Whom You Know: READ THIS: HIGHEST DUTY: My Search for What Really Matters by Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger

Whom You Know: READ THIS: HIGHEST DUTY: My Search for What Really Matters by Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
Captain Sullenburger did a superb job. He did everything by the book and it was a text book approach and landing, he had a lot going for himself and his crew. The Crew Resource Management was as written. Take it from someone who knows.
Sincerely,
Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr.
Delta Air Lines, ret

Pilot Relates His View From The Ground Up

Captain Chesley Sullenburger's autobiopgraphy of "The Miracle on the Hudson" titled "Higher Power" will hit the bookstands this month and will become the household word over the next two years.

His book and others like it will raise awareness to the aviation industry in recognizing that every flight flown by flight crews is completed with full attention to detail. It is this attention and experience that, when needed, will be drawn upon.

Sully drew on these years of experience the instant that he needed it. This experience does not come easy, and at a time when some pilots are being issuesd food stamps to stay above water, it is important that we highlight how fragile our safety is becoming.

Security with safety are now the buzzwords many enterprises ride on. My career was part of this heritage. Future pilots need to bring back those standards. they will be lookin for similar books about the private lives of their pilots.

As a pilot and aviation employee for 39 years, I wrote, "A Pilot's Memoirs-From The Ground Up." I came up the hard way and worked in every conceivable position imaginable, from passenger service representative to International Airline Captain. This book encompasses a broad spectrum.

Come with me while I take you behind the scenes into the personal lives of the flight crews and into the cockpit known as "No Man's Land." I also will show you how 911 could have been averted by the flight crew and what really brought down TWA 800 in July of 1996, just to name a few.

If I have stirred your interest and you would like to come aboard, please contact me at ngjd@bellsouth.net.

Nicholas Gravino Jr.

Delta Air Lines Captain, ret.

Vero Beach

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

As you know, an Air France Airbus A-330 is missing over the Atlantic from South America to Paris France. As of this writing, there has been no visible signs of wreckage. It is presumed that Weather was a factor. According to the weather map that I saw, there was a severe weather frontal system extending from Brazil to the West Coast of Africa, which was on a Southwest to a Northeast line. This was the exact flight path of this Aircraft. It appeared to be Weather Front. It appeared that it contained Severe Thunderstorms and Severe Turbulence, which could have contributed to the Disaster. I flew the Airbus A-310, which was a smaller version of the Airbus A-330. On November 12, 2001 there was an Aviation Disaster of an Airbus A-310 departing New York's JFK Airport. The crash was attributed to Wake Turbulence attributed by a Boeing B747 that had just departed. In essence, the Airbus A-310's rudder separated from the Aircraft causing the Disaster. The flight was American Airlines Flight 587.
In the final analysis, the rudder disintegrated due to a composite material within the Rudder Structure. There is an in-depth explanation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Fllight_587 which goes into the details. I do not know of the construction of this Airbus A-330, however, if these two aircraft are similar, it could mean that the rudder assembly could have disintegrated also due the severe turbulence generated by the Severe Thunderstorms Aloft. I do not think that a Lightning Strike would have caused the disaster, we all(Airline Pilots) have been hit by Lightning. Electrical Power on-board an Aircraft is supplied by Engine Driven Generators (2) Auxiliary Power Unit, Battery (30Minutes) and a RAT (Ram Air Turbine). I do not think that this Disaster was caused by the lack of Electrical Power.
In conclusion, other than terrorism, the only other plausible explanation, at this point in time, is the destruction of the Aircraft due to Severe Turbulence. As I stated earlier, I flew the Airbus A-310 and also the Boeing B767 ER (Extended Range) and as the saying goes "Boeing Builds Them Better." CIAO For Now.

Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr.

Pilot Fatigue Behind Closed Doors

During my 30 1/2 years as a pilot with a major airline, pilot fatigue in the cockpit was an on-going problem. This consisted in many ways, one was flying the back side of the clock or jet lag. Other factors were on duty time, flight time and the other was commuting to work. Pilot's are required to fly out of a chosen domicile, which is assigned according to seniority. During my 30 1/2 years flying, I flew out of many different domiciles, which included New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and Boston. In order to maintain an orderly Married and home life, I would commute to my domicile. from New York. I even flew my own airplane from New York to Boston. originally, we were not granted the use of the cockpit jump seat, due to the fact that company management attempted to discourage commutation. In today's Airline World, I would say that during a career, 65% of flight personnel commute, at one time or another during a 30 year career, which includes Pilots and Flight Attendants. I flew with a Male Flight Attendant who commuted from Rome to New York and bid Rome overnights. His Car in Rome had New York Plates on it.. Commuting puts an enormous amount of stress and strain n one's self, as evidenced in the National Transportation Safety Board's Investigation into the crash in Buffalo. It seems that the First Officer commuted from the West Coast and was quite fatigued, which dulls the senses. At one point in time while flying International out of NY, the airline rigged up a make-shift "Rest Seat" in the Cockpit, not suitable. In my Autobiography entitled "A Pilot's Memoirs-From The Ground Up" I go into these problems in detail and the effect that it has on the person the Marriage and the Family. I commuted for 23 years out of 30 1/2 years and would take a cat nap in a reclining chair in the Crew Lounge or Terminal, which is no way to run an Airline. If you would like a specific question answered, contact me at ngjd@bellsouth.net.



Thanking you for your time, this time, until next time.



Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr

Delta Air Lines, ret.

A Miracle on the Hudson

Yes it was indeed "A Miracle on the Hudson." Captain Shullenberger and crew did everything by the book, however, in a situation like that, the book goes out the window and your gut takes command. There was no pilot error in this situation. Everything was on his side, had he encountered the flock of birds at a lower altitude, he would have had to ditch in the Bronx, which would have been a total disaster for not only the crew, the passengers and also the inhabitants on the ground. One has to thank The Almighty for creating the Hudson River in his flight path and also Henry Hudson for discovering it. In the immortal words of William Shakespeare "What Ho, What Ho are men of these, that fly these planes high above the trees. Sully we former pilots salute thee.

Sincerely,

Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr.
Delta Air Lines, ret

`A Pilot's Memoirs-From The Ground Up

My name is Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr. I am a retired International Captain from Delta Air Lines. I just completed my Autobiography entitled " A Pilot's Memoirs-From The Ground Up.
This autobiographical manuscript is the story of my life and love for the fascination and sought after world of Aviation that began for me at the New York World's Fair of 1939. It continues today some sixty years hence.

My story is unique, in that, I will take you on an excursion through the super sensative issues, decisions and places where no other Pilot/Author dare to tread due to their lack of expertise which occurred on my watch. Would you like to know exactly goes on behind the locked cockpit doors? Have I got a book for you. Come with me behind the scenes and into the "InnerSanctum" of the Cockpit known as "No Mans Land." I will expose for you, my readers and answer all your inner most questions pertaining to your particular aeronautical experiences but were afraid to ask. It is an absolute "Page Turnwer" that you will not be able to set aside for one moment.

This is just the "Tip of the Iceberg." May I interest you in my Autobiography? Thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,

Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr.
ngjd@bellsouth.net