Originally Posted by
Andy
I remember fairly clearly jumpseating on regionals back in 2000 where the FO's commercial ticket still had wet ink.
Where I see a problem right now in lowering the minimums is that it would reduce the number of working CFIs out there. And there's a huge shortage of working CFIs. That said, I think that the minimums should be somewhere between the current limits and a 250hr Commercial license.
It was rare, but occasional, before the turn of the century. The subsequent rise of the wet commercials led to the ATP rule.
I think there are better ways to do it than 1500 hours, but they are complicated and costly. If the industry wants to go there, great. But don't just give them carte blanche, we've BTDT...