What policies, technologies, equipment, etc is used to mitigate liquid spills in the cockpit especially during turbulence?

Question

While reading this stack exchange question about waterproofing cockpits, I wondered what common industry practices as well as personal practices are in place to mitigate spills and damage.

Type of cups, serving times, cupholder design and placement, length and altitude of flights, weather considerations and sterile cockpits for example.

Additionally, are reportable spill events so uncommon as to not warrant mitigating procedures and design practices?

Related: https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/13534/are-the-instrument-panels-in-the-cockpit-spill-waterproof — Peter Kämpf, Mar 18 '18 at 20:23
Usually a lap is involved, with pants/trousers taking the hit... — CrossRoads, Oct 19 '18 at 21:13
@CrossRoads But not if you're Bob Hoover doing a barrel roll... ;-) — Davidw, Oct 19 '18 at 22:21

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 17 '18 at 17:03

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Keeping the cockpit clean is a major consideration for airlines. The inflight team will scheduled meal times accordingly with reports from ARTCC and other aircraft on a similar routes. They tend to stagger their eating times, so one pilot can be the PIC and the other can eat. Once he/she is done eating they will switch. Here you can find a link explaining Multi Crew Operations. Hope this helps!

answered Jan 17 '18 at 17:03

AirbusLover

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PIC (Pilot In Command) tends to stay PIC throughout the flight. Are you referring to PF/PM roles? – Waked Jan 17 '18 at 17:41
Yes, the captain is usually the PIC, but they will switch off control of the plane with verbal commands. "I have the plane" "you have the plane" – AirbusLover Jan 17 '18 at 18:34
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Meals can be planned around high work load and expected weather but this ignores 1. Clear Air Turbulence 2. Meal time spills unassociated with weather/work load/crew duties 3. Non-meal time spills (COFFEE). – Alex Cooper Jan 17 '18 at 19:43
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@AirbusLover The captain is by definition the PIC (Pilot In Command) regardless of whether s/he is PF (Pilot Flying) or PM (Pilot Monitoring). The manual you referred to contains some information about the role of the PF/PM. (In addition: in many (most?) airlines, the Captain and FO (First Officer) takes turns being PF) – Waked Jan 17 '18 at 21:24
I meant the pilot monitoring. – AirbusLover Apr 21 '18 at 00:13

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 19 '18 at 20:40

Having worked as a mechanic for a large Airline in heavy maintenance, I can tell you over the years many cups of coffee and drinks are spilled on the center console, electrical panels and connectors used in aircraft are designed for mitigating moisture entry into the equipment. most spills are more of a corrosion problem than a electrical one.

What policies, technologies, equipment, etc is used to mitigate liquid spills in the cockpit especially during turbulence?

2 Answers2