Ghost Planes

February 12, 2009: Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes in Clarence, NY. Reason: the pilots were extremely fatigued and overworked to a point that safety was compromised. They were too tired to see that the plane was losing airspeed and about to go into a stall. When the stall warning went off, the captain pulled the nose up, inducing an actual stall and spin til it crashed into a home in Clarence. The pilot should have pushed the nose down to gain sufficient airspeed until it was safe enough to level out. But both pilots were so tired that they failed to correctly adjust for such an elementary problem. All aboard died in the firery crash.

Since then, families of the victims stepped up asking Congress to impose stricter standards for regional airlines. By federal law, regional airlines now have to allow flight crews a minimum of 8 hours in between shifts to catch up on rest. Both pilots had to commute across the country just to operate a 53- minute flight from Newark, NJ to Buffalo, NY. The co-pilot/first officer got no real sleep at all because she took an overnight cargo flight from Seattle to Newark just to operate Colgan Air 3407. She was seen in the crew lounge at Newark, falling asleep. The captain was commuting from Tampa, FL. Both could not afford or were not being reimbursed by the airline to stay in a hotel to get a good amount of sleep. There only option was the crew lounge at Newark Airport, where it was against the law for them to sleep. A human behaviors investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) noted that the captain had logged into his work account around 3 AM to check his upcoming flight schedule when it would have been to his benefit to be sleeping. But once again, he was not allowed to sleep in the crew lounge and the airline would not pay for him, nor could he afford to be in a hotel room for that night, going into the morning before the crash. Another factor duly noted from the cockpit voice recorder was that both pilots were having non-work discussions in the cockpit that they had delayed their pre-landing checks. They failed to properly go by effective cockpit resource management (crm) and started the checklist too late. They were not keeping a sterile cockpit or keeping their conversation limited to only what they needed to perform a safe and effective landing.

Training standards have also had to be checked out. Prior to Colgan Air Flight 3407, a lot of pilots who had their commercial certificates were just used to only towing banners up and down the coast or just taking a plane up long enough to log time to get hired by the regionals. In the case of Colgan Air 3407, both pilots had more than the minimums. But they were simply too fatigued to be effective. It could have been Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger himself flying the plane. If he was too fatigued, the same thing would have happened to him also.

While the families of victims and members of Congress pushed the bill to allow for stricter demands and safety standards both at the FAA and at the airlines, one item that is standing out is the fact that starting in August of 2013, to even be able to act just as a first officer or co-pilot on a regional jet for such airlines like American Eagle or United Express, the minimum hours logged to earn the atp (airline transport pilot) certificate will sit at 1,500 hours. Within that total is the break down of what the airlines require, such as 500 hours of night time cross country, and 500 hours of instrument cross country time, so many hours of multi-engine and instructor time as well. I praise the families of the victims and those in Congress who made the standards more strict and safe for both the flight crews and the flying public. 1,500 hours is what I certainly would expect for the captain and probably at least 3 to 5,000 hrs minimum to move on to the major airlines flying larger equipment by Boeing and Airbus. But, I do not see why the first officer has to be held to that same standard. Prior to August 2013, a lot of pilots can be grandfathered into the system with less than 1,500 hours provided they have enough time by the deadline.

I'm saying that requiring first officers to have an atp is too tough because it's a lot of money and time to invest without getting them into the seat of a corporate or regional jet. Regionals are not paying first officers more than $30,000 annually. And a lot of students are coming out of school or walking away with more than $50,000 to sometimes over $100,000 in debt. I believe this will really hurt the airline industry as a whole because a bunch of talented folks earned their ratings and thought just when they had enough time to get hired and into the airline game, then BANG! The requirement jumped sky high and they see no way of making it with the amount of time required and all the debt they got to pay back for an industry that will not begin paying them well until they're at least a captain for a regional airline and can move up to a first officer position at one of the majors. That could take years depending on availability and each individual's career progression. So sadly, they turn around and walk away from what they knew once as their dream.

