Thanks F/O Curreri

[Mach 80]

Thanks to "Legacy air carrier first officer" Curreri who wrote a letter in today's 'USA Today' in which he stated that FAA First Class physicals "are a joke" and all it takes to pass check rides is "to show up and be alert".

Like it or not, the public and FAA personnell read that paper. He is telling them to make FAA physicals and check rides tougher. Thank you so much buddy.

For your information F/O Curreri, FAA physicals aren't meant and were never designed to be an all encompassing physical --- they are meant to only meet certain criteria to fly airplanes.

Thanks for pushing an agenda, whether intentional or not, to get us tougher physicals and check rides and making the public think it's easy being an airline pilot.

Since he lists his address as Arlington, Texas, you AA pilots need to pass along a big thank you.

 

[AAflyer]

Thanks to "Legacy air carrier first officer" Curreri who wrote a letter in today's 'USA Today' in which he stated that FAA First Class physicals "are a joke" and all it takes to pass check rides is "to show up and be alert".

Like it or not, the public and FAA personnell read that paper. He is telling them to make FAA physicals and check rides tougher. Thank you so much buddy.

For your information F/O Curreri, FAA physicals aren't meant and were never designed to be an all encompassing physical --- they are meant to only meet certain criteria to fly airplanes.

Thanks for pushing an agenda, whether intentional or not, to get us tougher physicals and check rides and making the public think it's easy being an airline pilot.

Since he lists his address as Arlington, Texas, you AA pilots need to pass along a big thank you.

First of all, please tell me you are not stupid enough to believe one pilot encompasses all. Oe does not represent the thoughts, actions, or even attitudes as the others. If that were the case I could point to a few idiots on this board and lump the rest of that pilot group into the same negative light.

I was going to say next, there are other airline pilots living in TX besides AA pilots, however I checked the list and he is an AA pilot. I have no idea why he said that.

I am sure he will get a backlash from his own (this) pilot group.

regards,

AA

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Often pilots are misquoted or thier statements hit the spin machine.

The best course of action is not to talk to the media at all. A UAL pilot did this once.. I emailed him was asked why he would say that.. he said he didn't and the "journalist" twisted his words...

Don't talk to the media at all....

 

[vetrider]

It could be awhile before he gets to fly a leg again. Or then again, maybe not.

 

[AAflyer]

Mach 80,

Can you post the opinion or article in its entirety, or give a link. I can not find it.

Thanks

AA

 

[Guitar rocker]

Here is the link..............for some reason I cant open the "continue" reading part where I think his comments are.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/

 

[Mach 80]

Can't find the link even on the USA Today web site. The letter IS in the Dec 1 issue of the USA Today, page 21A. He was writing a letter against the proposal to change the age 60 rule but when one reads the letter I think the only conclusion that the average non-airline pilot would come away with is that the physicals for airline pilots are, as he said, " a joke" and the checkrides are easy.

 

[AAflyer]

Can't find the link even on the USA Today web site. The letter IS in the Dec 1 issue of the USA Today, page 21A. He was writing a letter against the proposal to change the age 60 rule but when one reads the letter I think the only conclusion that the average non-airline pilot would come away with is that the physicals for airline pilots are, as he said, " a joke" and the checkrides are easy.

Thanks, I am trying to go to the link Guitar posted above and the URL is denied. Very curious to read his comments.

regards,

AA

 

[Guitar rocker]

First of all, please tell me you are not stupid enough to believe one pilot encompasses all. Oe does not represent the thoughts, actions, or even attitudes as the others. If that were the case I could point to a few idiots on this board and lump the rest of that pilot group into the same negative light.

I was going to say next, there are other airline pilots living in TX besides AA pilots, however I checked the list and he is an AA pilot. I have no idea why he said that.

I am sure he will get a backlash from his own (this) pilot group.

regards,

AA

Yes, but it only takes one pilots opinion like this to create a perception among the public about pilots in general. Just like when the USA Today publishes what the average salary of a fedex pilot is (as they have done in the past), the public's perception is that all pilots must be raking it in.

Unfortunately, a medical isnt a joke. If your heart beats just the wrong way or your EKG shows something not quite right (even though we know that an EKG isnt always right either), you might be in trouble and if yah are, it takes a while to get that medical back and have it all cleared by the feds.

