cargo pilots do this or at least attempt to do this already. I think that early in my time with the airline when I am on standby, occasional naps throughout an on-call day would help to mitigate fatigue late at night. Another way to help decrease this risk is with lots of caffeine during a flight period. As far as night illusions go, the best any pilot can do is to be aware of them and continuously keep them in mind throughout a night flight.

4)

*1) To me, professionalism is acting in a mature, business-like manner, abiding by regulations and company procedures, creating a good line of communication of flight related information between flight crew members, and treating co-workers and customers respectfully. Professionalism also includes doing nothing that you believe may degrade safety.

*2) A lack of professionalism was demonstrated in "Flying Cheap" in numerous different ways. The documentary touched on the first officer's illness on the day of the crash. She had a cold, and her and the captain of flight 3407 were discussing it as we heard on the CVR. She was also quite fatigued, having commuted earlier that day from Seattle and rested on a chair in the crew lounge. Both flying in a state of fatigue and with a cold show that the first officer had little concern for the safety of the passengers. These two factors can hugely impare/change cognitive ability and motivation in the cockpit. This attitude begins with management, however. It was said in the documentary that management would strongly "suggest" that the pilot still execute the flight if the pilot were to call in sick or claim fatigue.

A second example of a lack of professionalism was seen in one first officer's story. His aircraft was overweight and his captain told him to alter the load manifest to indicate that fewer adults and more children were on board. When he refused to do so, the captain did it himself. After the first officer shared this information with the FAA and the captain's certificate was revoked, airline management went as far as to protest the case in court and defend the captain. The only professional person here was the first officer. As we can see, the corporate attitude sets the tone for the rest of the operations of the company. In this case, their only goal was to complete all flights and get paid, and a compromise of safety seemed almost welcomed if it meant getting the job done.

*3) The first way that I plan to maintain or even expand on my level of professionalism when flying for FedEx is to always keep my morals in mind. I believe that I have strong morals, and I would never want to do something unsafe to others or unethical. I would always need to remember the enormous responsibility that I would have as a captain of the aircraft. Even though there are no paying passengers on board, there are still people on the ground all over the world, and an accident is likely to hurt or kill somebody. Any unsafe actions also put millions of dollars in aircraft and cargo at risk. In addition to this, I would create an open and comfortable environment for communication in the cockpit. I want my first officer to feel comfortable giving suggestions that may lead to a better outcome. Two heads are better than one when in the proper environment. My desire would never be to intimidate a first officer or to be the sole mind in the thought process.