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CUEBOAT

HomeBaseBKLYN
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Posts
317
I was working for a realestate developer known as the*************** ave in Miami FL. Under the ********** are many companies.I was working specifcally for a co. called ******** which on paper is a Bahamian co. When I begun employemeent I signed a payment agreement for $27,000 stating they would pay me this for a years employment. About 6 weeks ago the co purchacased a Caravan to replace the chieftain I had been flying. I was supposed to go to Caravan FlightSeafety on Aug ****. On August *** I was flying the chieftain and was struck by lightning at about 4000agl, I lost vision for a few seconds and the airplane ended up inverted. I was sinking like a 7000lbs paper weight, I did what i had to to avoid taking a dirt nap in the atlantic ocean, which involded wrinkling the wings a bit. The co. wants the insurance to call it a total loss the insurance wants to repair it. 2 A&P say it can be fixed.I wish at the time I knew my fate but i was under the assumption everything was fine so I played nice with the insurance co., I wish i would have just walked away and made no claim to have been flying the A/C when it happened.(Part91) So this past thursday I am told I no longer have a job because i can't be insured due to my low total time. The boss then offered to help me find a job, I asked then if i could have a severance package and i'll look for my own job. He agrees and we agree to meet on monday. Keep in mind i moved from NYC to Miami for this job. Monday rolls around we meet, long story short he says he is giving me nothing, i pull out my contract and show him he owes me $23,000, he snatches it from my hand and steals it from me. He claims it is really his because i made the copy on his copy machine. At this point I decide i won't win.
 
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There are so many things wrong with that post I can't begin to think where to start tackling them. You're a low time pilot working for twenty seven thousand a year, but have expeirence flying a G IV from your self-statement. You were flying a navajo out over the ocean and lost control, and wrinkled the wings, and are surprised that you are no longer employed to fly that airplane. You claim to be a professional pilot, but then make the statement that you wish you'd claimed you were never flying the aircraft that was damaged (while you were flying it). You are flying under contract, but have only one copy of a xerox of the "contract."

You seem to be under the impression that because the flight was operated under Part 91, then you have no obligation or responsibility.

Pilots are disposable. And a dime a dozen.

Do you think the fact that you made a move on the companies behalf means anything to the employer? Of course not.

That the airplane had wrinkled wings and your employer still offered to help you find another job is rather amazing. That's a very generous offer on the part of your employer. That you turned it down is rather foolish.

Your story reminds me of someone who came to us looking for a seat this spring. He had about 800 hours of convential gear time, but only in small equipment, and nothing in ag equipment. We told him to go get several hundred hours of time in an ag airplane to at least give something to the insurance company. He got a job with a company towing gliders in an ag truck. It was a start. He made three landings before totalling the aircraft, losing control on the third landing.

When I spoke to him after the fact, he said it was okay, it shouldn't count because he wasn't actually employed, and it was just a glider operation anyway. His sense of personal responsibility for destroying the aircraft and a man's business was nill; he felt he had been wronged because the employer had asked him to do wheel landings and he couldn't do them...he groundlooped and crashed the airplane trying to wheel land.

I see a great deal of similiarity between his attitude and yours.

You haven't tried your hand in an Ag Truck, lately, have you?
 
avbug said:
There are so many things wrong with that post I can't begin to think where to start tackling them. You're a low time pilot working for twenty seven thousand a year, but have expeirence flying a G IV from your self-statement. You were flying a navajo out over the ocean and lost control, and wrinkled the wings, and are surprised that you are no longer employed to fly that airplane. You claim to be a professional pilot, but then make the statement that you wish you'd claimed you were never flying the aircraft that was damaged (while you were flying it). You are flying under contract, but have only one copy of a xerox of the "contract."

You seem to be under the impression that because the flight was operated under Part 91, then you have no obligation or responsibility.

Pilots are disposable. And a dime a dozen.

Do you think the fact that you made a move on the companies behalf means anything to the employer? Of course not.

That the airplane had wrinkled wings and your employer still offered to help you find another job is rather amazing. That's a very generous offer on the part of your employer. That you turned it down is rather foolish.

