FLIGHT OPS FLYER September 18, 1998 **************** ****************** Seattle Welcomes New Flight Manager ----------------------------------- SEA Chief Pilot Captain Jess Marker recently announced the selection of Shuttle Captain Pat Durgan as Seattle Flight Manager effective October 1. Durgan replaces Captain Terry O'Brien, who will return to the line to fly the B767. Durgan began his career with United in April 1986 as a B727 S/O. He went on to fly the B737-300 and B767 fleets in the First Officer position. Durgan earned his Captain status in November 1994 on the Shuttle fleet and has served as a Shuttle LCA for two years in addition to being the current Seattle station's Shuttle Coordinator. Latin America Agents Visit WHQ ------------------------------ Nineteen Operations employees from Mexico, Central America and South America visited World Headquarters last month to get a firsthand look at the Operations Control Center (OCC) and to focus on their role in support of Flight Dispatch. In addition to touring the OCC and observing dispatchers and meteorologists, the agents completed a two-day training session to enhance the flow of information between the Latin America stations and Flight Dispatch. Before attending the class, the agents completed a self-study course -- written by Staff Instructor-Flight Dispatch George Rigert -- that introduced them to flight planning, weather, the Notam system and communications. "The participants' reaction to the on-site tour and training sessions was excellent," Rigert reports. "They left WHQ armed with a knowledge of the Dispatch mission and with a better understanding of how they can support it." The agents will return to WHQ for a follow-up session, which is planned for late 1998. Flight Crew Schedulers Attend Recurrent Training ------------------------------------------------ Flight Crew Schedulers, Flight Data Coordinators and Flight Crew Operations Coordinators attended 1998 summer recurrent training last month at World Headquarters. Ninety employees participated in the August sessions, which featured CareerTrack -- an outside training firm -- and its one-day seminar that covers conflict resolution skills. Flight Crew Operations Managers also attended on earlier dates. The session focused on improving relationships through letting logic reign over emotion in stressful circumstances. "Most attendees commented how much they enjoyed this opportunity to attend an educational seminar presented by an outside firm," Staff Instructor-Flight Crew Operations Carrie Bellis said. "They also pointed out how they found the concepts applicable to everyday life, not only to work situations. Within the first week after attending the session, a number of people told me they were able to use the concepts with success." Flight Crew Schedulers will attend fall recurrent training in October and November. ORDFO Supervisor Job Opening ---------------------------- Flight Operations announced in a Sept. 14 Job Posting that it is seeking candidates to fill a Flight Operations Supervisor Opening at ORDFO. The vacancy was created when former Supervisor Mike Grabowski became Manager of Initial Flight Officer Training. A Flight Operations Supervisor provides assistance to the domicile Chief Pilot and offers direction and supervision to apprentice pilots. Additional responsibilities are listed in the Sept. 14 Job Posting. Interested candidates should submit a self-nomination form and resume to "WHQPE-Job Posting" by Sept. 24. Welcome Aboard -------------- Sixteen new-hire pilots began training at the Flight Center this week, bringing the total for 1998 to 337. The latest assigned pilot number was 9602. Their assignments are: 9 B727 S/O 2 to DCA, 4 to DEN, 3 to SFO 3 DC10 S/O 1 to ORD, 2 to ANC 2 B737 F/O 2 to ORD 2 B300 F/O 1 to DCA, 1 to LAX *************************Safety Issues********************** Flight Continued to Destination with Landing Gear Extended ---------------------------------------------------------- The pilots were unable to raise the B737-300 landing gear after takeoff. A decision was made to continue to destination. Aircraft Rolled Backwards at Gate --------------------------------- While at the gate at SJO, parking brake accumulator pressure on the A320 was lost. The aircraft rolled backwards approximately 250-300 feet before the pilots could regain brake pressure from the green system. Fuel Emergency -------------- The D10-30 pilots declared a fuel emergency approximately three minutes prior to arrival at destination. The landing was uneventful. Aborted Takeoff --------------- The B737-300 Captain aborted takeoff because door 1L light illuminated during takeoff roll. One tire failed during the abort. ************************************************************ Flight Operations Communications, WHQVF 847/700-7288 "Flight Ops Flyer" also is available in the United Airlines section of CompuServe under "Pilot Information." ************************************************************