Pilot Taxiing at JFK Strikes Lights While on Cell Phone

[NYCA News]

NYCAviation:

Pilot Taxiing at JFK Strikes Lights While on Cell Phone

A pilot reported to be on his cell phone while taxiing to depart JFK Airport struck runway lighting, damaging his Merlin aircraft.
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[Zee71]

Guess they need to modify their checklist to include ...... power off and put away cell phones and all electronic device inside the cockpit.

[Delta777LR]

wow wat an idiot. I guess cellphones come first instead of the life of his passengers and the aircraft. PILOT ERROR!

[Mateo]

How did he manage to ding both props?

[megatop412]

With all the idiots that do this in cars and walking down the street I wondered how long it would be for a pilot to get caught doing this

[Delta777LR]

imagine a police chopper flying by and obverved that

[snydersnapshots]

Cellphones off is in our manual..but not our checklist. And yes... (theoretically of course... ) I might have accidentally left my cellphone on after we pushed back. But I've never used it while taxiing (and there's no theoretically there...). I have a job that I love and there is no phone call worth losing it over. Now, having said that... I once recorded the "GO AROUND! WINDSHEAR AHEAD. WINDSHEAR AHEAD! WINDSHEAR AHEAD! gpws warning because I thought it would be a cool ringtone. That lasted about 3 days until I thought about it and decided it would NOT be cool to reject a takeoff or do a missed approach because I might have forgotten to turn my cell phone off and we reacted to my ringtone.

I'm thinking at least one (if it's a single-pilot operation) and maybe two pilots are looking for work...

[alberchico]

So I'm guessing that his employment will be terminated right ?

[stratoduck]

If this aircraft was on a Part 135 charter flight, the pilot may have been calling the company for "flight following".

In addition, why is the right engine feathered? These Garrett engines are shut down with the props left in the fine/flat pitch position, which is normal for direct drive turboprops. Free air turboprops, like the Pratt PT-6, typically feather during shut down.