Narrative:

Never in my 23 years of flying for this airline have I been called by a chief pilot to explain why I did not fly a flight due to illness. I called in 'sick' for a flight in october 2011. I was contacted two months later and called to account on why I had called in sick. Recently; I had been hearing stories from first officers about the company pressuring pilots through this type of harassment to fly while sick. I was now under the gun.I was told by the chief pilot that he had some sort of 'template' he was required to fill out. I was not aware of this pressure 'tool' from senior management.I have no idea why I called in sick two months ago. Neither do I have any idea what I had for lunch a week ago tuesday. I'm sure I was hungry; I'm sure that I ate; but I have no idea the contents of the meal. I don't keep a log of benign activities. Calling in 'sick' has for 23 years been a benign activity.this is a new and insidious path senior management pilots have taken. It is both harmful and unsafe. Pilots will fly while sick; tired and unfocused to avoid being called to account for not being 'sick enough.' if the company has chosen to harass; after two months; a senior wide-body captain; I can only imagine the pressure that a junior narrow-body first officer must feel to fly while sick.from an NTSB incident report in which a B767 landed on a taxiway: 'during the preflight activities; the check airman became ill with a gastrointestinal disorder. After a brief time away from the flight deck; the check airman returned to the flight deck and advised the other crew members he was 'fine' and continued with the flight preparations.'as an award winning naval safety officer; trained at the naval post graduate school; I am well aware of the 'accident chain'; break one link on that chain and the accident does not occur. That check airman had a responsibility and an obligation to cancel that flight.a check airman by his position in the hierarchy of company pilots is the best reflection of our airline's current corporate philosophy and of its culture. His callous disregard for the safety of this flight is a poor reflection indeed. The recent spate of aircraft collisions and unstable approaches may well have had their germination in this new corporate philosophy: flying while sick is now expected.management should cease and desist contacting pilots who call in sick.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B767 Captain for a major airline took umbrage at his company's practice of contacting pilots (well after the fact; in this case) and requiring them to 'explain' their use of sick leave. He believes the practice to be inappropriate pilot pushing and is intended to coerce pilots to fly in violation of FAR requirements to report for duty only when fit to fly.

Narrative: Never in my 23 years of flying for this airline have I been called by a Chief Pilot to explain why I did not fly a flight due to illness. I called in 'sick' for a flight in October 2011. I was contacted two months later and called to account on why I had called in sick. Recently; I had been hearing stories from First Officers about the company pressuring pilots through this type of harassment to fly while sick. I was now under the gun.I was told by the Chief Pilot that he had some sort of 'template' he was required to fill out. I was not aware of this pressure 'tool' from senior management.I have no idea why I called in sick two months ago. Neither do I have any idea what I had for lunch a week ago Tuesday. I'm sure I was hungry; I'm sure that I ate; but I have no idea the contents of the meal. I don't keep a log of benign activities. Calling in 'sick' has for 23 years been a benign activity.This is a new and insidious path Senior Management pilots have taken. It is both harmful and unsafe. Pilots will fly while sick; tired and unfocused to avoid being called to account for not being 'sick enough.' If the company has chosen to harass; after two months; a senior wide-body Captain; I can only imagine the pressure that a junior narrow-body First Officer must feel to fly while sick.From an NTSB incident report in which a B767 landed on a taxiway: 'During the preflight activities; the Check Airman became ill with a gastrointestinal disorder. After a brief time away from the flight deck; the Check Airman returned to the flight deck and advised the other crew members he was 'fine' and continued with the flight preparations.'As an award winning Naval Safety Officer; trained at the Naval Post Graduate School; I am well aware of the 'accident chain'; break one link on that chain and the accident does not occur. That Check Airman had a responsibility and an obligation to cancel that flight.A Check Airman by his position in the hierarchy of company pilots is the best reflection of our airline's current corporate philosophy and of its culture. His callous disregard for the safety of this flight is a poor reflection indeed. The recent spate of aircraft collisions and unstable approaches may well have had their germination in this new corporate philosophy: Flying while sick is now expected.Management should cease and desist contacting pilots who call in sick.

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.