And, I have to say - pilots who whine that "The company never trained me for that." ... and.. "I don't do that because it's not in the manuals." annoy me somewhat.
I have always thought that a professional pilot should BRING safety TO the company. If a pilot is only the sum of a company's training, then they aren't worth the money they are paid... a professional should proactively seek knowledge about the profession of pilot, not expect it to be spoon-fed to them.
Agreed. The regulator and operator should define a safe minimum. The PIC should decide what s/he requires over and above this safe minimum.
I think we all agree there were deficiencies on the part of the regulator and operator, and that these minima were too low. That does not however get around the fact that the PIC could and should have exceeded these.
Its a critical society wide generational issue. With all the regulations and procedures and guidelines....., the individual at the pointy end is increasingly inclined to believe "all I have to do is follow the regs and if something goes wrong then the regs are to blame"
Wold you drive down a freeway in heavy fog, torrential rain, hail, ice on the road etc just because the posted speed limit was 110? The maximum (in this case) allowable in this situation is 110. That doesn't mean 110 is always right. Road users are expected to apply discretion and judgement to these situations. So should pilots.