Airline Pilot Central Forums - View Single Post - Sullenburger Steps up to the Plate for Pilots

02-13-2009 | 07:15 AM

#52

Rhino Driver

Gets Weekends Off

Joined: Apr 2007

Posts: 474

Likes: 0

From: 73N CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSultanofScud

Wow. Wow.

"The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:

(1) the pilots’ unprofessional behavior, deviation from standard operating procedures, and poor airmanship, which resulted in an in-flight emergency from which they were unable to recover, in part because of the pilots’ inadequate training..."

Despite how bad that entire accident report reads, I suppose it highlights the dangers of the unexpected when one takes the opportunity to fly outside of the typical profile.

This is EXACTLY why I think the military training program produces better, more experienced aviators. The military ROUTINELY flies "outside of the typical profile." What is an emergency? I definitely believe it falls outside the typical profile. The day to day point A to B flying that we routinely do is very uneventful. The experience is truly required when the ******* hits the fan, so to speak. I would much rather be flying with someone who has flown an entire career on the edge, making split second decisions, in this case, than someone who went to the airlines with 200 hours doing nothing but flying point A to B.

This is not MIL v CIV debate. It's an experience debate. You can make the same argument for the guy who flew the checks at night in crappy IFR, towed banners during the day, flight instructed for hundreds of hours, went on to flying multiple different aircraft in the corporate world, flew for a regional, and then came to the majors.

Ab-initio/MPL programs will never produce a truly experienced pilot.