American Pilot suspended for taxiing too slow on purpose . .

[robbreid]

A management pilot at American Airlines was taxiing his airplane behind that of a pilot at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and decided the Los Angeles-based pilot was deliberately taxiing too slow.

As a result, the pilot in front has been suspended 15 days.

Airline Biz blog American Airlines, pilots at odds over taxiing incident.

[E-Flyer]

AMERICAN Airlines... do we really need to say anything more?

[Panama Jack]

Know of an AA pilot who was fired a few years ago after he took out his personal grievances against the company by taxiing too slow, requesting airborne holds, reroutes (longer way), and flying lower than planned. Basically, immature behavior.

[tailgunner]

While there must be way more to this story than what is being reported, an easy fix is for the American pilots association, or ALPA, or whomever to let the company know that this will not be tolerated. If the other crews would commit to 2 or more engine taxis at 3-5 knots until the said individual was returned to service with back pay I am sure things would resolve themselves shortly. Furthermore, the management pilot who instigated this should be demoted or removed from his duties immediately until he regains his grasp on reality.
OUT.

[tailgunner]

Firstly, one has to determine that the slow taxi was on purpose and that is or was impossible. Secondly, the most professional pilots seem to be the ones who actually slow down for corners, slow down while crossing aprons, and slow down while nearing other aircraft and people. It seems to me that the longer one is in this industry the slower one seems to go. It seems to be the newer minted captains, and the eager to please crews are the ones who zip along taxiways. I know this because I once was newly minted and eager to plese.The slowest taxiing aircraft I see are the ones being flown by the grey- hairs, who are entering their 30th year of flying and are now getting ready for their 12- 15 hr flight across the globe.

[E-Flyer]

Firstly, one has to determine that the slow taxi was on purpose and that is or was impossible. Secondly, the most professional pilots seem to be the ones who actually slow down for corners, slow down while crossing aprons, and slow down while nearing other aircraft and people. It seems to me that the longer one is in this industry the slower one seems to go. It seems to be the newer minted captains, and the eager to please crews are the ones who zip along taxiways. I know this because I once was newly minted and eager to plese.The slowest taxiing aircraft I see are the ones being flown by the grey- hairs, who are entering their 30th year of flying and are now getting ready for their 12- 15 hr flight across the globe.

All i see is that if he was taxing like 10 kts he was being safe... as opposed to the KLM pilots who rush down the MD11 at 40 kts... it's quite hilarious actually, the tv screen said 74km/h

What's wrong with being safe... oh wait, it costs a little money... and spending money is crime these days.

[Rockie]

Pretty hard to form an opinion regarding this incident. The speed he was doing could have been reasonable and the supervisor was just an ass. Or, this guy could have a loooong history of sticking needles into the company and was way out of line doing what he was doing just to make another useless point.

There is way too much unsaid in the article to support one side or another.

[bigbonez]

I bet he had a long history of doing this before they fired him...I work for an american carrier and we had a guy who would do 7 minute turns in Philly (Yea right!)...He would pull up to the gate open the door, unload the pax, close the door so the ACARS would get the time stamp ($$ starts), and then open it again and tell the ACARS they had not returned to the gate ($$ keeps going) while they fueled and loaded other pax...He also did other things like flying at 250 in congested airspace which really just screws everyone because every other plane behind them was slowed down for flow into places like NY. The company built a case against the guy as he did it and when they had enough evidence they got rid of him. I think what he was doing was a little unprofessional and greedy because not only was he delaying his passengers he was also delaying every other airplane that had to fly in the same sector as him...Not cool when its your last leg and you just want to get home after a long trip!

[E-Flyer]

I bet he had a long history of doing this before they fired him...I work for an american carrier and we had a guy who would do 7 minute turns in Philly (Yea right!)...He would pull up to the gate open the door, unload the pax, close the door so the ACARS would get the time stamp ($$ starts), and then open it again and tell the ACARS they had not returned to the gate ($$ keeps going) while they fueled and loaded other pax...He also did other things like flying at 250 in congested airspace which really just screws everyone because every other plane behind them was slowed down for flow into places like NY. The company built a case against the guy as he did it and when they had enough evidence they got rid of him. I think what he was doing was a little unprofessional and greedy because not only was he delaying his passengers he was also delaying every other airplane that had to fly in the same sector as him...Not cool when its your last leg and you just want to get home after a long trip!

I agree, there's a firm line differentiating safety and airmanship...