Originally Posted by
GunshipGuy
I would love to know how much the AF thought they'd save by not putting an FE in the cockpit. Between gear up landings, landing on the wrong field, and this kind of "accident" I think they might be ahead had they invested in an additional crew member. Maybe cut down on how many they actually need with a stipulation they be mandatory until the CP has over 300 hours.
In the tactical world, they typically fly with a third pilot...or at least they did as of a year or so ago. The same lesson the AF learned with the C27 and is relearning with the C130J. For high-level, point A-B flying, it's well within the workload of the existing crew and cockpit design, but for low-level or tactical operations, it stretches the workload based on the cockpit design and crew structure.
That's why AFSOC is putting at least one Nav (nee CSO) on the MC-130J.
As to why no FE? Personnel are the biggest cost requirement and over the lifetime of the aircraft would far outweigh these accident-induced costs...