Narrative:

While returning to atl from vld my captain told me that a pilot for another airline, who was riding in the passenger cabin, told him the flight attendant fell asleep on our way from atl to vld. His words to my captain were 'tell your flight attendant that if he's going to sleep, he should at least keep his mouth closed.' upon completion of the leg (the last of the trip) it was apparent to me the captain wasn't going to say anything to the flight attendant, so I did. The flight attendant told me he had inadvertently fallen asleep because the captain had advised him to remain seated until the captain called him on the intercom due to WX during the departure phase from atl. The captain did not advise me of this plan and subsequently forgot to call the flight attendant when we cleared the areas of WX. The flight attendant awoke when we made a passenger announcement indicating our descent toward vld. Factors leading to the situation are the flight attendant's sleepiness and poor crew coordination/communication. One thing I will mention here which may not have prevented this incident but could help prevent incidents of other types in the future is the fact that, at my airline, pilots are not given training as to the extent of flight attendant knowledge and training. If we don't know what flight attendants are trained on (or how), how can we fully expect how a flight attendant will react in any given situation?

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: FLC OF E120 IS NOTIFIED BY DEADHEADING PLT THAT FLT ATTENDANT FELL ASLEEP DURING PREVIOUS TRIP. CAPT HAD ADVISED FLT ATTENDANT TO REMAIN SEATED UNTIL CALLED. CAPT NEVER CALLED THE FLT ATTENDANT.

Narrative: WHILE RETURNING TO ATL FROM VLD MY CAPT TOLD ME THAT A PLT FOR ANOTHER AIRLINE, WHO WAS RIDING IN THE PAX CABIN, TOLD HIM THE FLT ATTENDANT FELL ASLEEP ON OUR WAY FROM ATL TO VLD. HIS WORDS TO MY CAPT WERE 'TELL YOUR FLT ATTENDANT THAT IF HE'S GOING TO SLEEP, HE SHOULD AT LEAST KEEP HIS MOUTH CLOSED.' UPON COMPLETION OF THE LEG (THE LAST OF THE TRIP) IT WAS APPARENT TO ME THE CAPT WASN'T GOING TO SAY ANYTHING TO THE FLT ATTENDANT, SO I DID. THE FLT ATTENDANT TOLD ME HE HAD INADVERTENTLY FALLEN ASLEEP BECAUSE THE CAPT HAD ADVISED HIM TO REMAIN SEATED UNTIL THE CAPT CALLED HIM ON THE INTERCOM DUE TO WX DURING THE DEP PHASE FROM ATL. THE CAPT DID NOT ADVISE ME OF THIS PLAN AND SUBSEQUENTLY FORGOT TO CALL THE FLT ATTENDANT WHEN WE CLRED THE AREAS OF WX. THE FLT ATTENDANT AWOKE WHEN WE MADE A PAX ANNOUNCEMENT INDICATING OUR DSCNT TOWARD VLD. FACTORS LEADING TO THE SIT ARE THE FLT ATTENDANT'S SLEEPINESS AND POOR CREW COORD/COM. ONE THING I WILL MENTION HERE WHICH MAY NOT HAVE PREVENTED THIS INCIDENT BUT COULD HELP PREVENT INCIDENTS OF OTHER TYPES IN THE FUTURE IS THE FACT THAT, AT MY AIRLINE, PLTS ARE NOT GIVEN TRAINING AS TO THE EXTENT OF FLT ATTENDANT KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING. IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT FLT ATTENDANTS ARE TRAINED ON (OR HOW), HOW CAN WE FULLY EXPECT HOW A FLT ATTENDANT WILL REACT IN ANY GIVEN SIT?

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.