![]() ![]() In aviation, a jumpseat can be situated on an aircraft’s flight deck and/or cabin. Of course, I took the chance and occupied the jumpseat.īefore we take off, I would like to explain the term “jumpseat” briefly. A friend of mine, who works as a first officer for a major European carrier, invited me to join him on the Airbus A320 cockpit on his duty from Vienna to Barcelona. Nothing that a strong coffee could not solve, right? It would not have needed a coffee to wake me up, though, because a very interesting flight was waiting around the corner for me. My alarm woke me up quite early on this particular Friday. They must also pass a certification test and be screened for non- approved items before boarding.įedEx now also limits jumpseating to domestic flights on wide- body jets where the seat is outside the cockpit.Īlthough the suspension eliminates personal travel for all FedEx employees, its pilots may still travel for free on other airlines through the TSA’s national Cockpit Access Security System, a program engineered by a coalition of pilot unions that allows ticketing agents to verify a pilot’s identity and employment status before being admitted on board.A quick glimpse from my jumpseat onto the FCU of the Airbus A320 flight deck, while we were still on the ground in Vienna Since 9/11, company policy now requires criminal background checks every six months for employees who wish to use the jumpseat. The crew subdued Calloway and returned to Memphis International Airport without loss of life or property. He severely injured his colleagues in the ensuing fight and was gravely injured in the process. Jumpseating has been a touchy issue with FedEx pilots since April 7, 1994, when a jumpseater, fellow pilot Auburn Calloway, attempted to hijack a FedEx plane bound for San Jose, Calif.Ĭalloway boarded the plane as a jumpseat passenger, and soon after takeoff attacked the three crew members with a hammer he carried aboard the DC10 in a guitar case. They really haven’t stopped people from using it,” Webb said. “The point is they can still get on the jumpseat. Nonpilot “stagers” – people with company permission to jumpseat to work from their homes – now must have approval from two layers of management to fly. It briefly resumed them for business travel in August 2002 before suspending again in 2003 for six months while the company installed metal doors between the cabin and cockpit. “I’m not sure any specific incident targeted it.”ĭave Webb, chairman of the FedEx unit of the Air Line Pilots Association master executive council, said he’d heard other versions of the story, but said, “Everyone has told me they have no information.”įedEx suspended jumpseat privileges for the first time immediately following 9/11. “The company decided to make some changes,” she said. The agency was also not part of a recent security review at FedEx. Nor is the Federal Aviation Administration involved, according to spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. ![]() Neither the FBI nor TSA is investigating a jumpseat incident in Memphis. Mike Mullally, copied details to the FBI and Transportation Security Administration details. In his entry, Koszalka said the incident was so suspicious, the plane’s pilot, Memphis-based Capt. He had no comment Wednesday about the allegations. The message was posted by Memphis-based Airbus-300 first officer Mark Koszalka. While Lane says “no single event” brought about the change, pilots for weeks have said “three suspicious” passengers raised concerns on a flight from California to Memphis this summer.Īn August message on Jetflyer – an online newsletter for FedEx pilots – says they were allowed to fly, even though they had no luggage and acted suspiciously. It has one of the most generous jumpseating policies in aviation, allowing any Express employee to use the jumpseat for leisure travel to any destination it flies. “We don’t discuss security reviews or how they’re done.”įree personal travel in company planes has been a perk at FedEx nearly since the company began. “We suspended personal jumpseating after an intermittent review of our security procedures,” said Maury Lane, spokesman. Pilots, mechanics and corporate employees may still use the jumpseat for business travel. 15, Express executive vice president Dave Rebholz said the company had “made the difficult decision” to suspend personal jumpseating, and could not say when it would be reinstated. 11, 2001, FedEx Express has suspended personal jumpseat privileges, citing an internal security review. By Jane Roberts the third time since Sept.
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