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Air carrier first officer reported an FAA inspector requested to ride the jump seat for a line check.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1446892 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201705 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 265 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
We had an FAA inspector show up to the cockpit that exhibited suspicious behavior and was not in compliance with our jumpseat dress code. He asked the captain if either of us was an ffdo and then confirmed 'so there are no weapons on the flight deck; correct?' I've never been asked that question by an FAA inspector. He took copious notes throughout the boarding process. Again; very unusual. While the captain was in the terminal he mentioned 'the captain seems like a very serious man. Was he in the military?' I'm not sure what the captain's flying background (or mine for that matter) has to do with our execution of a safe flight? After talking with the operations center; we were directed to allow this individual to board 'or be suspended.' we departed. This individual clearly demonstrated suspicious behavior during boarding as explained in the operations binder. I am now confused on the extent of a flight crew's authority to deny boarding based on a perceived threat.with all the distractions of a very unusual jumpseater; we failed to recognize this individual was not in compliance with the facial hair policy for jumpseaters found in our operations manual. If this individual had needed his oxygen mask in flight with a very large beard that would have been a valid safety concern. Does our jumpseat policy apply to FAA inspectors?
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Air carrier First Officer reported an FAA Inspector requested to ride the jump seat for a line check.
Narrative: We had an FAA Inspector show up to the cockpit that exhibited suspicious behavior and was not in compliance with our jumpseat dress code. He asked the Captain if either of us was an FFDO and then confirmed 'so there are no weapons on the flight deck; correct?' I've never been asked that question by an FAA Inspector. He took copious notes throughout the boarding process. Again; very unusual. While the Captain was in the terminal he mentioned 'The Captain seems like a very serious man. Was he in the military?' I'm not sure what the Captain's flying background (or mine for that matter) has to do with our execution of a safe flight? After talking with the Operations Center; we were directed to allow this individual to board 'or be suspended.' We departed. This individual clearly demonstrated suspicious behavior during boarding as explained in the Operations Binder. I am now confused on the extent of a Flight Crew's authority to deny boarding based on a perceived threat.With all the distractions of a very unusual jumpseater; we failed to recognize this individual was not in compliance with the facial hair policy for Jumpseaters found in our Operations manual. If this individual had needed his oxygen mask in flight with a very large beard that would have been a valid safety concern. Does our jumpseat policy apply to FAA Inspectors?
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.