Originally Posted by loubetti

Now, and even though this was a while back, how do we describe this pilot?

Do I even need to tell you what this iconic photo is about, and the multi thousand hour ATP and chief training captain who caused it while killing 583 people?

I am not saying that the Colgan crash was not due to inexperience, but I think it was mostly caused by inattentiveness and some complacency, with perhaps some fatigue thrown into the equation. That's not always something that thousands of hours in the left seat will prevent. I know it was not due to low pay, disagree as you may.

We're still human, we're not always perfect, and aviation is usually not very forgiving of such.

These days we're not used to crashes, and that's why when they occur the reasons behind them are often somewhat unfathomable, as to not paying attention to airspeed or taking off without clearance. Simple things that even a student pilot should know about.

Oops... that last one wasn't very recent, but sometimes we have to look back in history and note that the worst of the crashes (when caused by pilot error) were caused by some very senior captains.

Tons of hours and good pay did not prevent crashes then, and will not prevent them now.

Granted, advanced technology, CRM, and perhaps better training will, and has, but it will never make aviation 100% safe.

We still have humans in the cockpit, and I do not see that changing anytime soon, and neither would I want it to!

Just my opinion- not looking for anyone to agree with me either.