3 ms·

The first officer in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was confirmed to have 350 flight hours, which is much lower then the US standard for the large carriers. Sou

The first officer in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 was confirmed to have 350 flight hours, which is much lower then the US standard for the large carriers. Southwest Airlines, for example requires: > Flight Experience: 2,500 hours total or 1,500 hours Turbine total. Additionally, a minimum of 1,000 hours in Turbine aircraft as the Pilot in Command* is preferred. Southwest considers only Pilot time in fixed-wing aircraft. This specifically excludes simulator, WSO, RIO, FE, NAV, EWO, etc. "Other Time" will not be considered. https://swa.pilotcredentials.com/index.php?a=qualifications https://swa.pilotcredentials.com/index.php?a=qualifications Delta requires: > Minimum of 1,500 hours of total documented flight time. > Minimum of 1,000 hours of fixed wing turboprop or turbofan time. > 90% of the flight time logged in powered lift category aircraft (e.g. AV-8B, F-35B, and V-22) will be credited to the Delta Air Lines 1,000 hour fixed wing turboprop/turbofan requirement. > Minimum of 250 hours PIC in an aircraft categorized as an airplane. > The flight time logged in a powered lift category aircraft cannot be credited towards PIC aircraft time in accordance with 14 C.F.R. 61.159. > Minimum of 50 hours of fixed wing multi-engine time. https://www.deltajobs.net/pilot_qualifications.htm https://www.deltajobs.net/pilot_qualifications.htm United requires: > Minimum of 1,000 hours of fixed-wing turbine time https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/company/career/pilot.html https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/company/career/pilot.ht... The European carriers, on the other hand, do not have such strict requirements.

24gttghh 8y ago
These are all pilot qualifications. The first officer was new and had ~200 flight hours. The pilot/captain had over 8000 flight hours. [0] Look at Ethiopian Airlines own job postings![1] >Qualifications: Must hold a current and valid JAA/FAA or ICAO ATPL/CPL A current 777 type rating Minimum Flight time *3500 hours* jet time *2500 hours* Pilot in command on jet aircraft Command time in excess of 500 hours on 777 [0]https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/media/media-relations/press-release/detail/1080 https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/media/media-rela... [1]https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/careers/vacancy https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/careers/vacancy
- oldgradstudent 8y ago
  Is this clear enough? https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=14838 https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsI... These are the minimum FAA requirements. Major airlines have higher requirements, while regionals have lower requirements. The US is unique because flying is far more affordable and common, especially when compared to the alternative of going to a university, even a reasonable state school.
  - 24gttghh 8y ago
    They only introduced that rule in 2013 as your link states, and it doesn't seem like most other places bother with such high requirements.[0] "On Ethiopian flight 302, the first officer may have had just 200 hours, but the captain, a 29-year old career Ethiopian Airlines pilot, had a very respectable 8,000 hours under his belt. There’s no indication, at this point in the investigation, that crew experience may have been a factor in the accident." I still don't see why you are harping on the experience angle when there seems to be much more evidence that the weird Boeing "secret" anti-stall system(MCAS) seems to be in play, since Boeing is trying to come up with an update for it...Also the general maintenance issues that seems to have occurred before at least one of the flights where the same issue was noted and/or the faulty sensors were ignored by groundcrew. [0]https://thepointsguy.com/news/how-much-experience-do-pilots-need/ https://thepointsguy.com/news/how-much-experience-do-pilots-... And FTA this thread is about: "French air accident investigation agency BEA said on Tuesday the flight data recorder in the Ethiopian crash that killed 157 people showed “clear similarities” to the Lion Air disaster. Since the Lion Air crash, Boeing has been pursuing a software upgrade to change how much authority is given to the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, a new anti-stall system developed for the 737 MAX. Some U.S. pilots have complained they were unaware of the new system, which is mentioned in the index of the aircraft’s full manual but not the text, according to a version seen by Reuters. Airlines have some discretion to customize the manuals. The cause of the Lion Air crash has not been determined, but the preliminary report mentioned the Boeing system, a faulty, recently replaced sensor and the airline’s maintenance and training." So yeah, blame the flight crew... /s
kkarakk 8y ago
can't be right, airlines literally don't hire pilots with lower than required hours. they'd be sued into oblivion and their license to operate taken away if they did that. it's an ironclad rule afaik
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

24gttghh 8y ago

These are all pilot qualifications. The first officer was new and had ~200 flight hours. The pilot/captain had over 8000 flight hours. [0] Look at Ethiopian Airlines own job postings![1] >Qualifications: Must hold a current and valid JAA/FAA or ICAO ATPL/CPL A current 777 type rating Minimum Flight time *3500 hours* jet time *2500 hours* Pilot in command on jet aircraft Command time in excess of 500 hours on 777 [0]https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/media/media-relations/press-release/detail/1080 https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/media/media-rela... [1]https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/careers/vacancy https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/corporate/careers/vacancy

oldgradstudent 8y ago
Is this clear enough? https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=14838 https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsI... These are the minimum FAA requirements. Major airlines have higher requirements, while regionals have lower requirements. The US is unique because flying is far more affordable and common, especially when compared to the alternative of going to a university, even a reasonable state school.
- 24gttghh 8y ago
  They only introduced that rule in 2013 as your link states, and it doesn't seem like most other places bother with such high requirements.[0] "On Ethiopian flight 302, the first officer may have had just 200 hours, but the captain, a 29-year old career Ethiopian Airlines pilot, had a very respectable 8,000 hours under his belt. There’s no indication, at this point in the investigation, that crew experience may have been a factor in the accident." I still don't see why you are harping on the experience angle when there seems to be much more evidence that the weird Boeing "secret" anti-stall system(MCAS) seems to be in play, since Boeing is trying to come up with an update for it...Also the general maintenance issues that seems to have occurred before at least one of the flights where the same issue was noted and/or the faulty sensors were ignored by groundcrew. [0]https://thepointsguy.com/news/how-much-experience-do-pilots-need/ https://thepointsguy.com/news/how-much-experience-do-pilots-... And FTA this thread is about: "French air accident investigation agency BEA said on Tuesday the flight data recorder in the Ethiopian crash that killed 157 people showed “clear similarities” to the Lion Air disaster. Since the Lion Air crash, Boeing has been pursuing a software upgrade to change how much authority is given to the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System, or MCAS, a new anti-stall system developed for the 737 MAX. Some U.S. pilots have complained they were unaware of the new system, which is mentioned in the index of the aircraft’s full manual but not the text, according to a version seen by Reuters. Airlines have some discretion to customize the manuals. The cause of the Lion Air crash has not been determined, but the preliminary report mentioned the Boeing system, a faulty, recently replaced sensor and the airline’s maintenance and training." So yeah, blame the flight crew... /s

kkarakk 8y ago

can't be right, airlines literally don't hire pilots with lower than required hours. they'd be sued into oblivion and their license to operate taken away if they did that. it's an ironclad rule afaik

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]