Originally Posted by
Cycle Pilot
Oscar Meyer? What the heck does that mean? Of course, pilots with more than 1000 hours are going to get into accidents, too. We're talking about accident rates here. Bringing up the Pinnacle accident is not helping your argument. Those pilots stalled an RJ at 41000 feet which flamed out both engines... again... basic flying 101 skills. Not to mention, they were acting completely unprofessional during the flight. Switching seats and pulling up quickly after takeoff to mention a couple. Have you read the NTSB report on that accident? The F.O. was new and in the right seat of an RJ while the airplane stalled. Not once did he speak up.
You are right, though, in one point. Hours alone does not make you a safe pilot. It's about quality hours and I believe that going through a "puppy pilot mill" is not building quality hours. You're missing that foundation you get while flight instructing and flying single pilot IFR. Somebody mentioned above, that guys coming out of your FMN school had zero IMC. That's just scary!
Oscar Meyer Bologna
! And as for Pinnacle you are missing the point again. We are probably arguing our points in similar fashion, but with opposite vectors. Pinnacle as you mentioned is a prime example that hours don't make the pilot. Professionalism and risk management are great tools for any pilot. And the younger generation are getting more than the older generation. And yes IFR in the southwest is very rare for new pilots and as for accident rates why would you bring up the most dangerous part of flying.... Single pilot IFR kills even the most experienced of pilots. It is the highest accident rate for pilots of all skills period. I for one have enough experience that I wouldn't be afraid to fly single pilot IFR, but my minimums are much higher because of the single pilot enviornment. It is too easy to get over loaded on go arounds and that is the begining of the end of even the best of pilots. So I prefer not to fly Single Pilot IFR if at all possible. And honestly, in 121 carrier training how many times do you fly the sim down to mins and then go missed... Yea it is scary to do it for the first time in a jet with 50-80 people behind you. But if trained appropreiately, it is a none event! I have personally never had to go missed, but flying an ILS to mins is my favorite approach. Nothing compares! Almost nothing