P2F, Cadetships, Low Hours...
All these schemes have risks. How much risk depends upon quality of selection, who carries the financial weight of the training burden, how the trainee is looked after during and after line training, etc. Other concerns include Fatigue and low pay (Colgan).
Yes a low houred pilot can land a A320 and every time he/she does so, that experience is stored and applied to the next event. However, is that really the most appropriate place for a 250h (SEP) student to be?
How long is Line training (30 sectors or 6 months/500h as some P2F adverts claim)?
A low houred BA cadet (full sponsorship and payback £25k over 5 years) is a very different kettle of fish to todays £120k in debt CTC counterpart. The former were supported every step of the way, the latter were promised much and given the minimum by the likes of EZY.
Military pilots may start young but the hurdles are far harder than the Civilian FTOs - to get to a Harrier takes YEARS of training in a wide variety of A/C and Sims.
Most of the A320/A321 incidents cited resulted from overcontrolling the aeroplane near the ground. Modern computer games to which youngsters are accustomed and indeed some Approved Simulators do not always provide the best "training" for FBW or conventional Aircraft Control.
The Turkish 737 accident at Schipol last year shows the increased risks that otherwise manageable system failures have on crews overseeing low houred pilots:
"The first officer in the right seat, Olgay Ozgur, was in training.
A third pilot in the jump seat behind them, Murat Sezer, was there to monitor the pilot in training. His presence on the flight deck indicates that the first officer had less than 25 hours' experience in flying this size of jet, according to a pilot who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trainee at controls?
The Web site of trade magazine Flight International, citing an unnamed source, reports the trainee was at the controls and that as the airplane lost height, the captain was talking him through the landing checklist. "