Therefore, what I think should happen is that the requirements of an atp should be for the captain of a regional jet, no doubt. But once a student pilot had earned his commercial and maybe his instructor certificates, he should then be eligible to at least apply to fly right seat on a regional jet to build up his time faster in the jet and meet the atp/1,500 hour requirement more quickly. A factor that doesn't make sense is that while so much time is required for the coveted atp certificate among those desiring to be airline pilots is that very little time is required for a student to earn a commercial certificate where he can be paid to fly. It only takes 250 hours to earn a commercial certificate. But besides banner towing, there's no other real hiring privileges really known or available other than to instruct to build up time towards the atp. That leads to another issue.

A lot of fresh first officers who get their atp and a lot of current instructors spend majority of their time flying at altitudes lower than 10,000 ft and in small trainer aircraft like Cessnas and Pipers. They don't even get to see their high altitude endorsements until they start testing for their atp and get type-rated on their specific choice of jet aircraft. A columnist who writes in the career section for AOPA Flight Training Magazine noted that if the public, the FAA, and the airlines are now so gung-ho about safety, than those instructors working towards their atp certs should be getting the opportunity to get a feel for flying Canadair and Embraer jets that make up the fleets of all regional airlines now. It makes a whole lot more sense and would be more safe versus a new atp cert holder coming off the street and all he's ever flown were Cessna and Piper trainers.

The Folks who are really tied up in a sling are the ones who have invested so much time and thousands of dollars into their training only to take them up to a commercial or instructor rating and they get paid crap in return and have so much debt to pay back in student loans. Times have changed unfortunately. Used to be that a lot of airline pilots used to be taken from the military. During the Golden Age of Aviation when it was prestigious to wear the silver or gold wings, everyone wanted to fly because they knew what to expect- great service and hospitality, a full meal even on domestic flights, no charge for anything. I remember hearing the story of my friend's dad, a captain at American Airlines. Not coming from a military background, he learned to fly when it was very inexpensive and was flying Lear Jets by the age of 19. Though he possesses no college degree, which is a requirement now a days by the major airlines, he was brought on with American because of his experience in corporate aviation flying King Airs. He got rated on the MD-80, the DC-10, and is currently rated for international routes on the 75 and 767. When I asked my friend how his dad did it, he told me that it was those days when he had the advantage and he was extremely lucky.

In conclusion, the two pilots of Colgan Air Flt 3407 were very experienced. They had more than the minimums with the captain having over 3,000 hours alone. All it came down to is they were too tired and fatigued to command the plane safely. Yet the FAA is still making the prospective first officer hold at least an atp when the issue is not about the experience, but that there is an understanding that if the candidate gets the first officer position, he must be made aware and enact the action of getting the required amount of sleep to be more than alert to fly safely. And the airline will provide the information to the candidate and the airline will allow him or her that time to sleep enough for their upcoming schedule of flights.

If the FAA goes through with the 1,500 hour rule for pilots to get hired as first officers at a regional airline, there could be a dramatic shortage of pilots over the next several decades. The solution as stated: require the atp for regional airline captains. Allow new commercial pilots and instructors to fly right seat with the captain and start building up time on jets. They want safety, so do I. This is how. We want to make a strong demand for pilots and allow them the opportunity to get their foot in the door to their careers, this is how. But as for now until the rule takes effect, we will have to wait and see. Only time can tell.

Sources:
1. http://www.buffalonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20130601/cityandregion/130609870/1002

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLMPFJQTmZs 

Pilot Health

Most people know when it comes to being a commercial airline pilot, much flight experience is required to prove that the pilot can fly the plane safely in all types of environments like inclement weather and deal with a variety of situations they might encounter like an engine failure or another inflight emergency. The amount of experience is also there to give the traveling public the peace of mind that pilots can fly people safely without any real obstacles other than typical groundings due to weather, maintenance, and cancellations. But one in particular that is not so obvious maybe these days is the health requirements necessary. It's not an argument like whether steam gauges or the "glass cockpit/g1000" is better. It's simply about having a better overall standard for evaluating healthy or unhealthy activity by pilots in their times of duty and off duty.

