Former Delta co-pilot indicted for threatening to shoot captain during commercial flight, officials say

[pilottravis]

Interesting use of the FFDO program. Isn't the CA supposed to be the one killing the FO..

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former...ent-threaten-shoot-captain-commercial-flight/

 

[Astro14]

 

[y_p_w]

Wondering why it took this long to indict. The alleged incident happened in August 2022.

 

[JavierH19]

Wow, so the presumed defender against a hijacking is likely to be the hijacker by using the gun to tell the captain what to and not to do.

Dunn then allegedly "told the captain they would be shot multiple times" if the flight was diverted, the inspector general said. Dunn was authorized to carry a gun as part of the Transportation Safety Administration's Federal Flight Deck Officer program, the inspector general said. Federal flight deck officers are airline pilots authorized by the TSA to be armed in the cockpit on domestic flights. They undergo special training to do so and are provided with a TSA-issued weapon to defend the flight deck against an attempted hijacking

 

[Astro14]

Wow, so the presumed defender against a hijacking is likely to be the hijacker by using the gun to tell the captain what to and not to do.

Dunn then allegedly "told the captain they would be shot multiple times" if the flight was diverted, the inspector general said. Dunn was authorized to carry a gun as part of the Transportation Safety Administration's Federal Flight Deck Officer program, the inspector general said. Federal flight deck officers are airline pilots authorized by the TSA to be armed in the cockpit on domestic flights. They undergo special training to do so and are provided with a TSA-issued weapon to defend the flight deck against an attempted hijacking

We still don’t have all the facts. But that appears to be what happened - threaten use of the firearm to influence a decision to divert.

Since the divert appeared to be for a medical problem - how could anyone argue against that decision?

I’ve had to divert. Medical emergency. Heart stopped.

We are talking about saving a person’s life. Is there anyone who thinks their agenda is more important than that?

Wait…I don’t think I want to know.

 

[JavierH19]

We still don’t have all the facts. But that appears to be what happened - threaten use of the firearm to influence a decision to divert.

Since the divert appeared to be for a medical problem - how could anyone argue against that decision?

I’ve had to divert. Medical emergency. Heart stopped.

We are talking about saving a person’s life. Is there anyone who thinks their agenda is more important than that?

Wait…I don’t think I want to know.

Yeah it's insane, no reason to ever make such a heinous threat, and frankly I'd at least consider that as conspiracy to hijacks, not disruption. They had to have listened to the conversation recorder i know planes have but they likely won't say everything until they've typed their long report out.

 

[Astro14]

Yeah it's insane, no reason to ever make such a heinous threat, and frankly I'd at least consider that as conspiracy to hijacks, not disruption. They had to have listened to the conversation recorder i know planes have but they likely won't say everything until they've typed their long report out.

The CVR generally has a two hour run time, continuing loop recording.

So, it is, unfortunately, possible that this conversation was lost/recorded over if the subsequent part of the flight lasted longer than two more hours.

 

[JavierH19]

The CVR generally has a two hour run time, continuing loop recording.

So, it is, unfortunately, possible that this conversation was lost/recorded over if the subsequent part of the flight lasted longer than two more hours.

That's how little space the onboard audio recorder has? I thought they could record days worth of audio by now since i know tape is obsolete. 2 hours of audio probably takes up a fraction of a gig or less.

 

[Astro14]

That's how little space the onboard audio recorder has? I thought they could record days worth of audio by now since i know tape is obsolete. 2 hours of audio probably takes up a fraction of a gig or less.

CVR was mandated several decades ago. State of the art back then was very different. There was no solid state memory for audio. It was a tape. It used to be just 30 minutes. Further, if the jet crashes, even the previous thirty minutes is plenty of data to analyze the cause, which was the reason for a CVR. It was never designed to analyze or investigate interpersonal conflict.

 

[y_p_w]

That's how little space the onboard audio recorder has? I thought they could record days worth of audio by now since i know tape is obsolete. 2 hours of audio probably takes up a fraction of a gig or less.

There's been talk about 25 hours for quite some time. As someone in the electronics industry, I was wondering why it's taken this long, other than some pilots expressing concerns about having their chatter recorded that long. This report and recommendation is from 2018.

https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/ASR1804.pdf

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is providing the following information to urge the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take action on the safety recommendations issued in this report. These recommendations address the need to install cockpit voice recorders (CVR) with a minimum 25-hour recording capability on all newly manufactured airplanes required to have a CVR and retrofit these CVRs on existing aircraft required to have flight recorders. These recommendations are derived from the NTSB’s experiences with investigations that lacked access to relevant CVR data. Information supporting these recommendations is discussed below.​

Enterprise level single-level cell flash memory that can do over 100,000 erase cycles wouldn't be terribly expensive. Even something like 20 GB could record enough uncompressed 44 Khz audio for a day.

 

[y_p_w]

CVR was mandated several decades ago. State of the art back then was very different. There was no solid state memory for audio. It was a tape. It used to be just 30 minutes. Further, if the jet crashes, even the previous thirty minutes is plenty of data to analyze the cause, which was the reason for a CVR. It was never designed to analyze or investigate interpersonal conflict.

Yeah - but in this case it sounds more like the interpersonal conflict became an investigation of a crime. However, it doesn't sound like the recorder was necessarily meant to be stored as evidence of a crime.

 

[twouvakind]

But alas, the NTSB can only recommend.

 

[y_p_w]

But alas, the NTSB can only recommend.

The FAA is working on the rule making. It's been a requirement for new aircraft delivered to European countries. They expect the rule to be in effect in 2024.

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/documents/media/Amended_ARC-Charter_Investigative-Technologies_Signed-09212023.pdf

25 Hour Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) requirement, New Aircraft Production

Popular Title: None
RIN 2120-AL92
Stage: NPRM

Abstract: This rulemaking effort will increase the recording time of the Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVRs) from a mandated 2 hour recording time to a proposed 25 hour recording time for all future manufactured aircraft. This action is responsive to NTSB Safety Recommendation 18-030, which recommended the installation of CVRs with a minimum 25-hour recording capability on all newly manufactured airplanes required to have a CVR. This rulemaking effort will ensure harmonization with existing international requirements such as, ICAO, EASA, and other civil aviation authorities (CAAs).The intended effect of this action is to provide accident investigators, operators, and CAAs with substantially more CVR data to prevent future incidents and accidents.

Dates for NPRM:

Action Publication Date(s) FR Cite
NPRM 06/28/2024

 

[wpod]

Airline piloting is a high pressure occupation. I doubt I could stand the pressure.