He or she has the final word on whether or not a passenger situation requires a flight diversion for safety reasons. While the laws governing jurisdiction can get complicated, the captain’s authority is upheld by multiple international agreements, like the Tokyo Convention of 1963 and the Montreal Convention of 1999. Once the aircraft doors close, the captain is responsible for all personnel issues that may arise, and is legally the primary authority. Across remote areas of air space such as the Atlantic, Anderson says, there is a common air-to-air frequency that they listen on: These radio conversations offer anecdotal details about the severity and duration of any issues-and sometimes, even baseball scores received from dispatchers on the ground. One pilot is responsible for talking to air traffic control if they need to change course to avoid a thunderstorm the other is manning the air-to-air communication between airplanes on their same flight path. There are multiple radio systems for airplane pilots. But pilots also rely on other pilots, flying aircraft ahead of them on their same route, for reports of clear air turbulence, which cannot be picked up by any radar, or other unexpected problems. This, along with weather reports from air traffic control, means turbulence is often anticipated. Most of the major airlines, too, have installed advanced weather mapping technology that gives details well beyond a red blob on a screen. We give thunderstorms a wide berth, and that requires traffic clearance.” Going as fast as we are, you come upon these weather systems very, very quickly. “Weather is a huge problem for us on the long flights,” says Anderson, noting that on a single flight, a plane often passes through three or four weather systems, varying in type, intensity, and level of difficulty.
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