Experience Counts

I couldnt agree more with your Editors Log position in Marchs issue, "Blame the Pilots." Im far from convinced the Buffalo accident is indicative of a systemic training and certification problem. I agree that when a perfectly good transport category airplane is allowed to slow to stick-shaker speed and the wrong control inputs are made, theres an issue in the cockpit. But the Colgan captain had an ATP and thousands of hours of experience, so what exactly would this proposal mandating a minimum number of hours have prevented?

Key Takeaways:

• The article criticizes proposals to mandate minimum flight hours for First Officers, arguing it wouldn't prevent accidents and would hinder valuable experience gain for regional airline FOs; instead, it advocates for designating captains as instructor/mentor pilots.
• An editor's response suggests that while minimum hour mandates may not solve the problem, pairing high-time captains with low-time first officers could be beneficial for new pilots in complex operations.
• One pilot highlights the effectiveness of Crew Resource Management (CRM) in identifying and resolving in-flight issues, such as a loose fuel cap.
• Another pilot expresses distrust in electronic fuel gauges and totalizers, preferring to rely on manual fuel calculations based on experience and flight time for accurate fuel management.

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