Originally Posted by
Hedley
The sim training for upgrade is highly scripted, and not difficult, especially if you’re upgrading on the same plane and can take the short course. Learn the script, pass the sim. It’s all up to the LCA’s. Captain OE should be very thorough and captain candidates shouldn’t get signed off unless they prove that they’re ready. Depending on their background, many will be. Someone with thousands of hours PIC at one of our regionals wouldn’t have much trouble, where a low time pilot with no PIC time paired up with an inexperienced FO would be a disaster waiting to happen.
I only anonymously brought it up after flying with someone who had an upgrade award who I thought truly was not ready. I saw his name on the list so I guess he made it through. He was very inadequate as an FO.🤷🏿♂️
ALPA suggested a general FSAP. I never did it. But FSAPs would force the powers that be to look at people who upgrade with the bare minimum experience. Former regional CAs, in my experience, are the low time FOs that seem to be most ready. Even most of a lot of them still seem to have a some blind spots in the operation.