Here in the states, Gulfstream Academy is the infamous pay for job, and their practices have come to light after the Colgan Air crash.
Pilot Complaints Highlight Hazards of Regional Airlines - BusinessWeek
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Fatal Crash
Continental Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air Inc., crashed in icy weather on Feb. 12, 2009, outside of Buffalo, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.
The plane's captain had been trained by Gulfstream, which also has an aviation school known as Gulfstream Academy. The pilot and his first officer may have erred in responding to a stall warning by pulling up the nose of the plane rather than pointing it down to increase speed, the National Transportation Safety Board found.
Gulfstream also trained the co-pilot on the last fatal commercial airline flight before the Continental crash. That involved a Delta commuter plane, operated by Comair Inc., which used the wrong runway in Lexington, Kentucky, in August 2006, killing 49 people.
Gulfstream also previously employed the two pilots who crashed a Pinnacle Airlines Inc. (
PNCL) plane with no passengers after deciding to fly at their jet's maximum altitude to have fun, the NTSB found. They crashed and died in Jefferson City, Missouri, in October 2004. The first officer attended Gulfstream Academy, according to the NTSB. "
"We offer the fastest possible transition to the 'Right Seat' of a commercial airliner," Gulfstream says.
For $32,699, students get 522 hours of training—including 250 hours as a first officer for Gulfstream International Airlines. That means student pilots are paying Gulfstream for the privilege of flying as first officers.
"Gulfstream is selling the job," says Charlie Preusser, a regional airline pilot who flew for Manassas, Virginia-based Colgan Air. "When you've got a guy fronting the cash, there's a lot of pressure on the company to keep him onboard no matter how bad he is." "
It's 5 pages, but an interesting read.