Dornier 335
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2005
- Posts
- 1,089
There has been much talk about USAirways flight 1549. It had been extensively covered here and in the press. So much in fact that I started tuning it out. Not too long ago I read an article in a foreign newspaper (the renowned German Zeit) in which former F1 racing driver Niki Lauda made a comment about the co-pilot Jeffrey Skiles. He described him as being “totally inexperienced” and that the captain was left to himself. Despite the fact that Mr. Lauda has aviation experience I find this comment to be quite insulting. Just because someone gets trained onto a new type does not make him a 250 hour regional f/o equivalent (I hope we can all agree on this issue).
Since my German is still fluent, I made up my mind writing a letter to the editor complaining about Mr. Lauda's deprecative statement and also outlining how pilots get trained onto other types without dropping back to the 250 hour regional f/o level. I just need a few basic facts. Could somebody please tell me (or PM me) what Mr. Skiles' background is (military or not), TT, years with USAirways or Cactus (please don't open up a can of worms), maybe different types flown etc.
Few other things are worth being pointed out. As most of you know, some European legacy carriers have ab-initio programs which put 250 hour pilots into the right seat of a medium to long range Bus or Boeing. Some legacy carriers in Europe have this snobbish attitude that their airline is the best and f___ the rest (especially the ones here in the US). From what I have seen in Europe, I'd rather have a US trained pilot in the seat than a book-smart one who can calculate the curvature of the earth at FL 410 in 3 secs but is unable to handfly. The news-coverage and subsequent labeling the crew as heroes had been received a bit exaggerated and ludicrously, which is also a cultural difference.
Again, I don't want to bash anybody or see this thread morph into a hatred f__ u one. I just want to defend a colleague and our profession. Any support is welcome.
Thanks,
3 3 5
P.S. Here's a link to the article in German
Since my German is still fluent, I made up my mind writing a letter to the editor complaining about Mr. Lauda's deprecative statement and also outlining how pilots get trained onto other types without dropping back to the 250 hour regional f/o level. I just need a few basic facts. Could somebody please tell me (or PM me) what Mr. Skiles' background is (military or not), TT, years with USAirways or Cactus (please don't open up a can of worms), maybe different types flown etc.
Few other things are worth being pointed out. As most of you know, some European legacy carriers have ab-initio programs which put 250 hour pilots into the right seat of a medium to long range Bus or Boeing. Some legacy carriers in Europe have this snobbish attitude that their airline is the best and f___ the rest (especially the ones here in the US). From what I have seen in Europe, I'd rather have a US trained pilot in the seat than a book-smart one who can calculate the curvature of the earth at FL 410 in 3 secs but is unable to handfly. The news-coverage and subsequent labeling the crew as heroes had been received a bit exaggerated and ludicrously, which is also a cultural difference.
Again, I don't want to bash anybody or see this thread morph into a hatred f__ u one. I just want to defend a colleague and our profession. Any support is welcome.
Thanks,
3 3 5
P.S. Here's a link to the article in German
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