Union Decries 15-Day Suspension, Warns Pilots Not To Speak With Chiefs

And we thought the relationship between pilots and management at United was contemptuous! Senior officials at American Airlines recently placed a Los Angeles-based pilot on 15-day suspension, after management accused the pilot of deliberately taxiing too slow at Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) in May.

According to documents obtained by the Dallas Morning News, a Boeing 737 piloted by Captain Jeff Osborne, Managing Director of Flight-System at American, was following an MD-80 being taxied by the LA-based pilot on May 30, as both flights cleared Runway 18L at DFW. Osborne allegedly called officials on his cell phone while taxiing his plane -- in apparent violation of the FARs -- and told them the MD-80 pilot was deliberately taking his time in clearing the runway.

The LAX-based pilot was subsequently suspended, without pay, for 15 days.

The incident has done nothing to thaw the icy relationship between American Airlines management, and the Allied Pilots Association. "The facts are undeniable," APA officers wrote members in a recent email. "The resolution of this incident by a morally devoid Flight Management team should send a chill down everyone's spine."

"In my 30 years of employment with American Airlines I have never witnessed anything so blatantly ridiculous," one of the APA officers added. "Make sure everyone you know has the opportunity to read and understand just how low our once great airline has fallen and to what extent the management of American Airlines will go to disparage and belittle it's employees."

Of course, such rhetoric is nothing new; as ANN has reported, the APA has stepped up its attacks against American since electing new union leadership last year. As contract talks continue to drag on, American's 12,000 pilots have called for pay raises and other perks, noting American executives -- led by AMR Corp. CEO Gerard Arpey -- continued to receive big bonuses even as pilots took cutbacks in pay over the years to keep the airline afloat.

In a brief statement, American spokeswoman Tami McLallen said Osborne was just doing his job in ratting out the suspect pilot.

"As you know, we take safety issues very seriously," she wrote. "Saying it is our number one priority isn't just an empty slogan, it's what we focus on each and every day. So when we see actions that we believe may compromise safety, it's our responsibility to investigate and take corrective action if needed."

Union officials respond that Osborne is making a mountain out of a molehill, in a deliberate effort to undermine American's pilots.

"For some unknown reason Captain Osborne was very concerned for his own safety even though he was crossing a departure runway for which no other aircraft had been cleared to take-off or land," the union states. "Captain Osborne was so concerned about this incident that he used his cell phone while actively taxiing his aircraft (in violation of both Federal Aviation Regulations and Flight Manual Part 1) to contact SOC and have our Captain removed from the trip."

The union also notes LAX Director of Flight Captain Bob Bush looked into the matter, and determined there was no evidence the LAX pilot did anything wrong. "Captain Bush actually called the LAX Captain and apologized for even bringing this up, but explained that Captain Osborne was insisting on a Section 21 hearing regardless of the facts," the union writes.

"During and after both hearings that we conducted, Captain Bush stated several times "I can not find anything here...there is no reason to discipline...this was ops normal" and proceeded to communicate this to Captain Osborne, but Captain Osborne was not going to allow this to pass without some sort of punishment for his perceptions," the union continued. "As a result of this Kangaroo Court our LAX Captain has been given 15 days off with no pay, based solely upon Captain Osborne's statement and a Ground School Instructor's letter dated 2 months after the incident.

"We can only conclude after sitting through this whole joke of a process that our pilots are in jeopardy simply for coming in contact with the Chief Pilots, and that you should avoid any conversation with them except that which is absolutely essential to your duties," the union warned its members. "Idle chitchat with the Chiefs should be avoided, because anything you say to them can be used against you or another pilot in a disciplinary hearing.

"If asked to engage in conversations politely inform them that your Union speaks for you," APA concludes. "As for Captain Osborne... we would imagine his "do not pair with" list is growing by the minute in DFW."

FMI: www.aa.com, www.alliedpilots.org