Originally Posted by mike734

Soooo....He deserves nothing. Hmmmm.

There but for the grace of God go you. (even though I don't believe in God the expression is still useful)

I've heard the ATC tapes and seen the simulation. I have come to conclude the controller did a lousy job of ground control. His phraseology was not helpful and could have gone a long way to prevent this accident. Sure the pilots are ultimately responsible. Sure if they had bugged the heading on the NAV display they may have noticed the error. I wonder who gave them IOE? I know from my experience, at the regionals I flew for, the instructors were some of our worst pilots. Brown nosers usually ended up getting the instructor positions. My experience has been better at the majors.

My point is, there is plenty of blame to go around. He made a mistake with devastating consequences. He will live with the physical and mental consequences for the rest of his life. I'm willing to bet he won't make that mistake again. Perhaps he will be the safest pilot out there. If he can get medically re-certified and re-qualify, he should be allowed to fly.

Good luck to him.