FAA Call to Action 14 Feb 2023

[@leokimvideo]

No matter what profession the biggest killer is complacency. Those who don't think it's an issue are just lining up the Swiss Cheese and puckering up for a major disaster

[@joso5554]

Exactly ! Thinner slices to the Swiss cheese won’t decrease the number of holes in it !!

[@bw162]

The number of holes increases exponentially with the complexity of the system.

[@giancarlogarlaschi4388]

Haste , Complacency , Arrogance ... Big Killers.

[@VicTor-gi7so]

big uncaring corporate crap.

[@bw162]

@@VicTor-gi7so Feel better now?

[@goincd3]

We had a significant incident at my center today. A regional E170 failed to fly a procedure turn and instead turned towards high terrain and ended up at 11000 in a 14000 Minimum IFR Altitude block. It's upsetting that this can happen for air carriers and makes me think twice about their training.

[@JW-ce4iq]

Also Sometimes Air Traffic Controller speaks so fast or mumble to understand and when Pilots ask for the clarification, They get upset as well that's not how it supposed to go. That actually discourage pilots to ask to repeat the instruction. Also, Please don't expect that every pilots have been to that airport or airspace and familiar with the procedures. Pilots do try to familiarize with the procedures but they can only prepare so much by reading the text.

[@martynh5410]

Heck I was a passenger on a regional E170 flight today….

[@tedsaylor6016]

@@JW-ce4iq A 121 revenue flight should be able to fly the correct approach without ONE WORD from ATC. Unless ATC somehow "fast/garbled" incorrect instructions/vectors/override, the crew should not have missed a procedure turn on the plate. In fact I imagine the crew should have known missing the turn would put them at altitude risk and have briefed that before even beginning the approach.

[@JW-ce4iq]

@@tedsaylor6016 I wasn't only implying to approach. I was talking about in general which including ground operation. Sometimes it confuses me what the ATC exactly wants. I would like to ask question especially ATC gives very lengthy instruction. I like to have very concise and brief instruction but I understand that's not always possible. And English is my second language, It sometimes very confusing when they use non-standard phraseology.

[@Saml01]

@@JW-ce4iq so stop and ask again, and again and again until you got it.

[@MarcPagan]

Due to combination of low pay (I made $20K as an FO on a 50 pax jet, a CRJ), high hours required due to killer commutes, and schedules with inadequate crew rest (I fell asleep multiple times in the cockpit, and microslept during at least one flight on day 3 of a 3 day trip) ....about 5 people from my regional airline class of 30 pilots, still fly professionally. No complaints about the pay. Supply and Demand determines the market for labor. Too many friends flying for a regional were sleeping on airport floors, and if lucky, a recliner in a pilot lounge, because they couldn't even afford $300 or so monthly for a crash pad. The t-shirt "will fly for food" was on point :) Crew rest example: Gate park at 8:30pm, with a 6am flight the next morning. Sounds OK in terms of crew rest. Real life: Get to hotel around 9:30pm, if fortunate - there's food near the hotel, and catch the shuttle at 4:30am = 5 hours sleep at best. Two days of less than 6 hours sleep = sleeping in the cockpit by day 3.

[@guitarhillbilly1482]

Fly Ag and get a turbine ride. Make more money quicker. Long Hours and Days during the season.

[@michaelharper4989]

My neighbor, a woman, flys as a captain for Southwest. She is a German immigrant because she could not get a path to pilot in Germany. She related stories of what she had to do to make progress. To the point of sleeping in her car. A very determined woman.

[@MarcPagan]

@@guitarhillbilly1482 Thanks for the suggestion amigo. There is AG flying about one hour drive to inland Florida. However, it's too damn hot. But, the fun factor flying AG could be well in excess of the heat? I would do loops, hammerheads, rolls, and spins all day long in the heat, in a Zlin for example :) Heat aside, as a former airline pilot, I charge $100 per hour to instruct, and can be booked solid at that rate. What's an AG pilot's hourly ?

[@guitarhillbilly1482]

@@MarcPagan Paid by the Acre and that varies depending upon the product that is being applied. A turbine pilot can make $75K / YR or More depending what part of the Country they are in. Some places they can go over 100K / YR. Btw many of the Air Tractors and Thrushes are air conditioned.

[@2Phast4Rocket]

@@michaelharper4989 when time gets tough, the tough gets going.

[@Inkling777]

You are right. Far from ensuring that airline pilots are well-trained, this insistence for 1500 hours of any sort of flying time means much of that time is spent in situations where they acquire bad habits. To learn to do well something as complex as commercial aviation they need to doing it under supervision and not just boring holes in the sky all alone in a little Cessna.

[@michaelharper4989]

My wife was trying to help a young man gain hours boring holes in the sky. He bought a 150 so dropped my wife's efforts. Strange as he only had to pay for 1/2 the gas.

[@sandybanjo]

I agree to an extent. Many new pilots are going to dedicated flying "colleges" to set them up for flying in the airlines right after they acquire their private pilot's license. They usually work better in managing aircraft systems, etc., but so far as actual stick and rudder skills, I wonder. Also, Juan mentioned the turnover.....many new pilots are getting hired with very little flight experience. Especially in foreign airlines. Some get hired with only 200 hours total time. Even when I was in the airlines, many had problems flying the aircraft without autopilot input. The training is good, but even then, train to proficiency (get through the check rides and IOE) was sometimes overused. So it was almost impossible to get fired due to lack of proficiency or experience (band aid fix). Now, pilots seem to be "button pushers"....computer operators. Fly by wire, I believe, changed the mindset. All it would take is one EMP to take many airliners out of the sky. But, flying the airplane down to the RAT is so demanding that even great experience and proficiency are challenged to the utmost. In my day, we could fly the airplane in manual reversion (real cables running to at least the ailerons and elevator). Now, it's a crap shoot.....flying skills....guess that's the way it is now. Scary to me. Also, the new pilots come from a different social environment than many of the older ones.....communication skills and getting along with other crew members may be part of the problem. And the weather patterns! More intense and demanding for any experience level. Again, several of the new ones can't fly their way out of a paper sack, even in aircraft in which they're "comfortable". But is that really so important now? So, many problems to be addressed. Time will tell.

