Jumpseat: The Easy Part — Flying the Airplane

Les Abend

Friday, June 03, 2011 at 07:34 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The captain's pre-flight duties were unexpectedly complex, beginning with his own late preparation and a series of administrative tasks before even reaching the aircraft.
Upon arrival, the crew encountered diverse operational hurdles, including a sensitive passenger dispute over a service dog, multiple maintenance discrepancies (MELs), and the discovery of unexpected ice inside the engine nacelles.
Despite these challenges, effective teamwork, delegation, and proactive problem-solving by the co-pilots (Tom and Rocco) were crucial in resolving issues like weather concerns, MEL verification, and ice removal.
The article concludes by emphasizing that the actual flying of the aircraft was the easiest part of the trip, underscoring the demanding and multifaceted nature of pre-flight ground operations and crew coordination.

See a mistake? Contact us.

(May 2011) I HAD COMMUTED INTO JFK from my home in Florida with plenty of time to spare before my late evening trip to São Paulo. As I opened the door to Operations and walked past the revision room, Rocco Zavaglia was engaged in the mundane chore of wrestling Jeppesen paper in and out of a three-ring binder. He looked up, grinned and offered a greeting. Rocco would be my relief pilot — the third crew member for the trip.

I stopped by the crew mailbox room anticipating that after eight days away from work I would also have to participate in the revision ritual. I was right. My mail slot was stacked. Gray, blue, orange and tan packets filled the space. Not one geographic division was absent. Europe, South America, Domestic and the Far East all needed my attention. I sighed. The sampling of the airport’s fine dining would be delayed. I opened my flight kit bag and removed most of the contents, depositing the Jepp binders on a tabletop.