PilotsEYE.tv

Munich-La Palma - DE596/597 A320-212 (1x10)

: 20, 2012

Trained in a flight-simulator every three months but rare in real life. Shortly after take-off from Zurich the oil temperature of Engine 3 is showing twice as high as allowed. For the next fifteen minutes, Flight Captain and Fleet Manager Thomas Frick and First Officer Manuela Durussel devote their full attention to getting a handle on this critical situation. To no avail. Co-pilot Manuela: “I’ve been flying for 17 years now and today is the first time I’ve had to turn around.” Luckily the passengers are able to transfer to another plane and PilotsEYE.tv meets the crew six months later to fly the same route – this time successfully. This unique insight into an “abnormal procedure“, an unscheduled incident, is part of the feature film. The bonus material shows the entire procedure, including the original checklists. Private communication is strictly forbidden on the official radio frequencies. For this reason, co-pilot Manuela is all the more surprised when a man’s voice calls “Manu” out of the speakers. They quickly share a few friendly words knowing that probably a couple hundred colleagues on other airplanes and on the ground are grinning broadly. The flight captain jokes “Never fly with women – they always flirt with the entire airspace” shows that despite all the stress, the crew still enjoys their work. Due to ongoing treaty negotiations, Russia cannot be flown over this day. The alternate route sends the crew south over Romania, Georgia and Kazakhstan to China. The additional fuel for the 1,000-mile detour is still cheaper than the fee Russia charges for flying through its airspace. But this is just an everyday occurrence for the crew of HB-JMD “Liestal”, named after a town in Switzerland.