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Air carrier captain reported the first officer would not wear a face mask in the cockpit when asked to.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1765901 |
| Time | |
| Date | 202010 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 76 Flight Crew Total 9012 Flight Crew Type 9012 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
A part of my preflight briefing includes the request that face coverings be worn when not eating or drinking in the cockpit due to the confined space. My first officer stated that he would not comply because he had been wearing one all day and did not want to wear one on the flight. After additional requests for compliance I stated that this was a no go item for me and elevated it to flight operations and the chief pilot.my reasoning here is that if one pilot is covid positive yet asymptomatic the chances of the other pilot becoming infected in this environment are very high. I feel that mask usage is a reasonable precaution that reduces the overall risk. Several hundred pilots already contract covid and unfortunately at least one pilot has died as a result and I believe that statistically speaking this is a higher threat to us at present then all other threats. Unfortunately; there is a lack of guidance to mitigate this risk.I believe the company should provide guidance towards the cockpit that parallels the guidance for all other areas of our operation that masks should be used at all times when not eating and drinking. When I informed the flight attendants of the situation they became extremely supportive and explained that they felt very unsafe when approaching cockpit crews who were not wearing face coverings. Please address this issue. My first officer did finally agree to wear his mask after speaking to the chief pilot and the flight was completed.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Air carrier Captain reported the First Officer would not wear a face mask in the cockpit when asked to.
Narrative: A part of my preflight briefing includes the request that face coverings be worn when not eating or drinking in the cockpit due to the confined space. My First Officer stated that he would not comply because he had been wearing one all day and did not want to wear one on the flight. After additional requests for compliance I stated that this was a no go item for me and elevated it to Flight Operations and the Chief Pilot.My reasoning here is that if one pilot is COVID positive yet asymptomatic the chances of the other pilot becoming infected in this environment are very high. I feel that mask usage is a reasonable precaution that reduces the overall risk. Several hundred pilots already contract COVID and unfortunately at least one pilot has died as a result and I believe that statistically speaking this is a higher threat to us at present then all other threats. Unfortunately; there is a lack of guidance to mitigate this risk.I believe the company should provide guidance towards the cockpit that parallels the guidance for all other areas of our operation that masks should be used at all times when not eating and drinking. When I informed the Flight Attendants of the situation they became extremely supportive and explained that they felt very unsafe when approaching cockpit crews who were not wearing face coverings. Please address this issue. My First Officer did finally agree to wear his mask after speaking to the Chief Pilot and the flight was completed.
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.