Originally Posted by
Hotel Tango
Hold your horses guys, I believe you misunderstood.
That was said in context with this carrier, CCA, and with the possible Asian/Chinese culture aspect in this incident. It was certainly not a general remark or viewpoint regarding all military pilots.
Don't know where you get your info from, but some of it is a ways off.
1. CCA is Air China, not China Eastern. China Eastern is CES.
2. Not all that many ex-military pilots at CES, or indeed at most of the bigger Chinese carriers. The "military" thing, such as it is, was far more of an issue in a nation a bit to the east.
3. Weather deviations in China, (and in Eastern Russia) are not that difficult to arrange. Airspace restrictions are more of an issue than elsewhere, but ATC is much more co-operative now than it was 10-15 years ago.
4. For the typical pilot in China, the "face saving" decision when confronted with a CB at 12 o'clock is to deviate 10 miles farther off course than necessary, not to plow on through it regardless. There may be airlines where cinching down the straps and riding it out is the custom, but my bet is that none of them are based in China.
5. There are some habits that seem endemic in China which might have played a part in the event, but without knowing any details that's pure speculation. Hopefully the airline and CAAC will do a good job of investigating and make sure that any lessons learned are shared widely among the Chinese airlines.