After the popular video of one of the coaches from the Rockies team appearing in the cockpit of the United Airlines charter plane went viral, there were lots of talks in the aviation community. Of course, one would question how two professional pilots could possibly let such a thing happen on board. However, in light of the first officer's statement that resulted in his losing the job, it turns out that the problem may be even deeper than it seems.

It's Not Just An Explanation: It's Actually a Reveal of an Established Unofficial Practice That Has Been Contradicting the Regulations for Many Years.

A statement released by the first officer who was fired as a result of this incident gives us an insight into what really happened back then. In particular, it seems that the presence of passengers in the cockpit with an opened door was not an uncommon phenomenon on charter planes.

What Happened before Takeoff: Who Was Making Crucial Decisions?

According to the first officer's statement, it was his first charter flight. Moreover, the first officer had been working with this particular airline for a year and a half at that moment. Prior to boarding, he finished the routine procedures such as conducting a pre-flight check and walk-around inspection.

Returning to the cockpit, the first officer overheard the final stage of the briefing process, which involved conversations between the captain and a flight attendant. In accordance with the agreement reached, the cockpit door would remain open during the whole flight.

To explain this decision, the captain said that previously she witnessed the same occurrence on the charter flight of the Denver Broncos football team. In particular, she noted that an open cockpit door and people filming it are normal practices.

Onboard: When Did the Thing Go Wrong

Thirty-five minutes after takeoff, the coach from Rockies joined the captain and the first officer in the cockpit with the assistance of one of the flight attendants. According to the captain's experience, the man remained there chatting for about half an hour. During this time, he took numerous pictures and videos.

Finally, the captain wanted to leave the cockpit for the toilet break and asked one of the crew members to keep the cockpit door open. Leaving the cockpit, she did not ensure that a replacement cockpit crew member was on duty as per Part 121 regulations. After 20 seconds passed without anyone joining her, one of the flight attendants entered the cockpit replacing the captain.

The Systemic Problem That Stays Under the Rug

Although it seems pretty obvious that keeping an open cockpit door and inviting additional passengers on board contradicts Part 121 cockpit regulation rules, there is an issue that is even more serious.

Chain of events resulting in the above incident:

• Flight attendant who is specialized in charter flights and familiar with the customers gets used to an open cockpit door as a norm after witnessing it at various airlines.
• Experience captain who conducts regular charter flights uses the above mentioned practice, thus violating the Part 121 cockpit regulations.
• Newbie first officer fails to persuade his experienced colleagues to stick to the regulations despite expressing his concerns.

The above quotation was stated in the communication issued by the pilots' union. And, after investigating the matter, FAA came to a conclusion that supports the pilot's claim and proves the existence of a systemic problem at United. Importance of this statement regarding the first officer's claims is self-explanatory. They seem to be justified now.

Who Is to Be Blamed in This Incident?

On the surface level, it seems pretty obvious that the pilots violated cockpit regulations, hence were fired. However, in reality, it turns out that the truth is more complex.

Firstly, the captain left the cockpit leaving no replacement for the cockpit crew members, thereby violating the two person rule set out in the Part 121 cockpit regulation. Secondly, upon returning to her seat, the captain noticed that the coach had taken over her position. Despite the shock, she remained calm enough to shake hands with him. Again, this is rather unusual behavior.

What the Aviation Community Can Learn from This Incident

Thus, this case does not have anything to do with pilots deliberately breaking the rules and being punished for doing so. Instead, it is another example of the dangers of establishing any practice within a regulated industry if it contradicts regulations.

Charter flights conducted according to Part 121 regulation are no different from any other flights in terms of cockpit regulation rules no difference whatsoever can be made regarding the passengers of charter flights and those of ordinary commercial aircraft.

Established practice of keeping the cockpit door open and allowing additional people to enter the cockpit in the middle of the flight in the charter flight business should be changed. Firing pilots is just another attempt to cover the existing problem.

The Bottom Line

Thus, based on the detailed explanation provided by the first officer, it is evident that it would have been unfair to punish him for this incident. The company should focus on the problem of the system implemented in chartered planes' cockpits.

As for the results of the ongoing hearings, it would be nice to develop stricter guidelines on how to behave in this situation.