A checkride involves a little more than just showing up for class. I dont know what kind of checkride this individual takes, but it aint like that here as I am sure that it isnt at too many other airlines/commuters/freight or corporate outfits either. Poor generalization.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Without reading his specific comments, I wonder how many of us get "real" physicals. We all know there is a large percentage of us that visit AME's who subscribe to the theory, "You walked in here...you can fly out!"

If the check clears and you aren't in actual cardiac arrest during the visit, you're good-to-go!

I can't find the #$%@ link, but there was some interesting testimony by an Aeromedical poobah at the FAA that gave the background on why all EKG's must be live-linked to OKC now, instead of the old method of having the local AME interpret the results.

His testimony was comically diplomatic. Something to the effect, "The results seemed to coorelate to when the trace was read...before or after payment was received."

 

[AAflyer]

Yes, but it only takes one pilots opinion like this to create a perception among the public about pilots in general. Just like when the USA Today publishes what the average salary of a fedex pilot is (as they have done in the past), the public's perception is that all pilots must be raking it in.

Unfortunately, a medical isnt a joke. If your heart beats just the wrong way or your EKG shows something not quite right (even though we know that an EKG isnt always right either), you might be in trouble and if yah are, it takes a while to get that medical back and have it all cleared by the feds.

A checkride involves a little more than just showing up for class. I dont know what kind of checkride this individual takes, but it aint like that here as I am sure that it isnt at too many other airlines/commuters/freight or corporate outfits either. Poor generalization.

Good observation.

AA

 

[Mach 80]

Yes, but it only takes one pilots opinion like this to create a perception among the public about pilots in general. Just like when the USA Today publishes what the average salary of a fedex pilot is (as they have done in the past), the public's perception is that all pilots must be raking it in.

Well, he may not of intented to do the same, but in his letter he does mention airline Captains formerly making "$250,000-plus annual salaries" working 10 to 12 days a month.

Again, no non-airline pilot reader of his letter will recall the point he was attempting to make against changing age 60 -- all they will come away with is that airline pilots work 12 days a month and make $250,000/year (despite using the word "former") and the physicals and check-rides are easy.

His letter was a very poor arguement against the proposed age 60 change. It lacked sound reasoning, didn't make any solid points, gave people the wrong impression of airline pilots, and was only full of a sort of class envy atittude. No wonder the 'USA Today' published it!

Maybe someone else can post the full letter, but here's one small part that was really awful that the public got to read: "As for stringent check rides and FAA physicals: baloney. Most FAA Class 1 physicals are a joke. As for flying evaluations, show up, be alert and you pass. Capt. Engelhardt got his, now we want ours. Get out of our seat, Capt Engelhardt."

What an utterly classless, tacky piece of writing for an airline pilot to present to the public.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Yes, but it only takes one pilots opinion like this to create a perception among the public about pilots in general. .

Does that include behavior and image?

 

[BigShotXJTdrvr]

My last Class 1 took 12 minutes from walk-in to walk-out.

 

[Shrek]

What a class act.......

 

[Big Slick]

By no means am I defending this guy....

I was misquoted in a flying magazine one time. It was pretty annoying. A reporter asked me some very basic questions and then somehow got the facts all wrong. I think they were just completely ignorant about aviation. Pretty much made me sound clueless.

If they simply printed a letter that he wrote, that is a different story.

 

[SWA/FO]

Curreri who wrote a letter in today's 'USA Today' in which he stated that FAA First Class physicals "are a joke" and all it takes to pass check rides is "to show up and be alert".

I was thinking the same thing today. Its a letter that he wrote into USA Today...its his own words. Oh, the shame....

 

[Lear70]

His testimony was comically diplomatic. Something to the effect, "The results seemed to coorelate to when the trace was read...before or after payment was received."

ROFLMAO!!

That's pretty dang funny, I wonder if he had that prepared to say in advance or if he just rolled with it. I'm impressed, if it's the latter.liti

As for Curreri, if that IS the actual word-for-word print of his letter, he deserves a fu*king blanket party.

Seriously, that's the kind of stuff grandma with nothing better to do than get all her cronies together and stir up the hornets nest at her local Congressman's office and, the next thing you know, we're having senate testimony on having the military starting to conduct all FAA exams or some such assinine new rule.

Age 65 politics aside, I hope it bites him in the butt one day... preferrably sooner rather than later.

 

[ReverseSensing]

Seems every airline has some swinging-di(k type that loves to sound important on the message boards or in the crew room or in Recurrent or in a letter to the editor while everyone else rolls their eyes and/or groans.

