“1500 hour rule”
Now that we’re a little more than 5 years in since the “1500 hour rule” was enacted, I’m curious what other pilots opinions are on this regulation.
To Recap: This was enacted as a result of the Colgan Air 3407 crash. The one that revealed some of the truth of the regional airline industry to the public.
Was lack of experience, defined as logged flight-time, really the cause for this tragedy?
Soon after this new regulation took effect back in my CFI days, I was sitting down having lunch with an FAA ASI. I had to ask his opinion of it, expecting a canned answer. He nearly spit out his food, telling me this was the most useless legislation that won’t solve anything and essentially put into law to appease the families of the lost ones on the Colgan flight. I wasn’t expecting that response.
So what do you think... Did this really fix the problems of the regional industry?
Are the skies really that much safer now?
Do regionals still continue to get away with poor pilot treatment, regardless of union representation?