Michael Moore was 'spot on' with his comments and coverage concerning the erosion of the pilot profession, and he barely scratched the surface. There are new-hire regional airline pilots with barely over 300 total hrs. The Captain of that Colgan Air flight that 'lawn-darted' into Buffalo barely had enough hours to even be type-rated in the aircraft, and he couldn't even recognize an approach to stall, let alone perform a stall warning recovery. It was discovered during the investigation that during training, he had never practiced/performed an approach to stall warning/recovery in the simulator. In the interest of cost savings, the company convinced the FAA to allow 'discussion only' of the procedure during the academic phase.
Years ago, a pilot had to have several thousand hours to even be competitive in the hiring process. Not so nowadays with the regionals. Corporate greed and aircraft built for 'third-world' pilots have made this possible.
A couple of years ago, I had my first (and last) jumpseat ride in a regional jet. On my last day of a three-day trip, I was scheduled to deadhead to my domicile base on one of our mainline aircraft. Unfortunately, the flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. Not wanting to wait 3hrs for the next flight home (gethomeitis), I grabbed the jumpseat on an RJ. The FO was a new-hire and it was his leg to fly. Long story short, it was a real 'eye-opener' for me, to witness the lack of airmanship skills and situational awareness while paying passengers were onboard. Another time, while deadheading in the back of an RJ, the pilots were in position and hold on the runway before they discovered that they hadn't started the second engine! They discovered it when they were cleared for takeoff, pushed up the throttles, and the aircraft starting yawing toward the grass. I had a 'come to Jesus' with the Captain after the flight.
I do not allow my family and loved ones to fly on regional jets operated by certain carriers, having knowledge of the lack of training and experience of some. I won't say names, but there are the good, bad, and ugly. Unfortunately, most of the regional carriers wear the livery logos of their major airline partners, so the general public has no idea who is operating the jet that they are boarding.
The is a very good reason why we mockingly refer the FAA as the 'tombstone' agency. A lot of folks usually have to die before they are coerced to make changes to improve safety. What the general public doesn't know is that the FAA has two official charters. One is to promote air commerce, the second to regulate. All too often, they set the bar way too low (IMHO) in order appease the airlines and their costs. Several times I have had FAA inspectors in my jumpseat with either zero hours in the majors and/or not type-rated in the aircraft. UFB, like dogs watching a TV!
I could turn this diatribe into a small novel and cover what I have seen while flying the line, not to mention duty-day, fatigue, and maintenance deferral issues of some carriers. Unfortunately, I just finished a three-day trip from Europe and my bed beckons me.
Mongo
28,000+hrs (9300 military/1310 combat), all jet
Major Legacy Airline Pilot
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Topic: Michael Moore: Pilots on food stamps. (Read 2119 times)