[@TheRobertlonski]

Juan, Holy-Cow -- Billy must be watching your channel. In your BLOG about the UAL incident you identified this very problem. Well done sir, keep up the excellent work.

[@gracelandone]

It’s entirely appropriate that as a Senior Line Pilot you inform us, the backseaters, (also the voters) of the real issues. We have no other way of getting this information as consumers unless industry professionals, such as yourself, speak out. Thank you.

[@eloisebrynlee]

Yes agree! As a consumer in the backseat, its mostly either here (or on pprune) to find out what is really going on. Thanks!

[@sithticklefingers7255]

Indeed, Juan is sticking his neck out here a little bit and we should be very thankful. There has been an alarming trend of major industries acting like Kevin Bacon in animal house; “Remain calm, all is well” while all hell is in fact breaking loose. That and chasing metrics at the expense of safety and dignity have got to stop, from retail to nuclear engineering.

[@Hans_R._Wahl]

Indeed!👍

[@Hans_R._Wahl]

@bartsolari3168 Yes, indeed. Dominic Gates has really great merits.

[@BrickImmortar]

Yes, it has been incredibly concerning lately. Thanks for the ongoing efforts to keep a heightened awareness on these issues blancolirio!

[@restojon1]

Yet more illustrious company, nice to see you here

[@MrJuanDover]

Nice to see you here Brick. Two of my favorite KZbinrs.

[@Doubleelforbes]

Love your work, knew you had good taste!

[@AMacLeod426]

@Brick Immortar, it is immensely satisfying (though not at all surprising) to learn that you are a fan of Blancolorio. You are both doing phenomenal work in not only creating fantastic and fascinating content, but also informing the traveling public on true safety issues about which we should all be aware. "Remember, your safety matters."

[@maryeckel9682]

Brick is here! Looking forward to your next video.

[@sabre908]

Juan, you have a very clear mind and understanding of the issues, I wish everybody in Aviation had the same type of mentality, specially in the military.

[@speedlever]

As a retired pilot who flew professionally from the 1970s into the 2000s with breaks for other jobs because pilot jobs were flaky at best, I’ve been seeing this pilot shortage coming for a long time. Like an accident sequence, there are a lot of holes that line up to bring us where we are today. IMO, I see the death of grassroots aviation as a fundamental part of the issue, largely driven by costs and legal liability issue, which kinda go hand in hand. I remember the days when general aviation was thriving with Cessna pumping out thousands of aircraft each year at fairly reasonable prices, relatively speaking. I learned to fly in a C150 for $7.50/hour wet. You could rent a C182 for $35/hour. But then those silly lawsuits started to infiltrate the system where huge awards were made for silly legal reasons, often not related to the accident at all but to the detriment of the system, and aircraft prices began to spiral upwards. What does a new C172 go for these days, $500k or so? And what happened to Mooney, Maule, Bellanca, etc? I came up the civilian route where you couldn’t get a job without experience and you couldn’t get experience without a job, so you grabbed whatever time you could get wherever. Will fly for food was a common refrain. Only the dedicated could survive. If you had a family to feed, then forget it unless you were independently wealthy. I’ve been a bush pilot, a freight dog, a regional pilot, and a corporate and charter pilot. The questions are hard but the answers are harder. I do not know how to fix a system that has skewed away from a background where you learn basic airmanship and instead learn to be button pushers. At least that’s the way it seems to me. I don’t know how to fix the cost aspect either. Ridiculous lawsuits speak for themselves but are a reality in the business and directly affect the cost structure.

[@Quanav8r]

Blancolirio, I think finding your channel has been one of the best things that’s happened in my aviation journey so far. I am currently working throw all the required stuff for an airline carrier,and I gotta say it’s very heart warming to hear someone of your tier and experience level in this field hit on things that I also believe and experience,and so for that I thank you.Huge fan please keep making great content as I learn so much from your channel.

[@chriso847]

Spot on Juan. The new airline pilots need higher quality training. Not high quantity (1500) hours of flying the 152 around in a circle.

[@dallasC822]

Quick note I thought about doing exactly this but no one is really flying circles in a 152 to build time(as far as I’m aware). If you spend the first 350 hours getting ratings (cool 80-100K in training) then do the rest by buying your hours thats $172,000 additional dollars in time building. Let’s say instead of renting you buy your own 152 for 40k-50k, but fuel alone is another 46K to get you over hours 1500 hours. There are much better cost effective options out there. I know the author is probably generalizing but this is for anyone thinking thats what is actually happening in the GA training world

[@fuelflownormal]

ATPs in the US are issued from 750-1000-1250-1500 hrs. It depends on your education and flying background.

[@wayneroyal3137]

I agree 100% with you. You said it! Knee jerk reaction. The FAA could easily work with the 121s to create a training system. The boring holes in the sky just to get the 1500 hours is worthless. Great analysis as per usual.

