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I'm confused why a pilot on a deadhead flight[0] was in the cockpit in the first place? The one (and perhaps only) significant safety change to air travel afte

I'm confused why a pilot on a deadhead flight[0] was in the cockpit in the first place? The one (and perhaps only) significant safety change to air travel after 9/11 was the decision to keep the cockpit doors locked (and unopenable except from the inside) and to forbid passengers inside the cockpit between takeoff and landing. [0] https://abcnews.go.com/US/alaska-airlines-flight-diverted-after-credible-security-threat/story?id=104223059 https://abcnews.go.com/US/alaska-airlines-flight-diverted-af...

bennyg 3y ago
From the article: "When the jump seat, a third seat in the cockpit, is occupied, it’s often filled by an off-duty pilot, but the seat can be used by other airline employees or federal safety inspectors." Maybe these rules will change a bit going forward.
- chung8123 3y ago
  This doesn't seem to be a safety issue you can plug by not allowing them in the cockpit off duty if you allow them in the cockpit on duty.
Johnny555 3y ago
Is it really a safety issue having another pilot from the same airline in the cockpit? Does allowing a third pilot in the cockpit increase the chance of having a mentally unstable pilot in the cockpit, or decrease? What if it was the on-duty copilot that tried to down the plane?
- t0mas88 3y ago
  It's done thousands of times every day. Not just the same airline, nearly all airlines are part of the CASS system, which authorizes this. There are multiple examples of an additional crew member (an "off duty" pilot on the jumpseat is a crew member by the rules) being helpful in an emergency situation.
francisofascii 3y ago
Maybe that is a good thing? What if one of the "on duty" pilots tried to crash the plane? Then the off duty pilot can step in. Better to have 2 sane adults against 1.
NegativeK 3y ago
There is no significant increase in risk by putting pilots, who are already controlling a plane when on duty, in a jump seat when they're off-duty.
- lxgr 3y ago
  There might even be a slight benefit to it, via the deadheading pilot being able to passively observe another crew at work, as well as being able to possibly support the crew in case they start making poor decisions. I've listened to a couple of flight incident investigations, and it doesn't seem to be uncommon for experienced deadheading pilots to offer helpful suggestions in case of trouble.
blantonl 3y ago
There is a sharing agreement in place between pretty much all air carriers that allows off duty airline pilots to ride on the jumpseat to commute to work, if there isn't space available in the cabin. It's quite common for instance for American Airlines pilots to ride on the jumpseat on say, Delta, to get to work. There's a whole host of unwritten rules and etiquette around the practice, but for all intents and purposes any airline pilot can ride on the jump seat of any airline to get to work.

bennyg 3y ago

From the article: "When the jump seat, a third seat in the cockpit, is occupied, it’s often filled by an off-duty pilot, but the seat can be used by other airline employees or federal safety inspectors." Maybe these rules will change a bit going forward.

chung8123 3y ago
This doesn't seem to be a safety issue you can plug by not allowing them in the cockpit off duty if you allow them in the cockpit on duty.

Johnny555 3y ago

Is it really a safety issue having another pilot from the same airline in the cockpit? Does allowing a third pilot in the cockpit increase the chance of having a mentally unstable pilot in the cockpit, or decrease? What if it was the on-duty copilot that tried to down the plane?

t0mas88 3y ago
It's done thousands of times every day. Not just the same airline, nearly all airlines are part of the CASS system, which authorizes this. There are multiple examples of an additional crew member (an "off duty" pilot on the jumpseat is a crew member by the rules) being helpful in an emergency situation.

francisofascii 3y ago

Maybe that is a good thing? What if one of the "on duty" pilots tried to crash the plane? Then the off duty pilot can step in. Better to have 2 sane adults against 1.

NegativeK 3y ago

There is no significant increase in risk by putting pilots, who are already controlling a plane when on duty, in a jump seat when they're off-duty.

lxgr 3y ago
There might even be a slight benefit to it, via the deadheading pilot being able to passively observe another crew at work, as well as being able to possibly support the crew in case they start making poor decisions. I've listened to a couple of flight incident investigations, and it doesn't seem to be uncommon for experienced deadheading pilots to offer helpful suggestions in case of trouble.

blantonl 3y ago

There is a sharing agreement in place between pretty much all air carriers that allows off duty airline pilots to ride on the jumpseat to commute to work, if there isn't space available in the cabin. It's quite common for instance for American Airlines pilots to ride on the jumpseat on say, Delta, to get to work. There's a whole host of unwritten rules and etiquette around the practice, but for all intents and purposes any airline pilot can ride on the jump seat of any airline to get to work.