How Many Hours Are Enough?

Right now, we can use a few job sectors with shortages. And if this policy change adds a nine to the safety margin (99.99...%), it works for me.

Well, as someone who works in the industry, I can truthfully say:

This Sucks

And anybody that thinks that creating a pilot shortage is good (when they essentially want to increase the cost of training new pilots through the roof), really hasn't thought through the unintended consequences of ignorant Congressional mandates.

Yet another reason to vote out ALL incumbents.

Hooker

Which is worse, ignorant Congressional mandates, or negligent business practices? Cogan Air is all the evidence needed to show that the current regulatory system is inadequate.

Bah, a straw man argument...

Neither is worse, they are both equally bad. It isn't necessarily the "System" (which is far from perfect, BTW). The Captain of that flight had more than twice the newly mandated minimum hours but had never been restricted for the other (unrelated) deficiencies cited in the article. Hours usually have little to do with overall competency once certified (licensed).

For Congress to pass feel good laws that punish the whole industry is wrong, wrong, wrong. They should be focusing on Cogan and other carriers with similar problems. In reality, Congress is showing their total lack of common sense, as usual.

Why should my company, that holds very high standards, be penalized for someone else's faults? The only outcome of this is that the bigger carriers are going to steal my company's Captains with higher pay when they need 1500+ hour pilots. Then were are we going to get our pilots? We are a small company, a part of which is a small Part 121 operation, and can't compete on that scale.

This is beginning to feel like the military where everyone gets punished when one person screws up.

Hooker

Which is worse, ignorant Congressional mandates, or negligent business practices?

Whats the difference? And who says that you have to choose between the two? The government? The airlines? You?

There are better ways.

p911