From Matt Wald at NYT:

More than a year before a twin-engine turboprop flown by Colgan Air crashed on approach to Buffalo, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector complained to his superiors about the rocky start the airline was having with that model.

Three times, he said, the pilots flew the airplane faster than the manufacturer’s specifications allowed, but they initially refused to report this and have the plane inspected for damage. They flew with a broken radio and did not want to write that up in the maintenance log, as the rules require, he said, because it might delay the next test flight. And they tried three approaches to the airport in Charleston, W. Va., and “botched” all of them, failing to get the plane at an appropriate altitude, on the right path and at the right speed for landing.

Posted by Jay Hancock at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Airlines
        

The father of a pilot for a regional airline writes regarding Saturday's column on the Flight 3407 tragedy and the experience and working conditions for commuter-air pilots, Low standards aren't likely to give a lift to regional fliers.

My daughter is Captain on a regional jet. You are correct the starting wage is miserable considering the cost of her education. She is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. What you also have to consider is in the airlines everything is driven by seniority. You have to wait your turn. It took my daughter five years to get promoted to Captain. This doubled her wages. After five years as a First Officer, she was making about $28K. So there is no “quick increase” to the $50K mentioned in your write up. A beginning accountant starts at $40K without having to worry about million dollar equipment or people’s lives.

The recent change by the FAA allowing pilots to fly until 65 further delays upgrades to Captain for newer pilots. Then there are the reserve rules. Until a pilot can get a “line” which is a regular route, they fly reserve which is determined by where you are based and seniority. She has had to be on “hot reserve” many times. This means she has to sit at the airport in uniform for 10-12 hours uncase they need a pilot. She is basically not paid for this time believe it or not. I think she gets like $3.50/hour.

The eight hours of sleep between flights is calculated from when they get off their flight and when the next one begins. Some contract hotel facilities are 40 minutes away from the airport so at best they might get 5-6 hours sleep. All this is negotiated with the unions, however from my daughter’s perspective the union takes care of the older pilots, not the entry level members. Like many occupations it is considered doing your time. Then when and if she decides to jump from the regional airlines to the major airlines where the money is in the $100-180K range she can expect to take a 25-35% drop in pay the first year. Entry level pay for a first year First Officer is $35K for most major airlines. It does double the second year to the $70K but there is no reason for this other than “that’s the way it is.”

To conclude let your readers know that a lot of pilots are barely making a living and working long hours to do it. Will it change? I doubt it. My daughter would love to change jobs but in this economy she at least has something.

Posted by Jay Hancock at 8:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Airlines