I am really having trouble with people saying that the Colgan Captain had "sound logic."

First, of all, I do not have all the details of the accident - only what has been made public. So, this is my own assessment.

1. He did not have a lot of time in this aircraft.
2. He overrode the pusher. Sure, he could have had sound logic if he thought that he was 30 feet over the ground and defeating the pusher would have resulted in a belly skid and the wheels going through the wings. This didn't happen over the approach end, though. He allowed for the flaps to be retracted. Again - I don't see the sound logic.
3. He failed several tests (and I don't have the specifics). Fail one test - I'd say it was nerves. Twice - the wife might have been yelling at you the day before. But we are talking about more than that.

Last point that I want to make. There have been a lot of arguments about regional pilot pay and the lifestyle. We should be treated like professionals. I totally agree. However, if you want to be treated like a professional, act like one. One of my biggest pet peeves are those of us that are violating sterile cockpit. It takes less than 10 minutes to get above 10,000 feet. When you are descending, you are usually working hard anyway. Why are we as a regional pilot group allowing these non-sterile cockpit conversations to continue to happen? We sound like idiots when the CVR's are released. Take a listen to USAir 1547 and United 232. Then listen to some of the more recent regional accident CVR's (I won't name them, but you can probably figure it out). Notice a difference?

Before you say that mainline allows the same thing to happen - I can't tell you the number of times that I have been on a mainline JS and heard the captain say, "10,000 feet, sterile." You know how many times I have heard that on a regional jet? Almost never. Jumpseat on FedEx sometime - these pilots are some of the most professional that I have ever seen in action! And you know what? They don't even have passengers on those aircraft! Aside from that, they debrief each flight and try to learn how to improve on the next one. Anyone else do that?

To sum up - a tragic accident happened. Hopefully there can be some good that comes of it. Maybe it will be government-enforced improved work rules and pay. At the very least, you can honor those who died by looking at the way that you conduct yourself and work and redefine the term, "professional pilot."