FlyChicaga
Vintage Restoration
I agree with the above. This is why I think the FAA needs to start looking at pilot training at the grass-roots level, not at the regional airlines. Airline training has only improved over the past 15 years, so why are pilots suddenly performing so poorly? I doubt it's because airline training has gotten worse.
The FAA really needs to institute quality control for initial flight training. Will a low-time pilot fly any better in a single-pilot 135 cargo operation than a 121 operation if they do not have the required stick and rudder skills? Should low-time pilots be CFIs without these hands-on skills? Why the focus on 121 flying? Isn't it just as dangerous for some of these pilots to be flying Part 91 in a Cessna 421?
Yes, I was a low-time new-hire. I can say the one thing that helped me the most was instructors from my private training through MEI that focused on handling the airplane, not checklists, procedures, or GPS usage. The airlines will teach you their procedures, but they cannot teach you how to fly.
The FAA really needs to institute quality control for initial flight training. Will a low-time pilot fly any better in a single-pilot 135 cargo operation than a 121 operation if they do not have the required stick and rudder skills? Should low-time pilots be CFIs without these hands-on skills? Why the focus on 121 flying? Isn't it just as dangerous for some of these pilots to be flying Part 91 in a Cessna 421?
Yes, I was a low-time new-hire. I can say the one thing that helped me the most was instructors from my private training through MEI that focused on handling the airplane, not checklists, procedures, or GPS usage. The airlines will teach you their procedures, but they cannot teach you how to fly.