Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness; Confusion
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Security; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Work Refused
Human Factors; Procedure
After returning to the cockpit during an intermediate stop; I noticed an unmarked; unlabeled cooler on the cockpit floor. I asked the First Officer what it was. He said that the gate agent had asked if the Captain would take it to our destination. It had medicine for her son's cancer treatment that one of the gate agents had forgotten to take with her on the previous day's flight. I went up to the gate to talk to the gate agent. The agent said that it was cleared to go by the Manager on Duty and had been brought to him by the FAA. I asked him if he had checked the FAA inspector's credentials. He said no. I informed him that we would try to find out more info on the cooler. I sent a message ACARS message to System Operations asking if the package met all TSA and FAA requirements. They said that it had gone through TSA and was 'good to go' per an individual in station operations at the direction of the Manager of Customer Service who was on her way to talk to me. When she arrived I asked if the cooler met all TSA and FAA requirements for transport. She said it was cleared by the TSA. I asked her again if it met all FAA requirements and she interrupted me and took the cooler off the aircraft. We left gate about 45 minutes late.I am not sure why any unmarked; unlabeled package/cooler would ever be in cockpit. I understand the urgency to get the medicine to a fellow employee's cancer ridden son ASAP. However; this cooler had NO bag tag; NO freight tag or any other evidence that it had gone through screening. The cooler APPEARED to contain several frozen gel packs that I was under the impression were not allowed through passenger TSA screening. So how did it get through passenger screening? Even if it did get through screening it was an unescorted; unchecked piece of baggage. The owner was not a passenger on the aircraft. I felt very pressured to take the cooler by the customer service managers. The Customer Service Manager; in particular; became very impatient when I was trying to talk with her about the situation and interrupted me when I tried to tell her that System Operations was sending us information via ACARS. She grabbed the cooler and got off the aircraft in the middle of the conversation.This cooler could have been an explosive device; etc. There was a serious breakdown in security procedures when this cooler was simply placed in the cockpit. I was under the impression from the continuous airport PA announcements in the terminal that one is never to carry another person's bag on the aircraft. That is exactly what happened here. Our FOM has some guidance for human tissue transport (which does not apply in this case) that says it can be in the cabin if it is escorted; but must be in the cargo compartment if it is unescorted. At the very least this package should have been shipped through the Air Freight Office and place in the baggage compartment after all hazardous materials (if any) were declared. I do not appreciate being put in the position in which these managers placed me. The cooler should have been inspected and shipped via appropriate commercial means if it was urgently needed. Does no one remember 9-11?Finally; I wonder if it was simply placed in the cockpit of the later flight.
An A319 Captain was unwilling to carry an improperly vetted and labeled cooler; allegedly containing cancer medications for a fellow employee's son; that had been inadvertently left behind when the employee left on the previous days flight. An eventual confrontation with a customer service supervisor ended abruptly when the Supervisor refused to discuss the Captain's concerns further; grabbed the cooler and exited the aircraft.