[@markebben1793]

No, the FAA has to change names like NOTAMS....that's more important.

[@FlywithMagnar]

The 1,500 hours rule is a big hurdle for aspiring pilots. To my knowledge, this rule only applies to the US. In the rest of the world, it is the airline company that sets the requirements. Many companies hire pilots straight from the flight school. The benefit is that the pilots are hired before they have developed bad habits.

[@Boz_-st4jt]

My son is a F/O with Southwest. When he left the Navy after 15 years flying both the EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler. He had well over 1500 flight hours. His first civilian flying job was as a corporate pilot. Then he paid out of his own 'pocket' to get type certified in the Boeing 737 before being hired at Southwest Airlines.

[@AHomelessDorito]

Ex-navy southwest pilots are infamous for being terrible 😂

[@markhuffman7937]

@@AHomelessDorito says who? I’m an SWA pilot for 32 years with an all civilian background. What makes you say that? I’ve seen both good and not so good from all backgrounds. Definitely wouldn’t call out any one group.

[@AHomelessDorito]

@@markhuffman7937 every ramp agent I’ve met in 20 years on many ramps all talk shit on southwest. Most brain dead pilots I’ve ever come across. Deicing in sunny 40 degree weather this past week! Always doing dumb stuff

[@clarencethomasisthegoat]

@@AHomelessDorito My opinion as an ATC.. SWA pilots are the best of the carriers. Navy pilots are BY FAR the best of the branches.

[@mikemorgan5015]

"Unfortunately I don’t have the navy paying for ANY of my schooling because my father despised the US military...." Maybe you don't know this, but mommy and daddy don't have to sign off for you to go in the military unless you are under 18 years old. Regardless, good luck with your training. No matter what you do, always critique yourself honestly, and strive to be a little better or at least more knowledgeable on the next flight.

[@abiliopilides9436]

Very well said Juan. Nice and cutting to the point. Cheers !

[@bjs2022]

In my opinion, unlike many airline pilots (domestic and foreign), Juan Browne is one of the few who maintain their proficiency by frequently "hand flying" general aviation aircraft (both light single-engine and high performance twin-engine) airplanes that they own and operate for recreation when they are not flying airline planes that are computers with wings.

[@chrisroberts3963]

I say that is not the case. I keep hearing this I I think that is wrong. Every Captain I fly with hand flies up to 10,000 to 18,000 feet. And once established on final they click off the autopilot and some of them turn off the auto throttle. I do the same.

[@cageordie]

You have no reason to say that. You have no idea what other pilots are doing. One of my friends is a regional captain, he works five day shifts. At the end of that he gets a couple of days at home to actually spend time with his wife and kids before he's off again. Juan is a heavy jet pilot, so he gets paid a heck of a lot more to do a lot less, so he can afford to play with aircraft too. Most pilots would love to have the money and time to fly for leisure as well as work.

[@bjs2022]

@@cageordie Two of my friends in flight school quickly made captain on an international airline. They could have easily afforded to own and fly their own airplanes but instead they spent money on a house, a family, and expensive cars. They never flew general aviation airplanes again. Flying for them was just job, not an activity because of their love of flying. It's like a friend of mine who was a professional musician in a symphony orchestra and she told me that some of her colleagues did not like classical music.

[@arthouston7361]

@@chrisroberts3963 That's not the training or the SOP for 90% of air carriers in the US. From my earliest line experience, I was taught to go with the autopilot when flaps and gear were retracted. When flying a dead leg, for repositioning, we would hand fly and simulate engine outs, etc, but NEVER with pax.

[@N9197U]

@@arthouston7361 never hand fly with passengers? wow.

[@886888aa]

As a flight instructor from 91-99 it was impossible to get a job on a commuter even with 800 hours and 100 multi. At that time commuters like Comair were charging you to fly for them. They would start you at 19K a year and would deduct money out of your pay for training. It was a Joke , it was perpetuated by folks like Kit Darby of FAPA who wanted you to believe there was a pilot shortage. Not true, plenty of pilots and most were willing to work for free. It was the nature of the business at that time.

[@mogwopjr]

I had to stop flying, and pursuing my ATP career, because I could no longer afford it after I racked up close to $20K in debt and was looking forward to a $17k/year job with the regionals. There was ZERO possibility that I could support my family on that, or even the 2nd year wage of ~$35K at the time. I could have done a crash course ATP program for ~$45k, but still would have qualified with the 250 hour entrance to the regionals. It would have been a LONG time to pay off that debt while trying to support a household and a family. I watched the single kids do make it to ATP, but for a family person it was nigh on impossible and I don't remember any folks with families that made it to the regionals or major airlines.

[@cherokeerookie]

You have such an amazing insight into airline operations and a clear way of presenting it to us. Thank you

[@LongStep]

I was an Ab-Initio pilot that went through an intense training program. Like most with some big loans. I got hired with low hours and flew Regional ($21/hr-$21,000/yr) Part 121 for over a year when I had to quit due to family health issues. When I tried to go back they were furloughing past my seniority number. Airline furlough cycles. Then when the new 1500 hour rule was imminent, I couldn't get a job flying the same aircraft or even fly for the same company, but like you said someone with 1500 hours flying a C152, around a pattern, can take the job. The new rules make no sense, they don't quantify the quality of hours flown or overall quality of training. As you pointed out, the rules were put in play by legislature that didn't care or understand the aviation or Airline world and the FAA just accepted it, instead of thinking it through and putting good rules in place. Disappointing.

[@tomdemaree8752]

Thanks!

