Here it is
Flight Training May 2009
A letter to 'Sully'
Good flying, unfortunate attitude
Dear Capt. Sullenberger,
You have made us so proud!
Although a heart-pounding experience for you, your crew, and your passengers, the awesome outcome of your flight created a sense of pride in each airman, from student pilot to airline transport pilot, that we have not felt in quite some time. We share in your success. We admire you and hope that we could demonstrate that same skill and determination to survive if found in similar situations.
They called it the "Miracle on the Hudson." It was no miracle. You were the linchpin, of course. But, it was also the synergy of well-trained airline professionals, including those outstanding flight attendants; air traffic controllers; first responders; and surprisingly cool, calm, and collected passengers that contributed to the successful outcome. Even Airbus had the brilliant idea of sticking a ditching button right up there on your panel that, with a little push, closed most of the intake and exhaust ports and made the A320 an amphibian, at least for a little while.
But then you rained on our parade. On more than one occasion, you took the media spotlight as an opportunity to grumble a bit about your chosen career path. In the process, your comments tarnished the dreams of legions of aspiring airline pilots deep in training at aviation colleges and academies who are struggling, some incurring tens of thousands of dollars in debt, to realize their dream of flying airliners.
To CBS you said, "I don't know a single professional pilot who would recommend that their children follow in their footsteps." While addressing Congress, you lamented that experienced pilots are quitting because of deep cuts in their pay and benefits. You have sent a false alarm to the public that, unless federal laws are revised to improve labor/management relations, "experienced crews in the cockpit will be a thing of the past."
With all due respect, it is important to remember that yours is simply one viewpoint. Granted, your less-than-rosy perspective is shared by many of your brethren. It's understandable in light of the deep cuts in pay and benefits due in large part to the bad and sometimes selfish decisions of upper management. If there is any solace, Sully, the world's economics have changed and airline pilots are not alone in their suffering. Swing by Detroit some time.
Unfortunately, your commentary adds fuel to a fire that Brian Addis, manager of the aviation program at Inver Hills Community College in Minnesota, rues. He believes that fewer people want to be airline pilots because they have heard nothing but doom and gloom for years. "The public perception is that the airline [industry] has turned very ugly as a place to work and people have shied away from it."
As a counter to your sentiments, read "
Career Pilot: Three Wise Men" (July 2007
AOPA Flight Training). After long careers with United, Continental, and American spanning decades, captains Unger, Miller, and Rutherford said that despite the downsides and downsizing, they would do it all over again. As one of your associates confessed recently, "We were spoiled. The thought of paying a guy as much as the president of the United States to fly a Boeing 747 to Tokyo and back a few times a month just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I would be shot by my peers if they heard me say that!"
Jerry Glass, an airline human resources veteran and consultant, said, "Pilots who've been on furlough have enjoyed better times. For pilots coming up through the ranks, this is still a wonderful thing for them." Glass hit the nail on the head. To a regional jet pilot who has never seen a $100,000 salary, locking down an Airbus or Boeing flight deck seat for that kind of money and 14 days off monthly would be heaven on earth.
A huge disservice is rendered in the statement about experience lacking on future flight decks. For every old salt ready to bail from legacy airlines because of discontent is a young man or woman flying eight legs daily in turboprops and regional jets for peanuts who would gladly change places. He or she will have a minimum of 5,000 hours of flight time before taking a seat in an airliner and will have clocked in five to seven years of FAR 121 service. Inexperienced?
It is certainly no revelation that industry hiring has stopped cold and, frankly, it is a little scary right now for someone who has invested $70,000 to $150,000 in an aviation education. Surprisingly, U.S. News & World Report recently stated in its "Best Careers" section that the outlook for employment of aircraft pilots and flight engineers is expected to grow 13 percent through 2016. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 107,000 airline pilots and flight engineers in 2006. Presuming that this country will find its way out of the current recession, it is projected that the airline pilot and flight engineer population will increase to 121,000. We can hope!
It is sad in a way that something has been lost, and that is the realization that airline pilot income arrives in many forms--not all monetarily. This is a true story: As a Delta MD-80 approached the jetway at Mobile, Alabama, there was an eerie silence in the gate area. All embarking passengers were pressed against the glass, transfixed upon the scene on the ramp. The crew neared the cargo bay and stood quietly without movement. The captain and his first officer took off their caps as the military honor guard removed the flag-draped coffin of a fallen soldier. It was an airline pilot who brought this young man home to his wife and family.
There's the joy of departing at sunrise in an EMB-170 or CRJ-700 and being enthralled by the sight of distant mountains through the windshield. How many tots have walked past the open flight deck door and stood in bewilderment that you, an airline pilot, steered that metal beast all the way to Orlando so that they could keep a date with Mickey Mouse? Compare that to the life of a cube dweller.
Nothing that has been stated here is meant to minimize your achievement on January 15, 2009. You are a class act. You deserve the adulation and gratitude of the nation. But, to say that I'm not disappointed in your commentary is untruthful. I hope that you will come to realize what many of your peers still hold as true despite the industry turbulence: Being an airline pilot sure beats working for a living!
Sincerely yours, Wayne Phillips
