Bethune on pilot shortage
 

Yawn.............................

This guy sounds like a buffoon. Who the hell pays for 1500 hours?!

I know, I know. It’s a business show so they play to the audience, but cmon. If every topic discussed on these shows have so little regard for the reality of the related industry then nothing they talk about is true.


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He isn't entirely wrong. The 1500hr rule was indeed arbitrary and a knee jerk reaction by Congress with regard to an accident that had less to do with experience and more to do with general incompetence and lax training standards.

Keeping the experience standards high is great until it reaches the point where they have to either lower the threshold or raise the retirement age to keep up with demand.

Whoa there cowboy. The experience level at many commuters was shockingly low. It's amazing that more of this type of Colgan accident hadn't happened more often.

Arbitrary and knee jerk? I disagree. The ATP requirement was a very logical place to make the distinction. General incompetence is a corollary to inexperience.

Since the rule has been enacted, there have been very few incidents, and only 1 fatality, which was SW's engine failure--in the US.

There a lots of ATP's out there. Just no one willing to work for the regional pay.

1500 hrs for an ATP is an arbitrary number. Congress chose ATP minimums only because it was a benchmark that existed at the time. To an extent, also because they got caught up in what ATP stands for.

How much science do you really think went into the minimum ATP hours requirement?

I agree with your sentiments, cowboy. Entry level regional pilots had absurdly low time, but how many hours did Captain Renslow have?

I am talking about that specific accident. And that one accident catalyzed the entire movement to fix something.

I'm not saying the ruling was bad. I support it 100%. We needed to start somewhere. But I think the increased training standards and rest rules have played an equal if not greater role in the safest few years we've seen.

Agreed. It was a change that needed doing, and has had a positive impact. The 1500 hr rule should be the cost of doing business. If you want safe air travel. Congress trying to change it back is very short sighted.

The problem now is that regional airlines are lowering their hiring standards to literally hire anyone who has 1500 hours, where they could be more picky in who they hired in the past.

Checkride failures? No problem
121 training failed? Don’t care
Bomb the technical interview? No worries
DUI? Welcome aboard

I would much rather hire someone with 750 hours and a spotless record versus someone at 1500 hours but any of the issues I mentioned above. I would argue that the 1500 hour rule has now made airlines LESS SAFE as they are hiring pilots who normally would not have made the cut.

Lower ATP hour requirements to a reasonable amount (250 is too low but 1500 is too high). Also please get rid of the special interest carve outs for the aviation universities!

I’d take a 5000+ hour 121 pilot who failed a checkride 20 years ago over a 750 wonder with no failures in his/her 2 year career. But I’m not in HR.