Laptops inside the cockpit.

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Peminu
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Laptops inside the cockpit.

Postby Peminu » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:58 pm

Are airline pilots allowed to use their laptops while on duty or are they restricted?

Can they use them, for instance, to modify flying plans or to see charts, or are they only allowed to use "official" ones?

Does this depend on the airline?

Are they allowed to use it in an emergency (I.E.: RAT deployed)?
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Dmmoore
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Re: Laptops inside the cockpit.

Postby Dmmoore » Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:14 pm

I can only speak from my own experience and knowledge from three airlines, America West, US Air (pre-merger) and Southwest.
Pilots personal lap tops outside the cockpit are affected by the same rules as anyone lap top.
Inside the cockpit, the captain rules. Company lap tops are used inside the cockpit when needed.
Don
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Peminu
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Re: Laptops inside the cockpit.

Postby Peminu » Sun Aug 03, 2008 10:05 pm

Thanks for the answer Don.

But I will have to rephrase the question, and try to make a better expresion of what I mean:

There have been some cases of wrong information in databases that have caused accidents or incidents (AA 757 in Colombia, where there were 2 VORs with the same frequency -or something like that: I am talking for what I remember without consulting-, incursion into runways, because of wrong charts, etc.).

So, my real question is:

What about if the problem is not because the "official" data was wrong, but the one in my laptop and I used that instead of the other?

Let's say your plane is diverted to a different airport of the one originally designed because of weather. Is the pilot allowed to consult his own database (laptop) instead of asking "somebody in the airline" for instructions?
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3WE
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Re: Laptops inside the cockpit.

Postby 3WE » Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:14 am

While there's tons upon tons of data (and very accurate data) on the internet and databases, all the data I've ever seen has lots of disclaimers that says it should only be used for "planning purposes" and not any genuine navigation/flight/you name it.

The data that goes into the aircraft's computers is subjected to some sort of incredibly stringent quality assurance.

While I can imagine a one-in-a-zillion chance where the data in the aircraft system is flawed and a "wikipedia/airnav/flight aware/whatever" confirmation might find the error, the odds of the reverse situation where the "pilots own database" is wrong is signifcantly higher.

I'd like to hear from Dummy or Don- what about these new "PDA-type" rigs that contain genuine certified subscriptions to approach charts, etc....is there a policy about using them versus an on-board system.

And- I suppose there's still a lot of aircraft out there that do not display built in charts where I'd assume there's no prohibition on a "certified" portable electronic chart thing?
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Dmmoore
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Re: Laptops inside the cockpit.

Postby Dmmoore » Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:45 pm

Personal lap tops are "NEVER" used for navigation or official company business (other than Email).
Don
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