[@blancolirio]

Thanks Tom!

[@tomdemaree8752]

Hello Juan, You may have well hit the upon the solution--"Ab Initio" training! After two months, I reviewed your video and it is more pertinent that ever. Keep up the good work.

[@tomwilliam5118]

And the FAA should ask the flight Crews who fly in and out of all these airports what do they think the issues are

[@calimark7448]

I've been on the sidelines for a while, when I heard of the new NOTAM definition i just shook my head in disbelief...

[@slartybarfastb3648]

Kudos to the director for not brying his head in the sand. Or, digging it out of the sand if that's where it's been. Better to take steps in the name of prevention than in reaction after a string of accidents. Hopefully they don't make things worse.

[@billfarnham1592]

I've been thinking along these lines for some time, Juan. But you really put it all together very well in this one. Bravo Zulu! I'm thankful folks like you and Dan Gryder are each making your own unique and effective pleas for aviation safety!

[@SteamCrane]

Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance on Wednesday confronted acting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commissioner Billy Nolen over “inclusive language” guidance. Vance grilled Nolen about the potential changes. “Did the FAA issue 176 page guidance document changing notices to airmen to notices of air mission in December of 2021?” Vance asked.

[@wrinkledm]

Thank you good sir for the enlightenment! Lets hope for the best.

[@chrisjeanneret5091]

I've indirectly followed aviation training in that my university (Waterloo) brought in an aviation program several years ago. Certainly not low cost, although less than the kind of figures that Petter at Mentour has thrown around in his videos. UW points out that their program also provides a degree at the end, giving an alternate career path if aviation doesn't work out. Also, without the 1500 hour requirement in Canada the program has been able to link up with a charter airline as a starting point for a career.

[@martinliehs2513]

I'm a UW alumni (BASc '88), but had no idea such a program existed.

[@YekouriGaming]

Europe has a way more costly aviation training that the US, partially because education of all other kinds in most European countries are state run and aviation training is not. Aviation training is one of few fields that is privatized and is run as its own companies that does nothing else. So pilots will have an astronomical student debt compared to everyone else. Petter is from Sweden, which has free education all the way through university and you even get payed "student benefits" while studying, but aviation training is not free. So you get to pay a comparatively gigantic sum, where most pilots from Sweden will have a student loan debt until they are 50 just from the training, compared to the average of basically 0 student debt.

[@tiffanyray5360]

I'm a former professional skydiver and I really appreciate the way you explain things. Thank you

[@JohnSmith-jk8nv]

What’s the difference between a “professional” sky diver and a regular sky diver? I’ve seen pros end up in trees too.

[@tiffanyray5360]

@@JohnSmith-jk8nv just means we are getting paid to do it, but yes, we are just as prone to tree landings...I must say that skydiving pilots have saved my life on many occasions and are some of the calmest, most creative problem solvers I have ever seen...

[@RyTrapp0]

@@JohnSmith-jk8nv Same as anything else - you're a 'professional' if it's a profession of yours lol

[@mderline4412]

@@JohnSmith-jk8nv The same as Pilots. if someone is getting paid, the insurance is higher...

[@Digitalgems9000]

i'm a simple man, whenever i see a video by blancolirio, i click like

[@ricardokowalski1579]

As am I

[@hayleyxyz]

beep boop

[@valeriegriner5644]

Me, too! I love his channel.

[@charliemike5813]

Thanks for saying it!!! Priority should always be safety

[@n.v.1258]

Always on the mark with your comments. Please keep it up. Thanks

[@williamford9564]

8:35: You KNOW the answer to that question. 8:56: YES!!

[@cageordie]

Right. As I've said for years, having people rack up huge amounts of irrelevant experience filters out a lot of the people who have the innate capabilities to be good pilots, and simultaneously teaches bad habits. My friend's daughter got as far as her ATP then, when she found how long it would take to get to decent pay, switched to engineering management and is now a VP in a major Bay Area company. NOTAMs suck, it's very hard to filter out the necessary information from the irrelevant detail.

[@tgmccoy1556]

Yes!

[@bw162]

Don’t agree. Flying is a learned skill. The military knows that cuts in budgets for flight proficiency results in accidents. A 200 hour pilot doesn’t have the breath of knowledge that can only come from experience. And if he is in the right seat, he is expected to have it.

[@1919champ]

A&P mechanic here. 4 years as an apprentice to get my ticket. Pay-$10.00/hr. Flexjet a fractional operator just hired 10 A&Ps they had sent to school for their licenses, paid them $50,000 a year for the 3 years of school. Then they hired them at $80,000 a year, gave them a $30,000 snap on tool box full of tools (that they could keep after 3 years of employment). Boy I was born too early. 22 years in the industry and I haven’t broken $60,000 yet. Oh yeah. $33,000 worth of tools later.

[@bw162]

@@1919champ On the brighter side, you probably paid a lot less for your tools and with inflation, you can sell them for more when you retire. 😆

[@peteparadis1619]

@@bw162 No pilots, no flights.. I guess that's the future..

[@mk88200]

You're comment about priorities is spot on. When I got hired as ATC in 2009, after going through a "CTI Program" which is basically ATC focused college courses. I had to take an aptitude test called the AT-SAT. If someone failed this test, that's it, no job offer. A few years later the FAA did away with this test and instead instituted a "biographical exam" ..... I never took this exam as I was already working ATC, so I can't say exactly what this exam consisted of. However, judging by the folks I'm training now, I think I know that aptitude was not one of the requirements for the job.

