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A B757-200 captain reported his concerns with a new SOP that calls for the first officer to handle exterior lights after landing.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 977661 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201110 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B757-200 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Not Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Total 20000 Flight Crew Type 2000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
As part of the countless SOP changes we have witnessed at [my company] lately; the first officer is now responsible for handling the exterior lights upon landing. This is not a wise change. The first officer is over tasked at this point; and while light management is not all that critical during daylight hours; it is vitally important during night time. As the first officer is busy making radio calls and handling all sorts of switches as we are turning off the runway; it is not always obvious which lights should be used. It is much easier for the captain to handle the light switches himself instead of engaging in verbal communications; competing with the ATC and company radio calls for the attention of the first officer. This is a very critical phase of flight prone to serious consequences in case of error. That is precisely why it is part of the sterile flight phase. On this flight I suddenly found myself taxiing in total darkness. This SOP change should be rescinded immediately as it is inherently unsafe. This is not the first problem I have encountered with this poorly thought out SOP.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B757-200 Captain reported his concerns with a new SOP that calls for the First Officer to handle exterior lights after landing.
Narrative: As part of the countless SOP changes we have witnessed at [my company] lately; the First Officer is now responsible for handling the exterior lights upon landing. This is not a wise change. The First Officer is over tasked at this point; and while light management is not all that critical during daylight hours; it is vitally important during night time. As the First Officer is busy making radio calls and handling all sorts of switches as we are turning off the runway; it is not always obvious which lights should be used. It is much easier for the Captain to handle the light switches himself instead of engaging in verbal communications; competing with the ATC and company radio calls for the attention of the First Officer. This is a very critical phase of flight prone to serious consequences in case of error. That is precisely why it is part of the sterile flight phase. On this flight I suddenly found myself taxiing in total darkness. This SOP change should be rescinded immediately as it is inherently unsafe. This is not the first problem I have encountered with this poorly thought out SOP.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.