Originally Posted by
Okihara
As always, you all make relevant points. I think that the similarities between the two crashes are more than obvious to anyone and I'm not suggesting that the 200 hours FO was ultimately the reason why the plane went down.
Let me rephrase just to make my point clear: Just how does one become FO at a national airline with just 200 hours under the belt when it takes between 200 and 250 hours to get a CPL? Does that suggest that some national airlines out there are happy to recruit pilots with virtually no experience as a commercial pilot and put them in the right seat? Unless that bloke did his CPL in a 737, what experience can he really count on should the captain become incapacitated? Isn't that a safety concern to some of you?
If maths aren't your strong suit: just hours ago, that copilot was still turning the carb. heat off before landing (and again: nothing wrong with that, just a fact).
Horatio Leafblower is on point:
There's definitely an argument to make that a more experienced pilot in the cockpit wouldn't have a hurt the chances for a safe outcome of the aircraft.
First of, it just cant be bare 200 hours on the F/O's log. There has to be 'some' line training on the 737 after the guy passed his simulators. So the figures may be a bit off. If they were flying with a 200 hours rookie on board and this was a training flight (which it was not apparently) there is supposed to be a safety F/O on board.
I'd like to point out that the deadliest crashes in the history of aviation were a result of highly experienced (in some cases decorated) pilots who forgot their professional duties and ended up where they did. It's sad, but that's how this profession is.
I don't know how anyone react differently to an emergency they never saw before. But yes, I do know of an instant or two in a particular airline when the F/O took over and landed the aircraft amidst a complete cockpit incapacitation and crm breakdown on finals on one of the busiest airports in the world due to Captain incapacitation, without breaking any SOPs. So I'd not be quick to judge the inexperienced guys.