Human Factors research tries to figure out why we make mistakes. Distraction is the most common cause for pilot errors. In the case of the Comair accident, those pilots had been told the previous Thursday their jobs were gone (going out to bid) if they did not accept contract concessions. The CVR transcript is full of references to finding work. Same with the Colgan transcript. Checklists are just the interruption between discussing ways to mitigating the effect of working for an express carrier.

No mainline carriers are not immune, but what you might not appreciate as a mature, professional, mainline pilot is the effect that constant threats and job jeopardy has on less mature, less seasoned pilots. What effect does stress have? Losing your job is terrible when you have $500,000 in the bank. For those with $500 in the bank the effect is more immediate.

The line in the OP was being drawn from the 1,500 hour requirement to these accidents ... my point was that the more logical line to draw was between the accidents and outsourcing. From a Human Factors perspective there are striking similarities between those CVR transcripts.

The cause - loss of situational awareness due to complacency/distractions. However, the difference is that in outsourcing, the company knew the pilot was a risk but did not act. There was no indication that I know of, of the mainline pilots having the same issue. In other words, for mainline it was isolated occurrence, but the regional was an accident waiting to happen.

UGBSM,

The "brand scope" concept came (I think) from NWA, not Comair or Dan Ford. In any event we should not be competing with separate divisions of our own Company for our flying.

As for competing with other companies, of course, that's capitalism.

While most pilots are union members, up and until recently most pilots had not been union members at their prior occupation. Going forward our new hires will be experienced union members.

In fact, if you look around the Delta MEC offices today, I think it is accurate to say that pilots with union experience from their job before Delta are more active* in representative and administrative positions than those who did not come from a union background.

We can reasonably expect former union members to have a greater interest in, and appreciation for, the representative process than those who came from a background where they were unfamiliar with unions, or had a negative perception of organized labor.

* defined as a percentage compared to the overall demographics of the Delta pilot group.

Sorry Bar but I disagree. I was furloughed twice after 9/11 and yes I was a mainline pilot who was under constant threats and my job was in jeopardy for 2 years prior to my first furlough. I was watching the outsourcing happen before my eyes. I was looking for jobs and considering career changes but I remained a professional and did my job.

If outsourcing was the cause of accidents mainline jets would have been crashing every week post 9-11.

Look, I'm all for pilot unity. Even ALPA pilot unity. When it comes to safety, accident investigation, political action, legal, aeromedical, insurance, MCF, and a magazine... I'm all for ALPA national.

But when it comes to my contract at my company, there is our unified MEC and everyone else are barbarians at the gate! Including other "divisions" of "our" company with their own MEC, their own contract, and their own agenda.

If you are not a member of the Delta MEC then you are not a Delta pilot, I don't know how else you can look at it.

Why did Comair not file a single carrier petition? Why did ASA not file a single carrier petition?

this is what I was getting at, caddis is just more eloquent than me. Plus you old mainline farts are always stressed about your medical

We did at Mesaba, but it was suppressed by NWALPA, and National. National is afraid that an SLI would bankrupt it.

Why not file a single carrier petition with Endeavor, heck, my paycheck comes from Delta in Atlanta? What's the worst that the NMB could tell us, no?

Anybody familiar with the vacation move-up process? I need to move a week next January. I know I can probably slide it on my bid, but I need to get it moved now so I can make some solid plans. I thought I had it figured out and submitted a move-up bid, but haven't seen anything happen.

Well said, Caddis...