I was on my way to China in the spring of 2008. I had a layover at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas for nearly eight hours before the next flight out of the country. During some of the time I spent hanging outside the terminal to get some fresh air, I saw a couple pilots lighting up cigarettes. My first initial thought was "Why are they doing this to themselves not just as people, but as pilots?"

Ever since then, I've paid attention to flight crews coming and going. I've even had inner criticism against the ones who looked overweight and out of shape. As most of the flying public may or may not know, the more advanced ratings that pilots earn, the more demanding and frequent their trips are to see the FAA medical examiner. For instance, my main flight instructor holds and atp (airline transport pilot) certificate and a type rating on a business jet. For him and all the atp cert. holders flying corporately, or for the airlines, they undergo the strictest medical evaluations for flying such fast and complex equipment. They must get examined every six months with a full snapshot of their heart health through an ekg in addition for having to pass their checkride on their type of airplane bi-annually.

It is very important to maintain good mental and physical health to keep living your dream. You owe your good health not just to yourself, but to your family, friends and loved ones. What's more, you owe it to your passengers and fellow crew members. I want to know before flying somewhere that my pilot is fit to do the job.

On occasion, there have been some freak incidences where a pilot died in flight. One example was in the summer of 2009. The captain of a Continental Airlines flight had a heart attack and died in the cockpit while the plane was enroute to Newark, NJ from Brussels. The passengers did not know of it until they were in Newark on the ground so a mass panic would not occur while the plane was in flight. We can't know the date and time of our deaths. This captain's death sadly could not be prevented. But what I am saying is to do everything you can while you can right now to keep yourself fit and as healthy as possible to fly.

So that smoker who may have just passed his ekg and checkride really is not out of the dark just because he passed. He really should be looking to quit and get himself healthy. That obese pilot should be looking at how to lose weight. Both of these pilots should be looking not just at the short term as in, "I got this physical I have to pass," but should be looking at their health as a whole and into the future if they continue to live unhealthily.

About Me

Welcome to the Left Seater. I am your host and writer, Matt Wallace. I will be centering Left Seater around the industry of aviation all locally, regionally, federally and internationally. I am using this blog as a platform to extend help and unification to pilots of all flying backgrounds and walks of life, aviator enthusiasts and the issues and challenges that we all face to keep on flying the friendly skies and to keep that passion alive. I will mostly deal with those who have or are in fixed wing type of aircraft i.e. airplanes. But there can be some topics brought up such as what the given salary is for those who are rotor craft (helicopter) pilots, even blimps and balloons.

Some about me: I am a 2011 graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington with a BA degree in Mass Communications (Journalism). I have contributed to annual reports that my school sent to Texas Congress and to Washington D.C. on the accomplishments of students and faculty at the university for continued government funding of the school and its programs. I am currently an instrument-rated private pilot working on my commercial pilot's license with the desire to be a professional airline pilot for the long haul of my career. I am training with the great instructors of the Central Texas College in Killeen. Of course I enjoy flying. I also enjoy running, traveling, music, food, and hanging out with friends and my wife. Some of the planes I have flown include the Cessna 152, 172, the Piper Archer, and the Mooney M20J. Some that I have ambition to fly one day are the wide array of commercial airliners like the Boeing 747, 777, and 787.

This blog is hereby dedicated to those over the span of all my life who have inspired me and encouraged me to chase after my dreams with all I've got. Now my dream is a reality! And to all of them, they each have a piece. Only a few are listed but just to give an idea.

1. Jared Absher- college friend and buddy who took me for my first flight in a small airplane and let me have a dose of the fun.

2. Jerry Absher- Boeing 757 and 76 captain at American Airlines.

3. Lt. Col. Golda Eldridge (US Air Force Ret.)- retired pilot and commander of US Air Force ROTC detachment at Texas Christian Univ.

4. Devon Burris- current Embry Riddle University instructor.

5. Wayne Phillips- columnist for AOPA Flight Training Magazine.