Vis3miles
Yes, these pilots screwed up and are a disgrace to the profession.
They should be punished in some manner or another.
But you seem to be missing my point. I always try to think the best of those reading the posts here...that they are smart and understand flying.
The bit about not hitting a mountain...Knowing that Mt. Whitney(about 15,000 feet) is the highest terrain in the 48 contiguous states and that the plane was at 37,000feet means that the navigation part of the flight was really taken care of with the flight planning and not thought about in the sky.
That is part of the problem. What is the pilot doing if everything is already taken care of before takeoff? His mind wanders, just like the very bright kid in a very dumb class.
This example is to try to make YOU and the others think about how we pilot planes today. And it is not the right way of doing things.
In the good old days...when engines used more fuel and we had to use VOR's...and at our speeds change those VOR's every 20 minutes or so, you had a better clue about where you were and how close you were to landing.
Perhaps the super duper modern gizmos that lead you around the sky today should be changed to make pilots DO SOMETHING to keep themselves alert.
Press a button now and find the nearest airport. In the good old days you had to think, use your chart, or even look out the window.
How many of you guys out there are looking for emergency, off airport, landing sites? (I'm talking about 2 engine or more jet airliners)
Back in the old days...and not just with ATC....we had a company requirement to send a position report every hour or at least one time during a flight shorter than an hour.
Maybe we should do that again.
I guess I will have to assume that the IQ , flying wise, is a little lower than I thought at this site.
This incident is a symptom of problems deep within the SYSTEM of flying today. I am asking that we , as a pilot group, use these two errant pilots to help us diagnose and treat the problem.
Not just shoot them, throw them on the street and lose the chance to learn and improve.
dah yup!!!!
PS...vis3....the bit about feet wet was a question. Really, would you, as a passenger , rather be on sully's flight and get your feet wet, with a heroic pair of pilots, or would you rather have a couple of pilots who made a mistake, but managed to land at the destination airport.
and there are a lot of lakes in Minn. to get your feet wet, but that was not the point.