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Comment by Scoundreller | Hacker News Reader

Often off-duty pilots get some seat in the cockpit. I guess if they’re moving around for the company they can get an actual seat (edit: not so here, says they were en route to work for the airline, but maybe if you’re “commuting” from home it’s different). Not sure how it works if they just want to fly somewhere for free (would they just have to go in uniform or verboten in any way in the cockpit like that?)

Other than the safety issue, if this person causes that program to end, every pilot is going to have it out for them even moreso (but hard to imagine it being any worse than it is).

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It's hard to see a policy solution for this: if you're an authorized passenger for that seat you'd also be eligible to fly a plane and wreck it when you're not a passenger. There's no material reduction in risk (other than in this isolated instance) to the change.

More importantly, if you have at least the chance of catching someone like this (assuming it's all correct) when they're in the jump seat vs in the pilot's seat, it reduces risk slightly.

If this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Express_Flight_705 didn't end deadheading, this event won't. Whether the airlines are looking for an excuse to end deadheading I don't know.

I doubt they’re trying to end deadheading as a whole (no idea about putting deadheaders in jump seats - though I assume not since those are non-revenue seats). If the airlines think there’s a pilot shortage now, just wait until they can only hire pilots from operational hubs. Deadheading is an essential part of getting pilots and attendants to where they’re supposed to be at the start of their work days.

> just wait until they can only hire pilots from operational hubs.

Doubly not going to be happy if they have to live in bases in California and pay income taxes there instead of commuting in from no-income-tax states like Washington.

Can deadhead in a regular seat on a passenger plane. Invite them in if needed only. Airlines won’t like the loss of a revenue seat.

The doors&locks are really good now. So good you can even lock out your co-pilot while they stop in the bathroom… (an argument in favour of having a 3rd deadheading pilot next to the others)

From that link:

In response to the incident and the circumstances of the co-pilot's involvement, aviation authorities in some countries implemented new regulations that require the presence of two authorised personnel in the cockpit at all times.

So if a pilot has to visit the lavatory, a flight attendant or some other qualified person has to replace the pilot on the flight deck (not in actual duty of course, just not leaving a single person alone there).

I was looking for the page on deadheading which was linked from your page and usefully gives a list of when deadheads have been helpful and when they gave been malicious: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadheading_(employee).

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