You've been using the web for 7 years and just now figured out you have email???? And magically when all the news agencies are scrambling for dirt on these guys you become technologically empowered. I'm supposed to believe that?

 

This is not on topic, but in brief... ATC is not the same (in terms of enforcement) as the FAA inspectors. ATC themselves have inspectors and if one should be standing behind a tower controller and they both witness an unsafe maneuver, they can report it, but normally ATC is like you, just trying to do a job and they're not out to police you as you should not be out to police them. As for dipping.... remember, it's one thing to dip in a Cessna 172, and later a Citation, but once you get into these unsafe habits it's hard to break them.. one day you'll be in an Airbus or MD11 and that dip, can cost you your and many others lives..

 

That would be nice but the chances of that happening are minimal and I don't quite see the correlation between that debate and this accident.

 

your second scenario would include my company

 

This article is interesting as it cites low pay and long commutes as one of the many contributing factors leading up to the crash: Hiring, Training of Pilots Under Fire in Crash Probe of Doomed Buffalo Jet - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com

 

Anyone know what's on the docket for today's hearing? I'm not able to listen in like yesterday.

 

I am not saying that increased pay/retirement benefits would have prevented this accident. I was addressing the issue that was brought up earlier, on this forum and in the media that the last 7 fatal crashes took place at the regional level and that pay/retirement (and fatigue for that matter) was a topic of interest to the NTSB and the public. Yes, it's hard to believe that pilots start out making $20,000 a year, and maybe that is preventing the industry from attracting the best and brightest. It was brought up in front of congress by Captain Sully and it is being brought up again.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Captain and FO did everything they can to prevent this from happening. My condolences go out to there families and I hope the victims of this tragedy rest in peace.

 

"Hello pot? This is the kettle...."

 

Lets clear a few things up here....been using the web longer than 7 years(reread my post)that applied to reading stuff from this forum.....and had no need to use my ISP registered email until now. I could never get my ISP email to work being that the name that they had registered for my isp email was spelled so horribly incorrect; it did not match the spelling of my name, nor the spelling of my name on the account. Makes it kind of tough to figure out your email to login. I have had an email address from a free account for as long as I can remember, and that has served me just fine.

After reading my initial post, how did you infer that I am trying to dig up dirt on these guys...in fact, being that I wrote the post, I know I was trying to do the EXACT OPPOSITE. Seriously, did you even read my post?

 

A checkride is an extremely scripted event. There are no surprises, and it can be a poor indicator of exactly how proficient a pilot really is. We've all flown with pilots who make us shake our heads and wonder how they got into the seat next to us.

My point though, is that the FAA cannot mandate pay increases. It can, however, mandate tests that are harder and are a better judge of true proficiency. This in turn MAY lead to higher salaries as weaker pilots are weeded out and airlines are forced to pay more to find better qualified individuals.

I doubt it, though. The regionals are are already full of EXCELLENT* pilots who are willing to work for lower wages. It's a sad but true fact of this industry that the "romance" of the job and those who are afflicted by the flying bug will always cause the number of pilot applicants to vastly exceed available pilot positions.

Am I for higher pilot pay? Sure. But I don't this this tragic accident really is directly relevant or lends itself to that discussion.

(*In point of fact, I would argue that any 5 year captain at a regional is at least equal and probably better than the average "major" pilot (assuming he's kept his nose clean). They fly more, into ofttimes more challenging areas, and do it with a fraction of the support structure that the typcial major pilot has. Obsessing over crew rest rules, proper MEL compliance and sign-offs, legal dispatch to destination and alternate weather rules, etc . . . all of this is something a good regional captain takes very seriously, because chances are, his support structure is weak and his company expects HIM to be the one who is constantly calling mx, dispatch, crew tracking to fix things. All with a co-pilot who is good and safe, but inexperienced.)