They were not cleared for Take-Off...The KLM FO didn't have the guts to stop the roll after the poster-boy CA decided they were going and nothing was going to stop them, even though he knew something wasn't right. You can hear him say on the tapes they should abort, but he didn't do anything about it. True, the other crew missed their taxiway turn-off, and were thus still on the runway, but they were on with Tower who was very much aware, as both KLM crewmembers should have been as well.

 

Tough being 6 isn't it?...

 

hey, u've got the chipmunks coming back...and to the big screen also....i'll buy the tickets, It'll be APC night on the town.

 

I think this topic rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, on both sides. Look at how many brand new posters we have on this!

I am also talking about the 90's chipmunks. Great cartoon. The chimpette with the glasses I think was the cuttest. I don't think I'll go see the new one.

And very nice diver. I am 7 1/2, thnk you very much. 2nd grade......only four left until I am a big kid in school. Yes, I get to use TWO hands to count my age.

 

One of the first things they told us at the ASA interview is to watch out for recruiters from Mesa and Pinnacle that would try to hit you up outside of FlightSafety and offer a bonus if you came to work for them right out of training. I'm not sure if it was a joke or not, but it was pretty damn funny. The guy gave the FL410 incident as a reason not to, and I thought that part was in poor taste.

 

Why go anywhere else besides APC for your daily dose of entertainment?!

And to comment on the Chipmunks...they were (and arguably are, still) great, but if I have to listen to that flippin' Chipmunk Christmas song just one more time...::shakes fist::

 

I'd advise not driving around Dallas then...I've counted 15 defferent billboards with ALVIIIIIIN!!! in big yellow letters. I almost rear-ended a guy on the tollroad last week cuz I looked at that sign and thought of the annoying christmas song. The cop probably would have blamed it on the fact that I've only got 500 hours behind the wheel...

EasyJet will give a merit badge in the loo...but it's not the aviation merit badge...Hooters Air is a sponsor too.

 

Whats so funny is that we have the rumors going around of recruiters from ASA trying to get people to come over from pinnacle.

The FLG3701 was a learning experience as well as an enlightening experience for many. Stupidity can be blamed for what they did, in addition to carelessness. However you look at the unfortunate event an entire industry learned a good deal about the -200's downfalls with the death of two pilots. While you may or may not care that these pilots died we will never know how many lives were saved by people being truly aware of high speed aerodynamics in addition to the -200's (in specific) flaws.

Many threads come on here bashing pinnacle pilots. Frankly I am not sticking up for the group but I will represent a couple facts and opinions overall. The only reason pinnacle pilots are given a hard time as of late in the idea of hiring the "low timers" in addition to working under a "crap contract". I will attack both ends of the attacks.
-First off low time Fo's do exist. Many are young, many have less than 500 hours, but MOST Fo's that come here have in excess of 1000/200. When I was hired 14 months ago I was one of the lower time guys in my class at roughly 1000TT with almost 250multi. There were a couple 600-800 hour guys and 2 ATP guys. Only 1 of the 250 guys made it through. PNCL hiring has really become strict on the hiring mins. Latest is 1000/200 unless you do a bridge. I have a good friend who was told his times were too low (650ish and 150ish multi) for PNCL and just got hired at AWAC. Explain that. Before you bash a group of pilots and generalize all you should know the facts, those who bash on here obviously don't know everything about 9E. Many FO's could upgrade but don't for whatever reason- and most reasons are different. I won't be upgrading til next summer for a few reasons (QOL is not even on the list though).
-Crap contract. This chaps my ass because those who hop on here and talk about our pay scales, work rules, etc complain and make it sound like we get the short end of the stick and like it. We have been given "last, best, final" offers from mgmt and have turned them down. We could have an OK 2nd year rate, an extra day per month off, and some other little things and maybe you would not gripe- yet its us standing up to mgmt (to the tune of 99% solidarity in a strike vote showing) that will not just help us, but help everyone in this industry. If you think that just because you can go somewhere and have a nice 2nd year pay rate that everything will be OK you are sadly wrong. What we are doing at 9E (pilots side) deserves nothing more than support. Call me arrogant about that but have something to back up your statements.

With all this being said I must admit that I could have gone many other places (regionals) and I came to PNCL. I felt a contract would come sooner than the current situation, could live in base where I am from, all jet fleet, quick upgrade, and all would be good. I no longer tell people to come here. Until we get a contract this place is a war zone. Mgmt is trying to shoot torpedoes up our butt every day via new "memos", scheduling is blowing up the phone, and my paycheck makes me wonder why I come to work sometimes. With that being said I get the schedules I want, fly with a GREAT group of pilots, fly my ass off- 1000hrs/yr, and sit around waiting for july to upgrade and get out of here. Our sacrifices in QOL and pay will help the rest of the industry- start realizing that before coming on a board just to pound your chest that you make more money because the next time contract talks come around we are in the basis equation of what your next 5 years will entail.

This is not directed at anyone in particular, just think about what I am typing and how it can/does/will relate to YOU.

 

Perhaps it was poor form. Is it poor form for the NTSB to make accident summaries open to the public? We need to be able to look at things like that and say "wow, that was stupid, I won't ever do that."

I did make an attack at the supidity of the crew, but it's hard not to after reading the CVR transcript. Point taken, however.

 

I use two hands for something, but it's not counting my age...