Originally Posted by
Glenn Would
1. Do you believe with all your intellect that a pilot with 3+ busts, especially if they occurred early in their career/primary training, is automatically beyond redemption? Even irregardless of subsequent years of clean 121 flying, gaining of accolades like Chief Pilot/LCA/Management credentials, multiple successful type ratings, acquiring company/FAA/NTSB awards, leadership positions, and overall chasing excellence? Are they forever seen as PR liabilities in the eyes of the Big Six?
My gut feel is that four busts is consistently beyond redemption for most or all of the big six. My gut feel is that two can usually be overcome under the right circumstances. Three is somewhere in the middle (gut feel).
Very aggressive pursuit of your goals shifts the odds towards your favor, but there are some folks out there who never get calls, even with clean records (that might change soon). I think that the standout points on your resume are at least as important as the blackmarks. Your average boring white male pilot can easily get lost in the traffic. If you have unusual positives which get their attention then they might be able to overlook/over-ride some black marks.
I do believe that the colgan accident made everyone (even regionals) sensitive to the potential PR impact of one's training history. The recent atlas crash is just going to re-inforce that unfortunately... if you were looking for a bad-pilot poster-child to replace CA Renslow, central casting couldn't have come up with a better candidate than Aska. And when the current crop of regional noobs (which includes some barrel-scrappings) upgrades en-masse we might even see a repeat of colgan. A couple years ago I was frankly alarmed, but I think at least some regionals have wised up and tightened up on hiring/training.
Originally Posted by
Glenn Would
2. Are you in a hiring position at your legacy?
No, I've been involved in hiring at previous levels. I work with a lot of senior folks in the reserves, they and I have tried to help a lot of transitioning junior officers over the years get into the majors. A couple of my buddies are or were involved in legacy hiring. And all of us have landed legacy or second-tier major jobs ourselves.
Also have a lot of civilian friends who have progressed (and a few who haven't), so I have some perspective there too (I have helped some civilians get hired too).