Bending airplanes is just fact, sorry. If the truth hurts, that's something you have to deal with. This is not going to be a referendum on who is safe. Remember the MKE accident? HIB? TVC was just a bad situation and it's too bad that CA had to take the fall. We all know what TVC is like in the winter. Mesaba for the record, with the pilots at the control have never "bent" an airplane. We've had incidents, like every other airline like blown tires, engine failures, hydraulic issues, flap issues etc.. We've been lucky, but luck doesn't keep you safe all by itself.

As for the 900 FOs... that I know for a fact is not common practice and was probably a one off event that sparked this whole urban legend. Nobody said we're perfect at Mesaba, but come on, I'm not going to be sorry for my companies good fortune at this time. I've been around long enough in the dark days to appreciate what's going on today. It's unfortunate that a few idiots at every pilot group spoil it for the rest of us.