This is the fault of the MAJOR airlines. Listen up before you get all upset. We all know the reason the plane crashed was because the captain was not very skilled. You can talk about the FO all day long, but the Captain is the FINAL AUTHORITY over that aircraft.

The captain had no significant 135 or CFI experience. He bought his first job on a B1900. Then he went straight to Colgan. He was used to baby sitting an auto pilot, not having a student trying to kill him, not having flown hard IFR with out a GPS, or making decisions by himself in small piston plane that can barely handle ice or out run thunderstorms, and having an FO that was probably close to being his equal when it came to PIC ability.

The MAJOR airlines should start requiring 1,000 hours of CFI time or single pilot 135 experience if the applicant is not a prior military pilot. The FAA also needs to require 1000 hours of PIC in airplanes to get an ATP, NO SUBSTITUTES! Plain and simple. Instead it's all "plane" and complicated.


I think Colgan has garbage pay and work rules, but the incentive to save the industry should be from the top, not the bottom. The majors only need to require 1,000 hours of CFI or 135 Single Pilot to help ensure better quality and pay. While the FAA should require 1,000 hours PIC in airplanes to get an ATP, NO SUBSTITUTES. People will make sure they get those before they go to a regional.