[@duanekruse6811]

Thanks for keeping us safe and posted on what is going on

[@nathanrewerts7320]

This is a topic my son, who is in school to become a commercial pilot, faces almost daily. Getting his check ride for his instrument rating has taken weeks. We also send time discussing how he is going to get his flight hours. The challenges are stacking up with no resolution in sight. Thanks for all you do!

[@blancolirio]

UPDATE Billy Nolen before Congress 2/15/2023 thehill.com/homenews/3859027-watch-live-faa-administrator-testifies-before-senate-panel-following-outages-aerial-object-discoverieswatch-live/ 44:19 Current FAA Priorities...

[@nightowldickson]

5:57 - completely agree. 1500 hours may sound nice on paper but the focus is on the wrong thing, they're focusing on quantity over quality. Good quality training could be provided (industry will have to spend money) and the hours could be reduced whilst still producing better safety outcome. The industry turnover and loss of experienced pilots will take years to resolve. Good on Billy Nolen and the FAA on initiating this before something bad happens. I note that Billy spent a few years at Qantas and whilst things didn't quite work out, his experience, professionalism and industry knowledge should serve him well as FAA acting administrator.

[@GorgeDawes]

Speaking as a European, the 1500 hours rule has never made a lick of sense to me. No state in Europe has such a requirement and you’d have a tough time arguing that aviation here has a level of safety that is in any way lower than that in the US.

[@steveperreira5850]

Only the dumbest government in the world to come up with such an asinine policy. Hours of flight mean almost nothing. Practicing and logging accomplishments is what really matters. How many landings, how many Crosswind Landingd, how many short field landings, how many dead stick landings, And noted proficiency on all of these things. Etc. The government of the USA is the stupidest government in the world, and there is no close second place!!

[@mourdecais4202]

Airlines in the US have even done a study and found that the 1500 hour rule has actually negatively impacted pilot proficiency in the US. Not only is it dumb, but it’s actually making the problem worse. You guys have a much better system in both efficiency and safety

[@grahamstevenson1740]

The 1500 hour rule is preferring quantity over quality. It really makes no sense and in 1500 hours a pilot outside formal training can pick up some seriously bad habits too.

[@fuelflownormal]

The point of 1500 hrs is that experience matters. Believe me, it does.

[@GorgeDawes]

If that’s the case then why aren’t there more accidents in Europe then? Surely our level of safety should be worse? Ironically, I’m one of the relatively few pilots over here that did have close to 1500 hours before starting with an airline, due to two years spent giving PPL instruction. Sadly, the GA route is even less viable these days, (particularly in the UK where we have just killed the training industry by ensuring the licences we issue aren’t valid in Europe, but that’s a whole other story). Was that extra experience helpful? Sure it was, but I’m still confident I would have made it if I’d received the same level of Type Rating training and Route Instruction with only 250 hours.

[@GlensHangar]

When I first got my PPL 25+ years ago; I almost joined the Cathay Pacific Cadet Program. At that point they were accepting Canadian citizens into the program, you just needed your PPL and they would do the training to build you into one of their company pilots for regional and then long haul trans Pacific flights. I recently did re-currency training with a retired Cathay Pacific Pilot who went through the Cadet program and became a 777 pilot based here in Toronto flying the Hong Kong - Toronto route. The current Cathay Cadet Program doesn't even require a PPL, they are taking raw recruits and making pilots.

[@mwp1088]

Awesome video as always, I’m sharing this with my flying club as well. Thanks Juan!

[@andrewbroadfoot99]

Thanks for saying what needs to be said!

[@ghostchips7204]

FAA needs to properly resource and staff its ATC units as priority number one. Their inaction over short staffing and ignorance of fatigue management means a serious incident is a matter of when, not if. It seems crazy that the FAA is screaming from the rooftop about improving safety, when its own house in on fire.

[@robucrobuc9316]

Expect little change on the FAA side as their top priorities are work force diversification and climate change.

[@ronaldkarp4035]

I always enjoy what you have to say in these matters.

[@crimony3054]

It would make sense to identify those traits that are associated with safe operation of widebody jets and use those as indicators of who has real aptitude and who should receive valuable training resources.

[@larrywilliams7872]

Excellent presentation, as a pilot, flight instructor, former FAA Supervisory Aviation Safety Inspector, I have seen it all. Most FAA FSDO's are not open to the public, matter of fact, most do not allow their employees to go to the office without special permission, the days of going by the FSDO to get a sign off, CFI renewal, etc. are long gone. When I tried renew my CFI after passing an approved course (prior to COVID) the Orlando FSDO refused to do it..told me to go to a DPE. Called several, two called back and said "I can't do that." (I already knew that because it could only be done by a FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR RENEWAL EXAMINER), which must be a retired FAA Inspector with such a designation. I used to be one. Anyway, I paid American Flyers $50 to renew my CFI when hundreds if not thousands of FAA operations inspector could have done it in about 15 minutes. There is just no accountability in the FAA anymore.

[@Busdriver308]

Oops, you almost said the quiet part out loud. Great description of the problems facing the industry. Many of us gave up on flying airliners in the 2007-2010 years. It just wasn't worth continuing, knowing that age 65 had stunted our career growth. I'll disagree on bringing low-time pilots back into airline service. A 250 hour FO can be quite a handful, even for a seasoned Captain. I think somewhere between the two extremes would be appropriate, so long as the newer generation of pilots get a lot of time without automation. The difference between a pilot that flew a significant amount of raw-data and one that always had magenta lines to follow is immediately apparent when the chips are down.

[@alein81902]

Thanks Juan!

