It was Dr. Tony Kern who said that many airlines recruit trainee pilots who have specialized before they have generalized! Certainly a specialist, Air Force Fighter/Bomber pilot should not sit on the left hand seat of an A320 and go in command immediately.
If you watched the SLAF fighters going on their missions, in the recent past, you would have seen some of them taking off down wind (with the afterburners on). This sort of action may not be acceptable in the Airlines. Yes, rehabilitation is required not only to the LTTE operatives in the IDP camps, but also to all soldiers, sailors and gentlemen of the Air Force who took part in the war. Their mind set will have to be changed with good training and that cannot be done overnight. They have to learn the art and science of Airline flying. This means passing all Civil Exams (CPL and ATPL) and obtaining a stipulated minimum number of sectors, in the right hand seat. They will have to go from the RH seat of an A 320 to the RH seat of the A 330 and then RH seat of a 340 before they go in Command.
If the UL Flight Ops Dept bends backwards to satisfy requests from unenlightened people, and provide short cuts, we might end up like Korean Airlines with a similar safety record for the same reasons.
Was killing GA in SL a master plan of the ‘gentlemen’ of the SLAF?
PS.Three International Sri Lankan Airline Pilots (with over a hundred years of experience, collectively) Volunteered to help the CAASL to get Sri Lankan GA on track. They are still waiting for an appointment with the Minister!
Last edited by Lankaweflyingporak; 15th Jul 2009 at 17:43.