If you don't know who that person is at your airline, it just might be you.

 

[AA717driver]

I have had letters to the editor changed (for length, allegedly) and the resulting text said something completely different than what I had intended. This guy may have written a term paper on the subject but it was shortened by the ed's to "fit" and it conicidentally was altered to "fit" the perception that the media WANTS to present about our profession.TC

 

[kc10/c130]

Never miss an opportunity to keep your mouth shut.

 

[ultrarunner]

The very issue that the article is in the paper at all calls into question the judgement of even talking to the press.

I think it's fair to say that you have to assume the press is going to screw up any kind of information reporting, especially when it comes to aviation.

 

[GogglesPisano]

It sounds like something JO would say.

 

[HA25]

My last Class 1 took 12 minutes from walk-in to walk-out.

that's cause you're prolly in your 20's or 30's.. try that when you're 50ish..

 

[herc17]

Physicals

I know someone who passed a Class 1 in July only to be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in October. Highly recommend real physicals annually including bloodwork XRAYS etc. Herc17

 

[Tejas-Jet]

I know someone who passed a Class 1 in July only to be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in October. Highly recommend real physicals annually including bloodwork XRAYS etc. Herc17

What kind of cancer was it? There are some types ( pancreatic, for example) that can stay hidden and are not discovered until it is too late.

This kind of thing happens...not a lot....but its there. We've all heard the story of the guy who has the heart attack a day after getting thihs 1st class. It happens, but not every day.

Lets not extremes and try to make them the norm.

The AA guy was wrong in his comments. Maybe the guys he goes to for his physicals and checkrides are easy....maybe he will see a change in this starting with his next physical/checkride....let's hope so.


BTW...I know of a guy who rolled a B-707...but you didn't see that happening every day.

Tejas

 

[Guitar rocker]

I have had letters to the editor changed (for length, allegedly) and the resulting text said something completely different than what I had intended. This guy may have written a term paper on the subject but it was shortened by the ed's to "fit" and it conicidentally was altered to "fit" the perception that the media WANTS to present about our profession.TC

I have had only 3 letters printed in the USA Today. A word here or there was changed but that was it. I have never had an entire sentence edited at all. I have sent some "term paper" type editorials, but those have always been disregarded and therefore I keep em short. I cant help but think that what was said in this letter was in his own words. I seriously dont think that media altered that letter so as to present a false perception to the public........even though that is how the liberal media often reports news but in this situation, I dont think thats the case.

I enjoyed curreri slamming on a UAL guy....cptn engelhardt, but the last paragraph was a slap in the face to AME's and pilots alike. I am sure that we dont take checkrides for granted (I dont). But perhaps now the public thinks thats how it works. And thats a shame.

As someone above said......he must be a youngeon to not worry about his medical every 6 or 12 months as the case may be. But I do know that my job is on the line every 6 months that I roll in there to take a medical.....yah, I aint no spring chicken anymore. A listen of a skipping heartbeat or one that is too close to the the others can be a big deal these days.

 

[AAflyer]

Found it, like where tells Capt UAl where to go!

AAflyer

'Get out of our seat'

Charles Curreri, Legacy air carrier first officer - Arlington, Texas

Are we supposed to feel sorry for United Airlines Capt. Allan Engelhardt, 59, and pilots like him?

I want to know what he and many other captains at United, Delta and U.S. Airways have done with their former $250,000-plus annual salaries as wide-body captains over the many years. They hold the best schedules (10-12 days a month), best vacations and best pay. Why? Because previous pilots left the cockpit at age 60, allowing them to enjoy the financial perks of captainhood.

As for stringent check rides and FAA physicals: baloney. Most FAA Class 1 physicals are a joke. As for flying evaluations, show up, be alert and you pass. Capt. Engelhardt got his, now we want ours. Get out of our seat, Capt. Engelhardt.

 

[Lear70]

Of COURSE that's the only reason they get to hold those seats/schedules...

Wouldn't have ANYTHING to do with fleets doubling and tripling in size, growth with decreasing revenue, then the resultant bankruptcies...

No... that's HERESY, I say! MORE FOR ME NOW!!!

uke:

Glad you liked it, AAFlyer, hope your FAA physical becomes EXCESSIVELY difficult since you agree with him about how easy they are.

 

[EMB170Pilot]

My last Class 1 took 12 minutes from walk-in to walk-out.

Isnt that why you kep going back to that same doctor?