Originally Posted by
jetpilot26
During the massive hiring and pilot shortages in the 60s, most MAJORS hired pilots with ZERO time. The airline hired the guy, said go get a commercial and instrument, when you are done you will start heavy metal class. Also, all the permanent F/Es on the props (former mechanics) were told the same, go get a commercial and instrument, and you will be upgraded, no longer being an F/E. This totaled 100s and 100s of guys with ZERO time suddenly flying 707s, 727s, DC-8s, etc.
While making a new 121 pilot have 1500 hours is not a bad thing, it is clearly a beaurocratic response to Buffalo!
Yes, there have been no-time pilots in the right seats of big jets, but they were being mentored by 10,000+ hour Captains in the left seat (who rarely stalled their airplanes while intercepting the glideslope). A beaurocratic road-block that would require an airline pilot to have an Airline Transport Pilot License (I know, strange) or at the very least be illegible for such a license, would be a collar to try to prevent companies like Colgan from hiring low-time and pay-to-play type pilots and then checking them out a year or two later. It might even provide some upward pressure to the industry wages.