Now that this subject has been opened for discussion can we begin by defining what this "Asian culture" being referred to in here means? There is still a high proportion of non Asian western and other pilots serving the carriers in Near East and Far eastern Asian countries so let us be absolutely sure what we are projecting in bashing this Asian Culture.Let us be specific so we can arhue it out and be more learned shall we?
Two points made in a recent article in the New Zealand Morning Herald:
1. The FO was born in Hong Kong, and spent 15 years in New Zealand, including secondary school and initial flying training, thus, highly formative years. Excessive deference due to cultural factors is less likely, then, I think (especially as Hong Kong, on casual observation, does not seem exactly hide-bound).
2. There was some discussion as to why someone with so many hours was FO, and the phrase "command failure" was bandied around. The article claims he was, in fact, a captain, called in to fill an FO's shift.
Alas, the article refers to him as "hero pilot," but we don't really know yet, do we?
http://http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/...ectid=11397934