BR715 and Healy
Your comments re: the level of experience and the situation at Skippers is spot on and the company has been very very lucky to date not to have things go wrong... Jundee could have been Australia's worst aviation accident EVER (think about that for a second) and it is well known how close they came being on a future episode of Air Crash Investigations.
Healy and V Tail sorry but his comments are sound and whether it was you or anyone else as a Training Capt, 400 hours PIC is nowhere near enough time on type to say you know your aircraft through and through - be honest. I personally know of several people that have moved from the right to the left seat in a very short time - not because they are the world's best pilots but because there literally is no one left and they meet the requirements to be PIC - plain and simple. Please prove me wrong. Surely the story of one ex Skippers Braz Captain going to ******* then returning to Skippers due to failing several line checks is proof enough that the experience levels of Captains leaves something to be desired.
There would have been a time when checkers and trainers had a couple of thousand hours on type. Sadly those days are gone; a by product of the movement available and moreso the conditions / pay at Skippers are dismal - why do you think there is hardly any experienced people there anymore???
V Tail - there is no need to call BR715 a tool - I am sure that most that read this agree with him - not because they know him or her (I don't) but because the situation there at Skippers is dire. The nearly 2000hrs combined you mentioned would have been made up (the majority of it) by the F/O's time. I take you to task with your statement about there were no procs in place to prevent said outcome - without wanting to bring it to the fore, that is false but also hindsight is a terrific thing and the crew did well to make it on the ground.
Once again Healy please don't think this is directed at you personally - I'm sure you are professional in your role but you must admit that BR715 does have a point.
What is at question here is the level and amount of experience someone can fall back on when it turns to poo - not the quality of the training received.