Commercial Fixed Wing
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 50; Flight Crew Total 14000; Flight Crew Type 600
Distraction; Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Other / Unknown
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
Various agencies (FAA and NTSB) are ignoring the consequences of and some dangers of face coverings. Face coverings (medical masks) are dangerous in the cockpit of pressurized airplanes due to the extra time it takes to remove them (in addition to glasses and headsets) in the event of a depressurization event in flight. The masks also reduce the amount of oxygen intake due to rebreathing one's own breath. These effects can be magnified at altitude; just as smoking does. Fortunately my full time company has left the decision to wear masks in the cockpit up to individual crews. Any mask that I may be wearing comes off in the airplane.Wearing a face covering in the classroom during recurrent training is an unneeded distraction that makes any learning that much more difficult. If I had to go through an initial course for a new airplane I would probably turn down that opportunity as long as masks are required in classroom. The training provider my company uses required masks not only in the classroom but in the simulator also. I had to ignore that requirement in the sim because my glasses would fog up to the point that I had difficulty seeing. NTSB has been surprisingly quiet during all these virus issues. What ever happened to 'train as you do; do as you train'? The FAA administrator is correct in not getting involved in mandating mask use; just surprised the NTSB has not commented on this issue and the safety of flight issues mask usage by crews creates.
Captain reported various issues with having to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.