--Previous Message--
: I was a Captain with EAL and flew thousands of
: hours on the EAL L-1011, years after the
: crash. I did not ever see the ghost of my
: old buddy, Don Repo, on any of those
: flights, however.
: a: Don and I flew on many flights together to
: Europe on Eastern's MAC Charter
: (USAF)flights...he as Second Officer and me
: as First Officer...back in 1967-1969.
:
: This crash brought out, once again, that in
: any emergency or unusual occurrence, the
: Captain has to designate one pilot to FLY OR
: MONITOR THE AIRCRAFT and NOT be involved in
: the actions to remedy the problem. For a
: few years, I instructed in the EAL flight
: simulator training program. We emphasized
: that it was crucial that one pilot would be
: designated to only fly or monitor the flight
: of the aircraft.
:
: It is a shame that the Approach Controller
: failed to use standard phraseology when he
: saw the flight only 900 feet from the ground
: and descending. If he had only
: said, Check your altitude...I show you at
: 900 feet" it could have saved them.
:
: Don Repo was a great guy. I didn't know
: Capt. Loft or the First Officer. I did hear
: that Capt. Loft had an un-diagnosed brain
: tumor the size of a golf ball, that was
: discovered at his autopsy. This could
: account for his irritability during the
: problem. Never did get a confirmation of
: this,however.
:
: Thanks again for some great research on this
: documentary.
:
: - Capt. Jim Blackburn (EAL, Ret.)
:
:
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