My beef with this whole deal is that it goes against minimum qualifications that everyone else has to measure up to and contradicts the Bridge Agreement.

The DL interview in the past has picked out a pretty good group of people to work with (so much so that what is considered the 10% at 9E is referred to the as the 1% here). I hope the SSP functions as well as the interview!

My point is the military guys and 4 yr degree guys are the ones that caused those incidents and accidents. You had better read up on the Fred ex accidents and see who was flying those birds. My point is, that regardless of your background no one is immune to an accident!

I believe I missed where someone asserted that having a 4-year degree makes you immune to an accident. :)

You did, you asked what my point was.

Just curious... Since all companies (that I have worked for-five now) have their bad apples, do you also check when you are flying Delta mainline?

And a follow up... have you gone to the union suggesting those bad apples get additional training or the boot? I have (not to protect my family, rather to protect my job and my company).

Minimum qualifications at all airlines are a dynamic thing: when pilots are plentiful, mins are high; when pilots are rare, mins are low. There have been times prior to your going to PinnaColAbba, it took an ATP to sit right seat on a 1900.

I've never flown with someone at DL that has raised anywhere near that level concern. The few bad apples that I've encountered here are guys that you just wouldn't mind not having to spend another trip with.

I did go to pro-standards about one CA at 9E... he actually got fired about a year later. That guy was a doozy. Awful pilot and even worse personality.

Still missing the point. DL mins haven't changed. The "vault letter" (if it states what is purported via PCL insiders) exempts a portion of those minimums while there are 15,000 other people vying for the job.

Fair enough.

But considering regionals don't generally get to select from folks that have a bunch of large aircraft, high 121 time, I think they do a pretty fair job weeding out the majority of the nutjobs. It ain't a perfect world, but I'd still put my family in the hands of any regional pilot rather than those of a cabbie.

And if the bad apples you have flown with are good sticks but don't play well with others, that suggests to me they are not creating a good CRM environment. That can be just as bad has being a bad stick. A good CA can keep personal, political, religious, etc., issues out of the cockpit and keep things safe and professional. I have flown with plenty of folks who I don't care to fraternize with, but they have all been folks I would trust to perform.

Look, be honest, hiring everywhere has been partly experience, partly grooming, and partly who one knows. When it was called the Comair Aviation Academy, getting a CFI there and moving on to Comair put folks on a shorter list than those who had not. Heck, even being in the right military branch makes a difference. I'm not defending this alleged hush-hush, double secret probation letter. I'm just saying don't be so naive.