[@turbofanlover]

Superb vid...again. Thanks, Juan.

[@sb859]

The only thing I gained between 1000 hrs and 500 hrs was...500 more hours. My learning was stunted, and any bad habits I had were just reinforced. The ab-initio program is the solution to the new pilot shortage problem. Aspiring pilots can train to airline standards in sims, fly and instruct jr pilots in the ab initio program, and should be able to go to an airline job at 1000 total hours.

[@Steve-rm6gx]

So what did you learn from 1000hrs to 1500hrs ?

[@47colton]

What we need is young pilots flying Beech 1900s with no autopilot from 500 to 1000 hours. Then you will have pilots who will have the skills we need.

[@conrad4667]

Prioritizing Equity over Quality will eventually cost lives.

[@d.t.4523]

Great reporting! Thank you Juan.

[@m.g.2142]

Juan as a 40 year A&P the maintenance side is even worst. The company I work for is hiring mechanics at a fast pace dropping experience requirements. They get some general training and are put out on the line with no qualifications and it shows. When problems show up they are a deer in the headlights.

[@Jimi_James_Bryan]

As someone who is working toward the commercial, i have spent alot of dollars already, but learning all the material, FAA books, FARs, AIM, & ACs has been another obsticle. So many things to learn plus the costs makes it a difficult job to want to do, but it has been a life changing experience and one that i apperciate.

[@underdog2594]

You make a good point regarding training. Surgeons don't do 1500 operations before they get to apply for a surgeon program. Training, residency, and mentoring.

[@tuckerprice9663]

Not saying I disagree with the need for change in the aviation industry, but I don’t think this metaphor really works. Surgeons have to do a bachelor’s degree and then 4 years of med school at a cost of $100,000-$400,000 before they apply to be surgeons. That causes a similar problem to aviation where the cost of entry is incredibly high.

[@underdog2594]

@@tuckerprice9663 Good point, Tucker. There are rural areas in the US that will pay for medical school with an agreement to return and be a physician. You have to have your BS, but they pay for medical school. They responded to a shortage in a creative way. I'm not a commercial pilot, but you would think that the airlines could develop creative ways to tackle a shortage.

[@markmatthews8429]

good idea bringing down the hours to qualify, 1 of the problems with having someone racking up the hours would be that they pick up bad habits and as we all know it is difficult to get out of bad habits once they become a routine. by letting airline take on pilots earlier they would be able to train them to a standard of airmanship.

[@bradleyjones4220]

As a training commercial pilot in Europe, I have always found the 1500hrs requirement strange as we are able to get jobs on an A320 with roughly 200 hours. It'll be very interesting to see how things pan out. Thanks for the update

[@ndegepilot]

Preach it Juan!! Good insights.

[@commerce-usa]

Continual process improvement works well, glad to learn that the FAA is engaging. Glad that these recent serious incidents all ended well, though without process improvement it won't always be that way.

[@Saml01]

You can have all the continual process improvement you want but at the end of each cycle the process has to pass the acid test for eternity. For some reason, they eventually fail. That's what people need to look at.

[@drenk7]

Jaun you bring up many valid points. I have a Commercial License with instrument and muli-engine rating s.I never proceed to the airlines due to the excess of military pilots from the Vietnam war. The excess of military pilots no longer exist. The entry level of 1500 hours requires low pay of employers who take advantage of “Time Building Pilots”. Jaun you also stay proficient in “Stick and Rudder” skills. My aviation career was spent teaching aircraft systems for major manufacturers. I made a good living. I to am concerned about both pilots and A&P mechanics.

[@billylain7456]

Great video as usual, Juan. Thanks for posting.

[@rjobrien7805]

The pilot unions will fight tooth and nail to protect the 1500 hour rule despite the fact that it has seriously disrupted the pipeline of new low time pilots. The unionized construction trades have apprenticeships to keep the pipeline of new recruits going which sustains the industry and the union over the long run. No reason why it can't be done in the airlines.

[@pilotbenny]

seriously, im coming up to my R-ATP mins and at this point i dont feel like im a better pilot now than i was at 600 hours, just doing the same thing in a single engine piston over and over. i wanna move on to a jet but its crickets whenever i send out an app

[@KaneYork]

corrupt union => VOTE EM OUT

[@nickmaguire4914]

@@pilotbenny so is it 1500 hours experience or 1 hours experience 1500 times? A number is just that isn't it.

[@rjobrien7805]

@@pilotbenny Are you a CFI? The 500 hours of cross country time for the ATP is difficult to acquire for the typical CFI who is training primary students close to the home airport. In my day the CFIs would move up to air taxi at 1000 hours so they could get the cross country time and also continue to challenge themselves.

[@fuelflownormal]

And here he is…Union bashing. The power of the Pilot Union provides you, the flying public, with a crew that is thoroughly trained, treated respectfully, adequately paid and benefited and psychologically sound because they are afforded enough time off to keep a network of friends and family around for a lifetime. I once worked for a non union airline where after grounding an aircraft with an inoperative generator I had was called into the bosses office and had my hours cut. My Union is the pilots. We are the ones who are tied to the ship for 30 year careers. We build lives and a safe retirement over time. Managements come and go. We are the real protectors of the airline’s and the flying public’s well being. If you want to fly for the airlines…earn it. It’s not the job of the airline and it’s pilots to get aspiring pilots up to speed. Airlines train pilots but we are not flight schools.

