Originally Posted by
The Juice
Agreed. This is not about what experience the congressman has but on the lack of substance of his questions. You want the man to be credible based on his C-130 and military experience but his questions and letter to Colgan reeks of grandstanding and unintelligent media sensationalism propaganda.
If the congressman had done his homework he would realize that many regionals have pilots in their ranks hired with wet commercial licences. This was not just a Colgan thing but a fact for many regional airlines needing butts to fill seats.
Also he would have seen that the pilots had enough rest as mandated by the FEDERAL Aviation Administration. Perhaps he should look to his backyard in DC about why pilots can be worked 16 hours a day.
Lack of training? Well, again he should have done his homework being the super pilot that he is. The FEDERAL Aviation Administration is the one who approves the training sylabus for the airline. Again, the congressman should look in his own backyard.
I can give a rats butt about if this guy was in the military and flew fats or a 172 on the weekend. This is grandstanding and nothing more. If he had any clue he would realize that this is not a Colgan problem but a issue that affects all regional pilots.
Again, you are refuting a point I never made. I have no strong opinion on the letter whatsoever, I pretty much agree with your synopsis of it. All I was saying is that 'AirWillie' should attempt research before slamming the mans flying credentials, because he did no research, he just made a broad sweeping assumption about somebody else, much like he is criticizing the media for the same thing, aka broad sweeping assumptions.
Hence, my original and only point whatsoever:
Before calling somebody a C-172 weekend warrior, first make sure they are not a USAF C-130 major. out