I think you're reading some sarcasm into a statement that doesn't have any.

He has not established a record. He made a mistake. Think back to the stupidest thing you've done. You probably only did it once, then realized how bloody silly you were. Would you say that you've established a record and thus should never fly again? The only difference between his mistake and the mistake of another pilot is that the folks on board died. A single mistake does not make him a bad, or dangerous pilot, especially under the circumstances of the accident.

What if it had been a cargo plane with 49 boxes? What if he was flying solo? I doubt the responses would be the same. The loss of life is tragic, but it it doesn't say anything about him as a pilot; the same thing would have happened on an empty plane.

I don't know about having him as a sim instructor either. Eventually he may come up with a fool-proof way to teach ppl how to avoid his mistake. After a time, everybody would have heard it, and it'll be in every training curriculum. Then he becomes just another sim instructor, with not more to teach than any other instructor.

I'd say put him back on the line if he wants it. I'm no shrink, but I can think of 2 extreme outcomes:

1. He becomes a very doubtful pilot. Second guessing himself all the time, and loosing all self-confidence, thus becoming more of a liability than an asset on the flight deck.

2. He becomes an average (or better) pilot, but with a keener eye for safety. He really makes the accident work for him, and is always evaluating the situation, looking for ways to improve safety margins.Flying will expose him to more situations that he can observe, and make suggestions for improvement.

Like I said, I'm no shrink, but I think that after flying on the line again, a couple captains could make a decision on which way they think he's heading, and make a decision from there.

He made a mistake, and has paid for it. There's a possibility that he can teach the aviation community quite a lot. I think it's worth a shot.

Would you feel the same if your wife & kid were on flight 5191?

I would, but then again, I'm not the type of person to hold a grudge.:rolleyes:

Would I be upset about my loss? Darn right I would. But would destroying the career of the pilot who caused their death's make me feel better or mitigate that loss for me? Absolutely not. In my opinion that would be just one more life ruined because of this tragedy for no other reason than personal vindictiveness.

I must argue the difference b/t other pilot's mistakes and his is not merely "that the folks on board died"! That is a pretty large difference if you ask me.
And yes, I would say he has established a record for himself compared to many other pilots who have nothing of this magnitude on their records.
I personally find it difficult to compare a human life to a "box of cargo", so I will just ignore that remark!
Finally, what would be wrong with everyone hearing about how to avoid this mistake and incorporating it into training curriculum. Isn't that the idea??? To teach people how to avoid his mistakes??

I'm not sure where y'all learned about statistics or probability but one incident is not a "trend" or a "pattern" of behavior. Just keep that in mind. I've said it once and I'll say it again: as soon as you believe you are immune from ever making a mistake (and the way some of you are crucifying a fellow pilot, it sure seems that we have a lot of infallible pilots amongst us) then that is when YOU are the most dangerous person in aviation. Period.

I'm not saying the folks were only as valuable as boxes, what I'm saying is that the outcome would not have been any different if the plane was full of people, pets, pesticide or paper. That's why I try to look beyond the deaths, and analyze him as a pilot.

Secondly, to clarify- I think he'd be useful as an instructor, but only for a time. Once he's taught all he knows, what's going to separate him from any other instructor? Let him go back on the line then get some more experience so that when he retires at 65, he'll have a whole lot more to teach, both in the cockpit and in the sim.