Originally Posted by
MacLaren1
Hi all
I'm not a commercial pilot (but ex senior airline man with hundreds of hours in single engine aircraft and gliders).
..But surely the point is simply this:
Commercial licences are there for a reason - they indicate to the passenger that a pilot has undergone a higher level of training, so the passenger can choose to make that flight or not.
It's why I – boarding any commercial flight – don't need to ask the pilot if his actual profession is plumbing.
No it’s not that simple which is why Emiliano Sala is dead.
Example:
You have a special birthday treat sightseeing flight arranged for you and paid for by a friend, in an ‘executive’ light aircraft. You turn up and the neatly turned out pilot has four stripes on his shoulders, and the aircraft Navajo (for example) is clean and tidy.
How do you know it’s being run with professional, appropriate licensing?