Originally Posted by
RichardJones
Fair comment.
What is the most important skill a pilot needs, to operate with any degree of safety? My answer is to be ABLE to FLY the aircraft.
Everyone is so fixated with the automatics, not to much thought has gone into, how will this person will cope, if the automatics fail? In most cases not very well.
This was beginning to rare its ugly head 20years ago before I retired. Example, Asian airline, linecheck, on approach checkpilot pulled the A/P CB. The pilot flying couldn't cope. Turned into an incident. Ok the time to do this stunt is in the simulator, not in the a/c loaded with passengers.
This incompetence has crept into the industry to the extend the FAA are very concerned. 20 years late but better late than never. It has caused at least one loss of an A/C. You only have to watch any aircraft landing in adverse wind conditions. They have no idea, most of them. Not the crews fault, as they are unable to get any handling practice. Some outfits, manual flying is not allowed. Every time I strap my backside to an A/C these days I pray to (God) the autopilot don't quit.
As far as the other types of "suitablity" are concerned, these traits really cant be picked up at interview stage. Take a. recent case when a Captain punched a F/O, for telling him to slow down on the taxi. He didnt slow the taxi so brakes were applied, then the Captain hit him. Nice behaviour? I could go on, but most can take the point..When I was flying multi crew up to 3 , I would always invite critquec. Some would look at me as if I had come from Mars. Not encouraged these days I bet.That let the others know I made mistakes like everyone else.. There is a lot of psychology involved in getting the better out of people you are working with.
Flight deck? It was always cockpit in my day. One word fitted all. Take a Piper Cub for example, would you call the pilot seating area, a flghtdeck? Some of you youngsters need to get over yourselves. Only aeroplanes at the end of the day.
That’s why most airlines have a sim assessment as part of their recruitment process. To make sure you have both basic flying skills, plus the wide range of competencies needed in a modern flight deck. You can fake an interview. You can’t fake a sim as easily - under pressure it’s hard to hide the true you.