Lookleft
I still can't accept that an ex-airforce fighter pilot has 20,000 hours. What age did he join the airline and how many hours did he have when he left the airforce? My point being he may not have been as experienced as others are suggesting. If he did have that many hours at age 53 after an airforce career then he was flying a lot of hours every year.
Sounds like he had to work his way up in both the Air Force and Airlines. No fast track Academy or short cuts.
Iriyanto joined the air force for a 10-year service term, climbing the ranks to first lieutenant flying F-16 and F-5 fighters.
Iriyanto worked for PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines as an instructor for Fokker 27 aircraft (Twin Turbo prop).
He joined AirAsia after his then-employer PT Adam Skyconnection Airlines ceased operations in March 2008 following three plane crashes in a year.
Of his flying hours, 6,053 were with AirAsia.
more than 20,000 flying hours under his belt in a career that spanned three airlines
Iriyanto “is a good flier, procedural, and considered outstanding,” Hadi Tjahjanto, a spokesman for the Indonesian Air Force who trained with Iriyanto, said by phone from Jakarta before the news that debris had been found. “He was classified as a fighter pilot and acted as an interceptor should there be suspicious planes around. So speed in taking action is essential.”