Originally Posted by Senior Skipper

He has not established a record. He made a mistake. Think back to the stupidest thing you've done. You probably only did it once, then realized how bloody silly you were. Would you say that you've established a record and thus should never fly again? The only difference between his mistake and the mistake of another pilot is that the folks on board died. A single mistake does not make him a bad, or dangerous pilot, especially under the circumstances of the accident.

What if it had been a cargo plane with 49 boxes? What if he was flying solo? I doubt the responses would be the same. The loss of life is tragic, but it it doesn't say anything about him as a pilot; the same thing would have happened on an empty plane.

I don't know about having him as a sim instructor either. Eventually he may come up with a fool-proof way to teach ppl how to avoid his mistake. After a time, everybody would have heard it, and it'll be in every training curriculum. Then he becomes just another sim instructor, with not more to teach than any other instructor.

I'd say put him back on the line if he wants it. I'm no shrink, but I can think of 2 extreme outcomes:

1. He becomes a very doubtful pilot. Second guessing himself all the time, and loosing all self-confidence, thus becoming more of a liability than an asset on the flight deck.

2. He becomes an average (or better) pilot, but with a keener eye for safety. He really makes the accident work for him, and is always evaluating the situation, looking for ways to improve safety margins.Flying will expose him to more situations that he can observe, and make suggestions for improvement.

Like I said, I'm no shrink, but I think that after flying on the line again, a couple captains could make a decision on which way they think he's heading, and make a decision from there.

He made a mistake, and has paid for it. There's a possibility that he can teach the aviation community quite a lot. I think it's worth a shot.