[@DavidTwibell]

Juan, from my limited experience as a civilian CFI and my current job as a part 135 instructor I’ve seen a huge difference between those who have made it to the 250 to get their tickets and 1500 hour eligible ATPs. On average, the competence the latter have is head and shoulders above a newly minted commercial in terms of stick and rudder skills, confidence, and decision making. A step above even somebody with ATP mins are those who have worked as instrument instructors before reaching the ATP. I’m not opposed to the ab initio concept but experience is still experience and I would rather people get the stupid out of them somewhere where they can’t hurt as many people as a screwup in the right seat of a regional jet can. Also, finding instructors is difficult enough right now, good luck finding any if the 1500 hour rule went away.

[@bw162]

New young banker asked the retiring banker the secret of his success. He said, “smart decisions.” He then asked him how he came about making smart decisions. His answer was, “bad decisions.”

[@peteparadis1619]

Flights will stay on the ground soon, oh welllllll...

[@budguy21]

or is it just an extra 1250 hours of reinforcing bad habits

[@bw162]

@@budguy21 Experience, including mistakes, is invaluable. You can learn about hydroplaning, ice, etc, but you don’t fully understand and appreciate till you EXPERIENCE it. Airplanes can fly themselves on their first flight, so who needs pilots with experience at all? Answer that and you’ll understand.

[@budguy21]

@@bw162 cool, but not what I said.

[@ShakazuluJones]

Thanks for your insight on this JB. Carry on.

[@charlestosi5199]

Brilliant, enlightening presentation.

[@geofiggy]

Finally JB. 🤞🏼 Take care and fly safe. 🤟🏼🖖🏼

[@motorv8N]

The phrase “we never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity” comes to mind……

[@propertymanagement7011]

You can choose affirmative action or safety but not both!

[@Hans_R._Wahl]

Thank you very much!👍 At least it will be picked up now.

[@svenostrowski]

Love all the Work you do and your channel. The Motorcycle stuff is great too. One thing on this Video, all Airmen, Pilots, and Mechanics are issued Certificates, it is not a License. Keep up all the Great Work.

[@dadflys-6632]

Well said Juan!

[@98DEB]

I would drop everything and go for an airline pilot career if we went back to 250hrs. The current barrier has kept me out and led me to take a different career path.

[@richardc020]

Thank you Juan for professional improvements and education to keep our vaunted safe aviation environment.

[@markhwirth7718]

Great let’s put our heads together and talk safety first ! Then let’s try to help the companies out with economics ! True Safety Is No Accident ) is the goal to shoot for ! Right now it’s a can of worms but this information you just gave us Juan,is a start ! Thanx for being here from all of us !

[@blancolirio]

Thanks Mark!

[@timmotel5804]

Excellent update Juan. As historically, many problems and no urgency to address and solve/correct them. All the condolences and prayers in the world won't bring dead passengers back...

[@irvcranistan]

Good stuff, Juan! As a 40+ year FAA A&P, I'm hopeful that the FAA will consider a similar Action & Approach to FAR 121 Aircraft Maintenance Standards, practices, staffing and the future. We are massively hurting for experienced techs at my 121 carrier. All the best, IC

[@derekchappell8509]

As someone flying to Rio on Friday...I respect these opinions and they make me no less nervous to fly. I just hope that Juan is in the cockpit when I take off.

[@scottgage9541]

Data analysis is very important but also difficult. Using wrong data, or misinterpreting it, can be catastrophic. Hopefully qualified personnel will do the data mining.

[@acm_1985]

Great summary. Same problem in the aircraft maintenance, declining salaries combined with high workload and long working hours saw high number of experienced staff walk away or retire early - especially during covid. Now entry level salary is poor but mandatory training takes several years. Just guess how popular it is these days for young people to start an aircraft engineers career.

[@jonathanstein1783]

Happened to me back in the eighties when I got my A & P. Out of school, no experience, couldn't get anything but a few small jobs on GA aircraft. It wasn't worth the effort. I eventually made it into the power generation industry. Even there I never broke 60k a year, but it paid my bills living in southern California.

[@danielhowell6605]

Look at the Asiana Flight 214 accident. Exactly caused by what you are describing: a very experienced pilot in the left seat, but not so experienced in the 777. He had 43 hours in the 777.

[@someonespadre]

I got to CFI and CFII ASE but then my other profession got very busy and actually paid the mortgage so I let flying go. My flying now is UAS on aerial photogrammetry missions, kind of fun. That’s less than 10% of the job.

[@maxon1672]

I absolutely love your proposal for how to structure the hiring and training funnel for new ATP candidates. It is extremely cost and time prohibitive right now, to the point where someone in their mid to late 20’s is essentially aged out. Not to mention the roughly $100,000 financial barrier to entry - just for the hope of flying power lines for years to maybe one day get FO with a regional to pay for a one bedroom apartment.

[@MrNolan911]

Juan, I hope something good comes from this but I also know government runs as fast as molasses in the winter. ☹

[@breakinghues2751]

I was ready to fly way back in 2009 when other friends had gotten picked up with 250 hours. Before I got my commercial, the hours were raised. I just simply ran out of money trying to chase those hours (the dream). 550TT 180 Multi. Switched to the ATC program, and got a qualified degree as required for air traffic control, hiring standards. But then FAA decided they needed more diversity standards, and ended up aging out at age 31. So many missed opportunities in the industry for highly qualified professional candidates such as myself. Still gaining more and more professional experience in the industry, but can’t stop thinking about actually reaching my dream someday.

[@kevinbrowne1278]

I agree with every word you said in this! Wow, someone needs to listen to the solutions!

