Originally Posted by
JayMahon
Just read that the FO only had 200 hours of flight time. Apparently Sully made a facebook comment on it. That's abysmally low. I wasn't aware that some international outfits flew folks with such low credentials.
Some? A better adjective would probably be "Most".
That's probably why US airline aviation is safer than all the rest. Even safer than European airlines by a measurable margin. A few exceptions which tend to hire the cream of their respective crops such as BA, LH, KL, QF.
Culturally in the US the SIC is a backup PIC. In many other places the CA is God and the SIC is just a switch monkey. If that's how you're raised and treated, it's hard to suddenly switch gears and rise to the occasion when needed.
As a PIC, you should always encourage mental engagement in decision making from your SIC... you're a planting a seed that may save your butt at harvest time.