Captain Chesley Sullenberger, US Airways, is a great pilot who gave all pilots a good name collectively. So as we all know, everything he says to the media will be heard (personally, I wish USAPA, his union, has the same clout, but it will with time. Keep up the good work, guys!). He expressed a concern that I also have.
With regional carriers hiring (well, at least when they were) pilots with as low as 200 hours, pilots of mainline carriers with more experience have expressed some concern. And rightfully so. Speaking to one pilot for US Airways who was flying on Mesa Airlines, a non-wholly-owned subsidiary, noted the slapdash thrust lever movements that could be heard in the main cabin. Both engines running up to at least 80% power, then pulling back to idle, and repeating the process down the approach. A lack of skill and experience caused this, he told me. And scolded me not to do the same. Be smooth with power.
I spoke to another pilot, a retired captain with time in Boeing 747s prior to retirement. He told me that it's one thing to hire pilots with such low time. It's something completely different when they are put in the left seat.
And another article written in AOPA Pilot magazine about the CAPT training program (which used to be under Embry-Riddle, my alma mater) drew reader mail from pilots who also expressed concern. One, a 747 captain. He said that he flew with some of the products of those schools in a foreign airline, and when an emergency took place, even if it was in the best of conditions and circumstance, the emergency procedure quickly became a single-pilot operation. And it makes sense. Pilots who graduate from accelerated programs simply don't have the experience, or I should rephrase, longevity to have the chance to make mistakes and learn from them, or to have been scared in a plane and to actively control such a situation.
However, one thing didn't strike a chord with me in the CBS article that I'm basing this post on.
The media, along with the general public, believe that most airline pilots trained with the military. And at one point in time, that was how it was. You were practically guaranteed a position if you had military time in your logbook. Even fighters, single-pilot aircraft, in some airline applications, have more weight than those who flew transports! Don't ask why, but Continental has a thing about fighter pilots, and prefer time in fighters than time in, say, a C-5, or better yet, a C-40 (a converted Boeing 737). It's one thing to fly in combat, and flying with a mission to kill. But it's something entirely different when you're flying on a schedule and keeping people safe, rather than flying into harm. The retired 747 captain I spoke about even said that a "mission-based mentality" from the military does not work in an "objective-based environment" of an airline. Because at the end of the day, that A320 you're flying isn't a C-5. For that matter, that Boeing 737NG you're flying isn't the same as that C-40 you flew in the Navy. The cockpit mentality is completely different.
The one plus about those accelerated training programs at flying academies is first, a multi-crew environment (two pilots, versus one pilot and a WSO or RIO in a fighter, if it has a second position). And, for the most part, they are taught by former airline pilots. These pilots are specially "bred" to fly for the airlines and for corporate flight departments. They are instilled CRM and the multi-crew environment. They are prepared to enter the industry. But, we need to remember that entering the industry is different than longevity of a career. That will come with time. Simple as that. Most pilots coming into the airlines without prior airline experience are civilian. Why? Because most military pilots will not give up a good-paying career for risking getting furloughed and being hounded by airline management, loss of benefits (though they would keep their benefits from the government), loss of pension (though they would still receive benefits from the government), and a significant pay cut (they would start at the bottom of the seniority list, bottom of the payscale, bottom of the reserve list, and as a first officer...just like everyone else who trained as civilians).
Captain Sullenberger, I completely understand your concern. And I agree, pilots do need experience. Pilots need to get scared in the cockpit in order to be ready to say they are "ready for anything" and mean every letter of the phrase. And airline hiring managers who are not pilots simply will never understand what it takes to fly for an airline. They are more concerned about a warm body filling a seat, rather than hiring the aeronautical prowess that one may have over another. Those of us in the younger generation of pilots, myself included, are still learning, and will forever learn, as long as we fly. And we will fly. No need to worry. We will be flying with a strong degree and regard for safety. And I hope you make it back into the left seat again soon. You have yet another 6 years to fly for US Airways. And may those have a constant and steady tailwind, blowing strong and true.
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