I do not agree that the traveling public brought this on themselves. They had little to do with it. When something eggregious happens in my hospital, you can bet there will be another policy to deal with it even if the previous policies should have prevented the incident. That is what happened here.
Robert,
Let me preface my remarks by saying I have enormous respect for those in your profession, the things you must endure are no doubt very difficult. That many of us now feel it necessary to purchase what is essentially a form of malpractice insurance should give you an indication of which other profession now exerts its ever-growing, treacly web of influence over the private and public affairs of this country.
Regarding B6, perhaps you'll remember the Valentine's Day massacre several years ago. That single event, and the ensuing public outcry resulted in the Tarmac Delay Rule. At two hours after pushback, if takeoff is not imminent, we are obliged to return to the gate. We let the folks off so they can legally pee and stroll, they come back on again, and the whole process starts over. I have personally experienced four gate returns, at which point we were out of legal duty. The passengers walked off the aircraft, one particularly disgruntled chappie felt it necessary to extend his middle finger directly into my face, accompanied by some very choice words, here not repeatable, something up with which I do not otherwise put. As I was there at the entry door in defense of our flight attendants and the very insulting remarks directed their way, I felt restraint to be the better part of valor, the wisest course of action. Plus, yer not allowed to punch serious assholes in the kisser, it's in the duty regs, page 746, paragraph three, I think.
The astonishing sense of entitlement that many feel, particularly here in New York, compounded by ill-considered rules ostensibly crafted to placate an ever-angrier public, devised in haste and ignorance, have left many of us reeling from the impact.
On to the subject at hand. An ill-trained and under-experienced pilot plants his airplane into the ground, with heart-felt condolences to those whose loved ones perished, the resulting public reaction tarred us all with the same brush, enter FAR 117. These pilot check and training issues are well under control at the Flag Carrier level, and have been so for quite some time.
Which brings me to yet another subject. Entry level pilots are now required to have 1500 hrs/FAA ATP quals to sit in an airliner seat, yet all of the Asian carriers plop 250-hour Cessna cadets into their widebody right seats, they fly into this country many hundreds of times a day. Who exactly is in charge here, why is Asiana still allowed here, and why are they not subject to the same rules when operating in US airspace?
Where B6 is concerned, they they appear to have dropped the ball once again, the run-up to 117 was long enough to prep, I expect severed heads to be rolling out of their crew planning and management offices in Long Island City shortly, very likely in substantial numbers.
That being said, I do not want to confuse training issues with crew rest issues, although at this point they seem to be inextricably linked. I maintain my stance, all of this is being driven by an ever more vocal flying public, and their expectations of perfect performance, every time, in every way.
Else, enter the omnipresent lawsuit.
In closing Robert, those of your profession have extended their selfless generosity in flight more times than I am able to count; heart attacks, seizures, live births, other high dramas too numerous to elaborate here, without any expectation of return or recompense in any way, handled in a manner that bespeaks the accomplished professional. For that, you have my undying respect, the compassion and high intelligence in your remarks are clearly in evidence.
I have maneuvered myself onto quite a high soapbox here, if I injure myself stepping down from that great height, I may need to call on you shortly.
