If somebody fails an OPC

[Hogos]

Dear Folks,
I would like to ask you a particular question: In which case failing an OPC may lead to lose the job ?
I'n my opinion it would be necessary some extra training.

The reason I'm asking this, is because I heard few stories about some airlines which failed on purpose some employees in order to get rid of them.
Is this possbile ? Does the law allow this ?
Would failing a simulator mean to lose the job ?

Thanks

[A320LGW]

There are scare stories that do the rounds, but if you are considering becoming a pilot you shouldn't let this get in your way, it's one in a million and likely involves certain people having fallen out over company politics etc.

What actually matters to keep your license is the LPC, not the OPC (though they are often the same exercises). The OPC concerns your employer and LPC concerns your license.

Worrying about failing an LPC (or OPC) shouldn't be a concern either, it's practically designed for you to pass and they don't change from year to year, it's very scripted (for better or for worse). The difficult bits in the sim are the recurrent training, where you cover all manner of failures that you'll often only see every 3 years (at least in my old operator).

[rudestuff]

The great thing about LPC/OPC in an airline is that it's a team effort, and most decisions and made collaboratively so it's unlikely that the other guy will let you do anything stupid. It's really only the handling that you could mess up on, and they are the same maneuvers every time, so you should expect the SIM to seem easier every year as your spare mental capacity increases.

[enzino]

Some of the stories are true. At my previous operator the training department used to be a very toxic place. A lot had changed before I joined but I heard several stories.

[Hogos]

Thanks for your answers.

Is there anything which states (for example regulations, employment contract, etc. etc.), that a lack of proficiency may result in the termination of the employment ?
Because the only thing I know is that for losing a job there must be something very bad, like an incident, or not applying the SOPs, etc. etc.
In the case of an OPC there must be some extra training, unless somebody fails 10 times in a row ....

What do you think about it ?

[A320LGW]

It's like asking how long a piece of string is. All operators would be willing to invest different amounts into a struggling individual. Most operators will provide additional training until they deem that the additional training is not making any difference. This takes some doing though and is very rare, especially if you managed to pass the original LPC etc.

[enzino]

Thanks for your answers.

Is there anything which states (for example regulations, employment contract, etc. etc.), that a lack of proficiency may result in the termination of the employment ?
Because the only thing I know is that for losing a job there must be something very bad, like an incident, or not applying the SOPs, etc. etc.
In the case of an OPC there must be some extra training, unless somebody fails 10 times in a row ....

What do you think about it ?

Normally operators have procedures laid out in the OMD in the event that a pilot does not attain the required standards. And if it's a unionised workplace then unions play a role, too.

[AIMINGHIGH123]

At my previous airline we didn’t have anyone made redundant from failing OPC but LPC yes.

Wouldn’t be for first fail though. I only know of 2 but they were both given extra chances/ training and then failed.

I do know a guy who failed final line check after 3 attempts. He was a lovely guy but just wasn’t getting it. Had over 3000 hours as an SEP/MEP instructor as well.

[PilotLZ]

There should be a standard procedure concerning what happens in case of a pilot falling short of the required training and checking standards. And that should be written up in the OM-D and probably also in your contract of employment. Either way, you're unlikely to get the boot after a single failure and will have at least one more chance to pass the check in question, maybe even two.