Your story reminds me of someone who came to us looking for a seat this spring. He had about 800 hours of convential gear time, but only in small equipment, and nothing in ag equipment. We told him to go get several hundred hours of time in an ag airplane to at least give something to the insurance company. He got a job with a company towing gliders in an ag truck. It was a start. He made three landings before totalling the aircraft, losing control on the third landing.

When I spoke to him after the fact, he said it was okay, it shouldn't count because he wasn't actually employed, and it was just a glider operation anyway. His sense of personal responsibility for destroying the aircraft and a man's business was nill; he felt he had been wronged because the employer had asked him to do wheel landings and he couldn't do them...he groundlooped and crashed the airplane trying to wheel land.

I see a great deal of similiarity between his attitude and yours.

You haven't tried your hand in an Ag Truck, lately, have you?

Give the kid a break... He already lost his job... And now you want to give him a lecture... Yea he f*cked up... Luckily he made it out ok... Have you never f*cked up?
 
This post is pretty disturbing.....

You come home with a totaled aircraft and a story about t-storms, lightning strkies, innverted, and almost spashing in the ocean...

and you want a severance? I would have given you a smack in the head right after you were fired. You just cost me more in insurance premium rise than you make in 5 years. Sorry pal its business.

You just sound GEN X, like you dont accept any responsibilty? ($hit happens, right?) did you have pax on this flight?

maybe he thought about his / his employees lives in your hands?

Got news for you, you're a pilot --- you are 100% disposable (as you now know)

Sorry, from how you explain it, I would have canned you on the spot.
 
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Give the kid a break... He already lost his job... And now you want to give him a lecture... Yea he f*cked up... Luckily he made it out ok... Have you never f*cked up?

Yeah, he f*cked up or is f*cked up, that's why he is an AgPilot
 
Give the kid a break... He already lost his job... And now you want to give him a lecture... Yea he f*cked up... Luckily he made it out ok... Have you never f*cked up?

Yes, I have "f*cked up," and yes, I have taken personal responsibility for it on the spot...not thrown responsibility on everyone else, then condemned my employer for my mistakes publically. Give him a break? He's the one who posted his errors, then in the same post not only denied responsibility, but began to condemn those around him. Give him a break for what, exactly?

Yeah, he f*cked up or is f*cked up, that's why he is an AgPilot

Boy, you really don't want to go there. I fly ag by choice, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do so. I don epaulettes, a white, shirt, and tie in order to fill in the spare time when not flying utility aircraft, but have always considered that the backup plan. I find every year that my skills deteriorate and erode as an aviator in between spray and fire seasons...but I certainly never elected to fly ag because it was a step down.

Many moons ago I was in Grangeville, ID, on a fire contract in a large airplane. I had a day off, and did a day trip down the Salmon river. I was in a raft with the owner of the company, both of us enjoying the quiet and the river. A girl in the boat asked him what he did. He told her. She looked puzzled, and then asked him if he hoped to fly for the airlines some day.

He looked her for a moment, and tried to say it as truthfully and evenly as he could, without being obtuse. "Well, maam, that would be a step...down."

I nearly fell out of the boat, I was laughing so hard.

He was right.
 
I don't think that Avbug was lecturing him because he f*cked up. The problem with the guy and many others is that nobody wants to accept any responibility for their own actions. Everyone wants to blame someone else for their own actions. What would you want the employer to do? Let him keep his job? Sounds like he lost control of the airlpane and destroyed it. Very lucky that whoever was onboard was not killed. Whats amazing to me is how some of these guys think that they are ready for the real world with x amount of hours and no real experience. The real world is harsh, especially in aviation. You don't get to f*ck up. Count your blessings that you are not dead. If that sounds harsh, it was meant to be.
 
I never made claim to being an ag pilot? Simply warning others to avoid this company if they can help it. Well when I get screwed I tend to have some pretty harsh feelings. I dont know what you guys read but I did take full responsibility for the aircraft. I don't think I should have been told 2 weeks after it happened that I no longer have a job. I wish I was told immediatley I would have been in a better position. I just didn't like the fact that i was strung along , why didn't the company man up and tell me what they felt? I have zero respect for those pilots that view themselves as disposable, I guess that is part of the reason this industry is as bad as it is. I think im getting out for good, a person can make more money with no real skills driving a taxi in nyc with far less responsibility. I dont know but i don't think that makes sense.
 

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