The prog was 50% interviews with pax and industry type folk. Most of it was pretty good apart from the expert saying the aircraft was unsuitable for flying in IMC because it didn't have efis and a flight director. They showed a sim with a Low viz approach which to be honest was pretty tame. They didn't show a real bum twitcher were you only get the first 2 lights. They showed the whole of the approach light tree from 200ft.
Then they started about the pilot experence and the FO, with an interview with his dad. Nothing suprising there apart from he only had 17 hours on type. I presume 1 hour of that would have been his base check. So in less than 16 hours he was line trained and sent out onto the line with a 1 week on the line Captain. He had mostly done night freight which as we all know a night Low viz approach is a different beast to a day one.
Then about a third was about the back office stuff about operational control which was really quite shocking. There is a triangle, one of the companys has dissappeared with several domestic addresses but nobody contactable (pilots and aircraft). The AOC holder saying that its not there problem because they didn't supply the pilots. And then ticket seller saying that thats all they do.
And they do think it was a major part of the story but linked in to the whole operational control issue.
Now I will state this is only a rumour I heard on the ramp.
Air Lada isn't in anway or form a commercial operator. The planes were owned/leased by some of the pilots flying them. They then piggy backed off someone elses AOC when they had a contract.
Last edited by mad_jock; 19th May 2011 at 09:09.