Narrative:

I was advised that a passenger on this flight called the FAA's 800 #, stating that the F/a's had not been advised, prior to landing, to secure the cabin, and one or more were still up at T/D. It is my habit to follow standard company procedures to advise the F/a's prior to landing by flashing the 'no smoking' sign, which in turn causes the cabin chime system to ring twice. I then monitor the P/a to make sure the F/a's make the appropriate prelndg announcements. I did all of this on this flight. As far as F/a still being up at T/D, I'm not aware that this occurred. Of course that is rather hard to determine, since the cockpit door is always closed and locked during this phase of flight. No first officer reported any irregularity after landing, so I presume this passenger was not actually aware of what was really transpiring in the cabin. One thing that may have contributed to the passenger not being aware of the prelndg preparation was the fact that the landing gear is normally lowered at a higher than normal speed on this approach, thus causing more noise than normal and perhaps making the chime system less audible to the untrained ear. The reason for lowering the landing gear at the higher speed is to aid in decelerating and descending the aircraft due to the usually high approach necessitated by the surrounding terrain. My recommendation to stop these nonsense reports by passenger is to get rid of the FAA's 800 #. If a truly unsafe situation occurs, a passenger can always call the nearest FAA office. The 800 # only promotes nuisance calls from uninformed amateurs.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ACR CAPT OF MLG LNDG AT OAK DISPUTES PASSENGER ALLEGATION THAT HE FAILED TO TELL FA'S TO PREPARE FOR LNDG, AND THAT THERE WERE, AS A RESULT, FA'S WHO WERE NOT SEATED ON TOUCHDOWN.

Narrative: I WAS ADVISED THAT A PAX ON THIS FLT CALLED THE FAA'S 800 #, STATING THAT THE F/A'S HAD NOT BEEN ADVISED, PRIOR TO LNDG, TO SECURE THE CABIN, AND ONE OR MORE WERE STILL UP AT T/D. IT IS MY HABIT TO FOLLOW STANDARD COMPANY PROCS TO ADVISE THE F/A'S PRIOR TO LNDG BY FLASHING THE 'NO SMOKING' SIGN, WHICH IN TURN CAUSES THE CABIN CHIME SYS TO RING TWICE. I THEN MONITOR THE P/A TO MAKE SURE THE F/A'S MAKE THE APPROPRIATE PRELNDG ANNOUNCEMENTS. I DID ALL OF THIS ON THIS FLT. AS FAR AS F/A STILL BEING UP AT T/D, I'M NOT AWARE THAT THIS OCCURRED. OF COURSE THAT IS RATHER HARD TO DETERMINE, SINCE THE COCKPIT DOOR IS ALWAYS CLOSED AND LOCKED DURING THIS PHASE OF FLT. NO F/O RPTED ANY IRREGULARITY AFTER LNDG, SO I PRESUME THIS PAX WAS NOT ACTUALLY AWARE OF WHAT WAS REALLY TRANSPIRING IN THE CABIN. ONE THING THAT MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE PAX NOT BEING AWARE OF THE PRELNDG PREPARATION WAS THE FACT THAT THE LNDG GEAR IS NORMALLY LOWERED AT A HIGHER THAN NORMAL SPD ON THIS APCH, THUS CAUSING MORE NOISE THAN NORMAL AND PERHAPS MAKING THE CHIME SYS LESS AUDIBLE TO THE UNTRAINED EAR. THE REASON FOR LOWERING THE LNDG GEAR AT THE HIGHER SPD IS TO AID IN DECELERATING AND DSNDING THE ACFT DUE TO THE USUALLY HIGH APCH NECESSITATED BY THE SURROUNDING TERRAIN. MY RECOMMENDATION TO STOP THESE NONSENSE RPTS BY PAX IS TO GET RID OF THE FAA'S 800 #. IF A TRULY UNSAFE SIT OCCURS, A PAX CAN ALWAYS CALL THE NEAREST FAA OFFICE. THE 800 # ONLY PROMOTES NUISANCE CALLS FROM UNINFORMED AMATEURS.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.