[@HiggsBJ]

My dad was a founding member of CAST while working for Boeing. I keep sending him your videos. I know he has thoughts on all this. ✌️

[@koehlerandermatt7436]

Juan - your content is always spot on. Yourself and Mentour Pilot are my go to for aviation insight. Love these breakdowns you do of current events in aviation. Keep up the great work and God Bless!

[@highoctanehotrod]

As someone who has worked in many fields in my life, including Aviation and the Medical field, it astounds me that society has no problem with people who hold lives in their hand not being properly compensated for the level of responsibility they undertake. I personally know people with years of training and/or college education in both the aviation and medical fields who don’t make much more than some fresh out of high school all apparently in the name of equity. We as a society have put priorities all out of order. We have no problem with professional athletes who no one’s life depends on making millions but the people who do have our lives in their hands and live with that responsibility aren’t worth much more than the guy who makes your burger or pizza? Until that changes don’t expect to have top notch pilots flying around hundreds of people..until there is proper investment in both training and compensation the state of commercial aviation is only going to get worse. Until we as a society get our priorities in order this is the price we will pay.

[@joeskis]

school bus drivers transport the most precious cargo in the world. And they get paid the least in the bus transit industry.

[@WaterlooExpat]

@@joeskis That's exactly what I was thinking. I retain a school bus licence, that I received in 1979. I last touched a school bus in 1985, and will never go back. The pay just does not match the level of responsibility.

[@rjobrien7805]

Pilots at the major airlines especially the senior pilots have never made more money flying airplanes. Senior widebody captains are making $500k before any overtime. The pay at the regionals is improving but it's still only about 30% of what it is at the majors but the planes are smaller. New flight instructors (which is most of the ones who do primary training) make between $20 to $40/hr and can only work between 0 and 80 hours a month.

[@bw162]

Not entirely fair. Responsibility and abilities can be measured in many ways. Most pro athletes have spent years developing their skills and produce millions for their teams and owners. If they don’t perform or are injured they are gone. The school bus driver doesn’t require years of training and experience. Higher pay wouldn’t attract “better” drivers. Actors only make large amounts of money after years of successful films. “Responsibility for lives” is not an accurate yardstick for all occupations. If it were, you wouldn’t have some very important people in their respective professions providing goods and services. There is a reason, by example, for apprentice, journeyman and master type classifications. In nearly ever job, employers and customers value “experience” for good reason. If ratings, without experience was the sole criteria, we would have a lot of MS Sim pilots flying airliners. And in part, that’s the equivalent of what is happening in the airlines now. Those “crummy” jobs Juan describes produce some invaluable experience and ultimately higher paying flying jobs.

[@jimbobisme1]

Excellent coverage once again Juan! I love the passion and caring you put into aviation. I just started as a flight instructor and am trying to "pay my dues" until I can move up into something better but, the jobs open to those like me with only 270hrs is few and far between. Are you going to cover the Ohio train derailment?

[@theoldman8877]

Learned to fly in 1988 , I consider going professional. My problem was that it would take so long to get back to the pay level I had at the time, which made it economically unfeasible. It would have resulted in a net reduction of total income for the length of my foreseeable career. So I stayed with the job I had and did flying for fun. I met some notable people who were racking up hours so they could get the ratings necessary to fly the aircraft they had in mind to purchase.

[@philstanton231]

Thanks Juan, that was very interesting. I retired recently after 47 years in ATC, and while a lot changed in that time in aviation, I am still amazed at the number of "occurrences" in our sector. Both yours and Petters (as a side issue, I discovered Blancolirio when you met Petter in Spain ((i Think it was)) vlogs are fantastic in the way the safety message is delivered. Keep up the great work, it's for a good cause 👌👍👌- safety is no accident.

[@Jezeppi1]

Very well said Juan. JM

[@NicolaW72]

Thank you very much for making this understandable.

[@ifirekirby7498]

The fact that some people are concerned with the acronym NOTAM and its level of political correctness vs the actual integrity of the system itself tells you a lot about some of the people involved in aviation.

[@rudedog302]

It's not just aviation, we have allowed this political correctness to turn many industries, and the military upside down, and it shakes out many of the good ones.

[@hotttt28]

I can remember united's commercial pilot training program in 1966 . United had a 2 year program in conjunction with a junior college for ground and sim and flight safety for actual . At the end of two years the airline industry tanked and all the slots at United dried up .The new push for lower hours is only part of the fix .A living wage has to accompany the starting pay !

[@peteparadis1619]

THE MAN has been sooooooo spoiled in the last 40yrs keeping everything for the top of the pyramid and just letting the crumbs fall down that he's having a difficult time seeing any other way.. CEO's and officers distribute kickbacks to boards and it's just a good ole boy network from the Ivy League over and over.. It'll never change, I thought COVID might help, but in the long run it wasn't SEVERE enough to have any LONG TERM real change so far.. People are catching on somewhat to how bad we have ALL been screwed by the few..

[@juanetobascofish3999]

Years ago, as a field archaeologist, a profession not known for lucrative salaries, I chatted with the FO of a commuter airline about my desire to fly professionally. He pulled out a paystub he'd just received. I was astonished to learn that I made considerably more than him. I ended up retiring as an archaeologist flying for fun with a private ticket....

[@shufflerp3868]

That time training with the airlines would be before aquiring bad habits. This would be a big plus.

[@flyingmachineworks]

I’m 13k into just my PPL and it’s been months to get a DPE and now weather keeps delaying me. At this point I don’t even wanna go pro. It’s too much of a headache at this point.

[@carltheflpatriot69]

Love your videos Juan!!