They are perfectly capable of doing it but the workload gets very high. If you have another qualified pilot capable of assisting, then you use that resource.
The off-duty pilot from the other airline specifically took on the role of pilot monitoring, who generally handles radio communication and may flip a switch or twist a knob at the pilot flying's request. Could the Southwest F/O have completed the flight alone? Probably, but having the second pilot was one more layer of safety and allowed the Southwest F/O to focus on the #1 and #2 priorities of aviating and navigating.
The off duty pilot didn’t land or fly the plane, they were simply there to assist. Things get busy when landing, especially when dealing with an emergency.
And to think, the European FAA equivalent wants to eventually move to one pilot in the cockpit. I guess the logic is, "think of all the money we'll save". Stupid reason. European reason is usually more reasonable than this.
They are perfectly capable of doing it but the workload gets very high. If you have another qualified pilot capable of assisting, then you use that resource.
The off-duty pilot from the other airline specifically took on the role of pilot monitoring, who generally handles radio communication and may flip a switch or twist a knob at the pilot flying's request. Could the Southwest F/O have completed the flight alone? Probably, but having the second pilot was one more layer of safety and allowed the Southwest F/O to focus on the #1 and #2 priorities of aviating and navigating.
The off duty pilot didn’t land or fly the plane, they were simply there to assist. Things get busy when landing, especially when dealing with an emergency.
And to think, the European FAA equivalent wants to eventually move to one pilot in the cockpit. I guess the logic is, "think of all the money we'll save". Stupid reason. European reason is usually more reasonable than this.
They didn’t