Originally Posted by XtremeF150
Albeit, we all come out of the shop with hardly any real world experience compared to all the pilots out there, but that doesn't necessarily make us bad pilots or bad people. Just inexperienced.
Alright, the real difference with the "other guys" is that although they didn't know anymore than you PFT type's when they finished, they didn't go take 50 - 90 lives at a time into their hands at over 400 knots. If a captain on one of these flights was to become incapacitated with a malfunction of almost an major system (especially the autopilot) there would be a need for at least that many body bags...If there is enough left for even that.
These "other guys" are those that realized how little they really knew at the minimum time to be a commercial pilot. They are a few of the lucky that found out that most of the learning begins when they took the left seat and 1 life at a time into their hands on daily basis. This environment, although challenging provides a continually safe environement to FINISH their learning process.
XtremeF150
So whats the answer? Keep new hires in a sim until they reach enough hours to be considered "safe" in case the captain becomes incapacitated? I have seen plenty of instructors in numerous venues getting regional jobs with their 2000TT with ZERO knowledge of how to even start the engines on an RJ. Are they really that much safer with their 2000TT in a 172 if they happen to have a captain who has become incapacitated? Don't kid yourself. Would I feel comfortable putting my family on an RJ with a 300TT F/O? No. Would I feel comfortable putting my family on an RJ with 2000TT in 172's F/O? No.