GrUpGrDn

Back to school ala Rodney Dangerfield
A great line spoken by Sam Kinnison

BSOuthisplace

Can we all just agree that you can't entirely predict the quality of a pilot based on hours, educational background, type of flying experience, etc.

I think it's a case by case basis that should be left up to the airline, and their training department.

It's too bad that congress, the FAA, and most disappointing, fellow pilots, lost sight of what the real culprit was. Poor training.

afterburn81

Poor training? You mean, NO training. If it was "poor training" then the FAA is to blame for letting them through rendering your case of letting the airling training dept catch it to blame. Sure I'll agree with you that you can't predict the quality of a pilot based on all the training and experience they have. However, I bet I would be right at least 95% of the time when I guessed the outcome of an airline in which all the pilots just paid for a seat in a jet and took the easy way out. It doesn't take rocket science to figure that one out. Just statistics.

I'm not sure if all can remember but a common analogy used when teaching the FOI's back in the day of the initial CFI was that you cannot simply "pour" information into a student's head. Some things must be experienced and experiential learning is the most powerful tool out there. You guys can cry all you want but if you want to be responsible for people's lives while being in command of a aluminum tube full of gas traveling 5 miles high and slightly subsonic, it would be prudent to just do the right thing and learn what the consequences are BEFORE you make your way into that nice shinny jet.

Be Realistic

Stsi202

Best post so far on this topic!!!!!!

Military - low time pilots on heavy metal
Europe - low time pilots on heavey metal

Both safe

Isn't it about time people stopped harping on about hours, confusing the old irritating phrase "Paying dues" with safety?

Change the regs so that some people who cannot fly don't get through. Surely not every body who has $50k has a right to the left seat, even if they got their scrapped through their CFI and have 1500 hrs?

Lab Rat

I don't see anybody making direct correlation between paying dues and safety. There does seem to be a correlation between one's experience and safety. "The paying your dues" has more to do with whatever sacrifices one makes on his or her way up the ladder.

I think the regs are good enough, it is just a matter of enforcing the standards.

atpcliff

Hi!

This bill mandates that the FAA study commuting.

It mandates that the FAA change the Flight/Duty/Rest requirements.

It WILL raise the pay at at least some of the regionals.
There were a number of regionals, in 2007/8, that were hiring pilot candidates with less than 200 hours TT, and/or no Commercial License at all.

Currently, the Part 141 schools, can get guys a Commercial with as low as about 166 hours. The House version of the bill said the FAA could decided what to credit the Pilot Us for classroom/sim time, etc.

I have read other posts saying the Senate requires an ATP (period).

For the bill to pass, the House and Senate will have to align their bills, so the lowered Pilot U. requirement could be quashed in committee.

cliff
NBO

bigDummy

Remember. This bill has to be reconciled with the senate version (if passed). Right now it doesn't mean much. Perhaps the loophole will be closed in reconciliation......

skywatch

Ahhhh....maybe I am missing something, but isn't that commercial liscense thing kind of required for you to be compensated for your pilot services? (insert low pilot pay joke here)

Hot Rod Wannabe

They being Alpa, US House of Reps, and others, have missed the mark again. Instead of focusing on safety in training they are throwing the baby out with the bath water. Hours don't make people safe, more structure on safety and education of pilots are more important than the hours. CRM and what is and isn't a sterile cockpit! Discipline of the pilots because it doesn't matter who would have been in the cockpit with the colgan pilots, because when the stick shaker went off it was a notice that they only had seconds to live and they should have started praying! Nobody could have saved them, not even Chuck Yeager! It is a sad thing that safety has taken a back seat to this tragedy.

Clocks

Wait a second...you mean simply raising the minimum hours to 1500 in the wake of a couple of 2200-5000 hour regional crews balling up perfectly good airplanes wont make us safer?