AV1ATRX
That is all.
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2001
- Posts
- 262
I was recently fired from a charter job for refusing to fly in bad weather. Has anybody else had this happen to them? It hasn't been quiet, either, so all the other companies in the area know what happened. The folks who know the details know it wasn't my fault, but prospective employers don't know that until I get a chance to interview, and so far I haven't had any luck landing any interviews. I'm fairly low time (136 hours of multi time, 1700 total), and I know there aren't many jobs out there. I've got one student and am looking for others. Should I forget a charter job now? I have never known anybody that this happened to, so I don't know how bad it is, or if it's even bad at all.
I felt really bad about how it happened at first, but now I'm proud of myself. I have always let people push me around before, so I did trips that weren't legal or were unsafe in other respects, but then I realized that I wasn't acting as PIC when I let them do that to me. So I stopped letting them push me to fly when I was overloaded (that happened ALL THE TIME) or in icing conditions (they don't own any airplanes that are legally certified for flight in known icing conditions). Also, to head off the unsults, I am not afraid of a tough flight - the greatest thrill in an airplane for me is an approach to minimums, day or night.
That said, did I screw up? Should I forget ever flying charter or 121? I just can't help but put my passengers (and my own) safety first, regardless of how much the trip would have made. And no matter how many hours I accumulate, I refuse to compromise the FAR's (except in an emergency, of course), so that a company can make money. I realize that making money for the company is the reason I get a paycheck, so don't flame me with that. I'm just saying, I won't compromise safety or FAR's to make money. I know there are ways to still make a flight in some cases, and I'm all for that, but I won't "bend" the rules. For instance, if an airplane is legally unairworthy, maybe not unsafe, but legally unairworthy nonetheless, I am going to write it up and get another plane.
So, what do you think? Is my career over? Should I go work for the FAA since I seem to be such a stickler for regs? (I don't want to do that - I love to actually fly every day.) I have made myself sound anal, but I'm not. I loved flying charter, and I didn't want to have to cancel trips or delay them, but sometimes I had to. Thanks for reading, and if anybody answers, go easy on me. I'm still new compared to all you high-timers, and I really just want to grow into a great captain someday. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!
I felt really bad about how it happened at first, but now I'm proud of myself. I have always let people push me around before, so I did trips that weren't legal or were unsafe in other respects, but then I realized that I wasn't acting as PIC when I let them do that to me. So I stopped letting them push me to fly when I was overloaded (that happened ALL THE TIME) or in icing conditions (they don't own any airplanes that are legally certified for flight in known icing conditions). Also, to head off the unsults, I am not afraid of a tough flight - the greatest thrill in an airplane for me is an approach to minimums, day or night.
That said, did I screw up? Should I forget ever flying charter or 121? I just can't help but put my passengers (and my own) safety first, regardless of how much the trip would have made. And no matter how many hours I accumulate, I refuse to compromise the FAR's (except in an emergency, of course), so that a company can make money. I realize that making money for the company is the reason I get a paycheck, so don't flame me with that. I'm just saying, I won't compromise safety or FAR's to make money. I know there are ways to still make a flight in some cases, and I'm all for that, but I won't "bend" the rules. For instance, if an airplane is legally unairworthy, maybe not unsafe, but legally unairworthy nonetheless, I am going to write it up and get another plane.
So, what do you think? Is my career over? Should I go work for the FAA since I seem to be such a stickler for regs? (I don't want to do that - I love to actually fly every day.) I have made myself sound anal, but I'm not. I loved flying charter, and I didn't want to have to cancel trips or delay them, but sometimes I had to. Thanks for reading, and if anybody answers, go easy on me. I'm still new compared to all you high-timers, and I really just want to grow into a great captain someday. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!