pilot not qualified to land

[Amby 490]

A pilot flew 80 passengers from Cardiff to Paris then told them: "We have to turn back - I'm not qualified to land."

The pilot took the decision after thick fog cut visibility to 700 metres at Charles de Gaulle airport and he told passengers he was not trained to land the aircraft in such conditions.

So, they flew the 300 miles back to Cardiff airport - having left just hours earlier.

Cassandra Grant, 29, who paid £220 for her Flybe ticket, said: "Twenty minutes outside Paris, the captain said, 'They are asking for a level two qualification and I only have a level five. We?ll have to fly back?.

"It beggars belief. I would expect an airline pilot to have every qualification possible, and then a few more."

The passengers were bussed to Exeter and Birmingham to catch alternative flights to the French capital.

Flybe stood by its pilot, who has more than 30 years? flying experience. The budget airline said: "He had recently transferred from a Bombardier Q300 to a Q400 aircraft.

?He has not yet completed low visibility training to land in such conditions as in Paris.?

The Civil Aviation Authority added: ?He did the right thing. If he had landed in Paris he could have been prosecuted. It?s not like driving a car where you can pull over and look at the handbook."

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_3126117.html?menu=

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It?s not like driving a car where you can pull over and look at the handbook."

What, they don't license drivers in France?

[kaydee457 13]

There are many commercial pilots that are not instrument rated.....He did do the right thing.....

The article doesn't say the AC type. A number of passengers perished years ago in Hawaii after a commercial pilot flew into a mountain in conditions that he shouldn't have been in.

[payxibka 10,045]

The article doesn't say the AC type.

Yes it does... Bombardier Dash-8 Q400

[Saddle Bronc 124]

There are many commercial pilots that are not instrument rated.....He did do the right thing.....

The right thing to do would have been to inform the airline that he had not completed training and was thus unqualified to occupy the pilot's seat.

[payxibka 10,045]

There are many commercial pilots that are not instrument rated.....He did do the right thing.....

The right thing to do would have been to inform the airline that he had not completed training and was thus unqualified to occupy the pilot's seat.

Since the airline is responsible for all pilot qualifications and training records they determined he was qualified for the seat....

When you finish your training on a new A/C type, you are considered a "high" minimums (referring to weather conditions) pilot and are not authorized to land when weather goes "low" (ie.. cloud cover, visibility, etc...)...

The only way you become a "low" mins captain is actually flying the aircraft for a certain number of hours... this is a common situation for every airline....

[Caladan 19]

Sounds like he acted responsibly; the only thing he did wrong maybe was to tell the passengers directly "I'm not qualified" rather than just explaining that they were turning around due to inclement weather, which probably panicked them unnecessarily.