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Old 06-26-2011 | 08:02 AM
  #10  
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2StgTurbine
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To prevent a thread drift...

To the OP's questions and all other common interview questions, I will give the answers that I gave that seemed to have worked.

When I was asked why I wanted to work there, it was easy for Colgan. I liked the EWR base, I liked the equipment, I liked the TA, I liked the stability the company appeared to have with a fuel efficient plane that had long term contracts, I liked the apparent growth, and I liked the few pilots I knew and the positive things they had to say about the company (positive compared to what pilots at other regionals had to say about their company).

When they asked what you would do when the captain goes below minimums, I explained that it was a complicated scenario with many options. I made it clear that 200 ft was not the time to fight for control of the aircraft. I then went on to explain that a pilot would not have made it to the left seat if they routinely broke regs like that. I told them I would assume it was a momentary lapse in judgment, so I would remind them to go around and then announce we are going around to the tower. If the captain still did not respond, I would place my hand on the gear lever and tell the captain I was not going to let him land. By that point that captain should see the writing on the wall and go around, if he doesn't, he is probably incapacitated. At any point, if we see the runway, I would continue and let the captain land and deal with it on the ground.

When they asked me about a missing nav light, I said the MEL makes the situation black and white. I told them that the FAA and the company put a lot of work into their FOM, MEL, and SOPs and that I was hired to follow them.

When they asked about flying with a drunk captain, I told them I would do everything physically possible to keep the captain off the plane and preferable out of the terminal. I told them that today’s media would go crazy if just one passenger thought a pilot looked drunk. I told them that my career, the company's reputation, and the safety of the public are not worth that captain's career or the passengers’ flight home. I told them this job is tough enough and I have better things to do than to go out of my way to cover up for an alcoholic pilot. The panel approved, but one captain added that I could always call in sick if I liked the captain. I told them I would probably do that, but if this is the same captain who went below minimums and tried to fly the plane without the nav light, I wouldn't waste my cell phone minutes on him.

The interview was fun and took about 7 minutes. I think that they liked that I was direct, didn't waste their time with vague answers, and didn't look like I was trying to answer the questions they way I thought they wanted me to answer. It helped that I had no pressure to get the job because the job I was currently in was growing and offering me great opportunities, albeit restricted to single engine turbine operations. Just be honest with them and remember that it is your personality that they care about, not the answers. If they like your personality, but you answers were not always what they wanted, that is what training is for.
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