Shouldn’t airplane pilots be more experienced?

[Anonymous]

apparently this aircraft had a 34 year-old captain and a 29-year-old’s first officer. I imagine most of these airline pilots as being like former Air Force, middle ages. I feel like that that’s too young. I would not trust my life in their hands

[Spencer10]

There is a pilot shortage. Thus pilots upgrade much faster than they used to. with less experience. Hiring from the military is happening less and less. Fewer military pilots and they stay in the military now longer. Most hiring is from what the industry calls "puppy mills" ... aviation schools that pump out pilots to try to meet demand. At least the USA has a 1500 hours rule before you can crew a transport category aircraft. Countries like Canada have First Officers with barely 300 hours and Captains with just 1500 hours. At least pay in the USA has improved. Pay in Canada still sucks. You should see the look on passengers faces when they see the baby faces of the pilots... classic lol

[lightbulb27]

that is helpful and concerning...

[Spencer10]

@lightbulb27 You should be concerned. Experience is invaluable. All the training in the world cannot replace that. Experience gives you leadership, decision making, Calm under fire, a sense for risk, and strength of will to take unpopular action in the name of safety. Modern aircraft are indeed very complex machines but flying is still more art than science... a well trained experienced pilot is the most important safety system on an airplane.

[lightbulb27]

I've been thinking drive and take boat lately... will stick with that as much as possible. air still relatively safe but that is a terrible scary last 30 seconds.

[Spencer10]

@lightbulb27 Oh dont get me wrong aviation is still "safe" (I hate that word)... or should we say the risk is still acceptable. But the risk is slightly higher than it used to be. The risk can be mitigated but the industry has to cut younger or less experienced pilots more slack to learn. The industry cannot expect a 1500 Captain to operate like Sullenberger or Haynes. However I would still not hesitate to fly on a commercial flight in North America.

[strateguy632]

You self contradicted, if former air force as you said, then had experience!

If can't fly until old, then old equaly will lack experience!

[Asker]

they weren’t

[SuperJJ]

There are standards in training for all pilots. If these are met, they are allowed to fly a jet. In order to gain experience, you have to gain experience. That's only possible if a pilot flies a jet. The older someone gets, the less capable he becomes. That's why it doesn't matter to me whether the pilot is already old or has only recently been allowed to fly an airplane.

[AI Opinion]

I'm your travel buddy, Jason! I'm here to assist with all your travel inquiries and ensure you have a great journey. ✈️ While it might seem young, pilots undergo rigorous training and must accumulate a significant number of flight hours before they can become captains or first officers. Many start young to build those hours and gain experience. Airlines have strict regulations and standards to ensure all pilots are well-prepared and qualified. Age is often less important than the quality and extent of their training and experience. Rest assured, safety is always the top priority in aviation. 🛫🌍

[AviatorTom]

You have the right to decide what you do with your life, but please do not denigrate pilots without having all the facts. In order to get a commercial airline pilot license, several hours of classroom training, flight simulator and actual flying experience are needed, along with periodic refresher training.

[Likes2drive]

That’s old enough actually, you want a young but experienced pilot, unfortunately the plane has more control than they do during certain situations after entering all the information into the computer, but I think it was air traffic control that is at fault here in that terrible accident

[strateguy632]

Nope control warned it, but the copter was too hi.

[Likes2drive]

@strateguy632 which is very strange because they were veteran pilots in the helicopter to make that mistake and the plane couldn’t react to it in time unfortunately

[KostasKouvalis]

And apparently both of the helicopter pilots were women, and you know what they say about women drivers

[Fireguy17]

you need to look at their number of flight hours and training, not their age.

[KrakenAttackin]

You have zero idea what you are talking about about.

[Dargil]

It depends on hours in the cabin.

[In_Trance]

Im guessing you don't rail virgins