Another Boeing 737 Max-8 crash

That aspect of the story I was most impressed with. The crew were the ones that reported it. Sounds like a smart way to handle a situation.

 

https://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/overview/immunity.html

 

Also, when you and I were coming up through the ranks, it was common to have 15-20% of any given class wash out of training at some level. Turboprops especially were a handful and it was a big jump from light airplanes to fast, powerful turboprops and the automation wasn't that good. With the Regional Jet revolution, they are easier to fly in many ways and the automation is way better. That combined with the corporate and political climate that has changed the way airlines do things in the last 10 years means that nobody can be fired or washed out of training.

I fear you are right about an accident coming, although I've avoided saying it because I feel like the old crabby guy. I've been saying it about foreign airlines forever, but reality is that we are not going to be much better than the rest of the world in a few years, mostly for the above reasons.

 

Believe it or not, that type of program has advanced safety exponentially compared to the old way of dissecting accidents and learning from them. As you know, alot of things have to happen, in order, before an accident takes place. So trying to identify each link in the chain and finding a way to break the chain way before it gets to the last link (accident occurs) is smart business. Also, think about how many accidents COULD have happened had conditions been slightly different- we know for example that multiple crews flew the Lion Air 737 MAX with the same failure before the final crew that was involved in the crash. In a good safety culture, finding those problems and fixing them with training, maintenance inspections, or procedures changes makes a series of events that leads to the accident much less likely.

 

Ive always had a nagging feeling in my head that"easy" airplanes would lead to pilots unable to deal with much adversity. Every layer added to create an easy airplane makes people like me have no desire to fly them. FBW? No thanks. Envelope protection? C'mon where is the challenge in that? Make it something where I can be proud of mastering it.

 

The airplane you speak of is called the 727. Love that thing, it’s the best airplane I’ve had the pleasure of flying.

In recent times with the FAA placing a focus on airline pilot’s remaining current hand flying the aircraft, I’ve thought the best way to achieve that is to give pilots an aircraft they want to fly.

A320, while comfortable and generally a nice place to work is pretty meh to hand fly. The 737 makes me want to ask Boeing at what point they decided they hate pilots. That flight deck can’t be purely by accident, can it?

 

Even people Air Education Training Command (USAF AETC) have been using the term “system operator” to describe a pilot, since jets have become so easy to fly, compared to not too long ago. Gear up, feet up = don’t run into another airplane, don’t run into the ground, and don’t run out of fuel.

 

Saw an article today on linkedin about how 6 sigma ruined boeing. The loser who brought it over from 3M is basically at fault for the whole disaster

lemme see if i can find it again. Fascinating stuff
Edit: here
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dr-t...gma-quality-activity-7030991204427194368-ke4Z

 

600 hours? USAF will send a 24-year-old lieutenant to F-22 school after 100-120 hours in the air at undergraduate pilot training flying some combo of T-37s and T-38s. The latter, you land at 170 kts, +1 for every 1,000 lbs. of fuel.

Most of them are a pretty good stick.

 

Not a problem when the bar to get into a T37 is pretty high to begin with. Throw every available applicant into that thing and see what happens.

Also, the military can afford a bad safety record- airlines cannot. But you already know this!

 

I know where the guys who can’t navigate well used to end up in the Air Force? Flying C130s out of Pope AFB circa early 90’s.

The number of times they got lost between Pope, the national forest flying nap of the earth and the drop zones on Ft Bragg is amazing. I witnessed this my self with a couple of them looking out the front with a Ft Bragg map pointing this way and that while we were 10-20 minutes late on target. Cmon guys it’s the big empty area by all the trees. And every month or 2 they’d drop a load on the wrong dz.

damn chair force.

 

The top guys in UPT get the pick of the litter, which usually means single seat fighters. The worst - they get to da choppaaaa. If you like to drink, you wanna fly tankers ‘cause you never pay for drinks if there’s a fighter pilot around. If you don’t wanna drink alone, you fly in mud hens (F-15E) or any crew-served aircraft.

 

Fair, but they don't let billionaires ride with them and the insurance rates are less of an issue.

 

gear up feet up.. I can relate to that... not using the rudder has been new to me for jet flying.

Im hand flying a bit more these days as I've gotten more comfortable with not busting some regulation or stable approach criteria.

 

There’s that, for sure. But once you’re done with UPT and type-training, fly good hours, especially if you’re an IP and sign up for every school available - four or five years, no debt from pilot training, and using your GI bill benefits to pay for your multi-engine ATP (assuming you got into fighters), you’re pretty damn marketable.

 

Good on ya. You need to keep those skills sharp, it will pay dividends someday. For me it's easy, I actually like to fly!

 

Can't even compare military training to civilian. Apples to oranges.

These days remind me of the 07-08 time frame when I was flying with 250hr wonder pilots in the right seat at my old regional. They were real good at the procedures, but couldn't talk on the radio and hand flying was damn near a foreign concept to them.
Fast forward almost 20 years, the FO's I fly with today are ok at the procedures. Ok on the radio. And are absolutely scared to death to hand fly the bus. VFR, AP/AT off at 10k ft for me. Why? Because my 3 favorite times at my job nowadays are the 2 paydays and AP off. The bus will make a great pilot, good. A good pilot, ok. And a ok pilot, bad. I do what I can to stay good.

 

171 grounded pending inspection after the Alaska plane went pop yesterday.

https://www.reuters.com/business/ae...oeing-737-max-9-emergency-landing-2024-01-06/

Flying on a MAX 9 Monday.....hope it's inspected and good to go by then.

 

Cheese and rice…only in service for 8 weeks and had that kind of failure? That is beyond horrific

 

This is gonna make me leery about sitting in the exit aisle ever again, especially in the window seat