Originally Posted by
johnso29
No. T
he dirty little secret is the FAA is too corrupt to actually make shoddy regionals like Colgan and Gulfstream fire a pilot who failed 7 checkrides throughout his history. They refuse to enforce respectable training just because better qualified pilots don't want to work under the crappy pay and conditions provided by regionals. When a regional flying 70 seat turboprops in the Northeast requires nothing more then a paper commercial certificate with ink that hasn't even dried yet, something is wrong.
No, the dirty little truth is each of us is only as good as our LAST checkride. If I pass a ride, then I am qualified. Or is there something I am missing?
Should rides be more difficult? Maybe, and I am all for it. But the fact is just like the old joke:
Q: What do you call a guy who graduated last in his class at medical school?
A: Doctor.
If you don't like the minimums (and I do not), then write your congressman. But the reality is, if one meets the requirements (even just barely), by definition, one is qualified. And that means if we require our ATPs to get 97%, there will still be folks who just squeak by.
Maybe, just maybe, the ATP requirement will come into affect without any loop holes (I hope so), and maybe it will have a positive effect. We shall see.
One thing is for sure: as long as new 121 pilots are based in expensive cities and paid very little, they will find the grey areas of any law and exploit them.
Another thing is, like it or not, regulations that increase cost are based on cost vs. loss analysis. If we come up with a regulation to cut accidents in half, but the price is ten times as high, that reg will not be implemented. I can design a car that will reduce fatalities to zero. It includes a breathalizer, 92 airbags, the top speed is 20 mph, and the cost would be $97,000 for the economy model. Unfortunately, nobody wants it. They would rather take their chances in a cheaper vehicle.
That is reality.