PBS Frontline - Flying Cheap

[ScudRunner]

PBS Frontline takes a look at US regional Airline Safety - Airs February 9th


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/flyingcheap/

The crash of Continental 3407 outside Buffalo last year, killing all on board, was big news, as any commercial crash is. But like many who were fortunate enough not to be touched personally by the tragedy, what most caught my attention was the news that followed. The co-pilot had been making less than $16,000.

While I knew the airline industry had been struggling through tough times since 9/11, I sure didn’t know that some of the folks that fly me around are working second jobs and overnighting on lounge room La-Z-Boys. And I didn’t know that regional airlines, once thought of as puddle-jumpers, had grown so fast that they now account for more than half the nation’s daily departures. We are on our way to becoming a regional airline nation. (more »)

If you missed this big industry shift, that’s understandable. Most flights today still carry the codes and colors of the major airlines. But over the past decade, fewer and fewer of the majors are actually flying those planes. That job is increasingly outsourced to small regional companies with names most of us hardly know. Continental 3407 wasn’t flown by Continental, but by a company called Colgan Air.

The rapid growth of airline outsourcing is part of a fiercely competitive industry that keeps airfares affordable for many. And that’s good for consumers. But the crash of 3407, and the year-long investigation that has followed, raised significant questions about the safety practices of regional operators like Colgan. So it seemed a good time for FRONTLINE to journey into the world of the regionals and see what the insiders had to say.

In this clip from the film, you’ll hear about the lives of regional pilots, crash pads and the pressures that outsourcing brings to bear -- “pilot pushing” as its called in the industry. Two former Colgan pilots agreed to speak publicly for the first time, and so we flew to California and sat down for long, amazing interviews. While their stories were in many ways surprising, we knew they weren’t unique. We’ve spoken with many regional pilots, both former and current, and most all shared similar concerns about what’s happening in the airline industry.

[Inverted2]

Looking forward to seeing it! Sure it will be on bittorrent shortly afterwards as well.

[ScudRunner]

PBS has an awesome bank of all their episodes streaming online.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline ... rce=topnav

think I have watch most of them killing time in hotels.

[2.5milefinal]

Roger Cohen.
Just does not get it. I cant stand that guy.

[TopperHarley]

Crap. That's the same time Beverly Hills 90210 is on

[iflyforpie]

Americans don't watch PBS. Nobody will see it.

[Nark]

Just us aviation geeks.

I've been trying to spread the word about it.

Doesn't really look like much cutting edge reporting like I would hope.

On a side note, did anyone happen to catch the NTSB hearing of Colgan 3407? They (both NTSB and others) were bashing the pilots pretty badly, citing sterile cockpit failures, among inadequate rest.

No surprise, blame the pilots.

[TopperHarley]

Washington (CNN) -- Colgan Air -- under fire for hiring, training, pay and commuting policies after the February crash of Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York -- is blaming pilot error for the wreck, which killed all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground.

In a 67-page report submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board, Colgan blames the captain and first officer, citing a litany of lapses that Colgan said ultimately led to the commuter plane's crash.

Colgan said the crew did not respond appropriately to warnings the plane was entering an aerodynamic stall, did not complete checklists and failed to follow "sterile cockpit" rules that prohibit unnecessary conversation during critical phases of flight.

Colgan concluded the crash was caused by the crew's "loss of situational awareness and failure to follow Colgan Air training and procedures."

After the crash, Colgan said the pilot, Capt. Marvin Renslow, had failed three pilot tests, known as "check-rides," before joining the airline, but had disclosed only one on a job application. He failed another two check-rides while at Colgan Air.

In August, Philip Trenary, president and CEO of Pinnacle Airlines, the parent company of Colgan Air, testified at a Senate hearing that while "a failure on a check-ride is not necessarily a reason for someone not to fly, it depends on what kind of failure it is."

"The failures that we were unable to see were the basic fundamental failures that you would not want to have," Trenary testified.

"Let me stress one thing, Capt. Renslow was a fine man by all accounts," Trenary said in August. But he added, "Had we known what we know now, no, he would not have been in that seat."

At the time of the crash, Renslow had 3,379 hours of flight experience -- 172 hours in the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprop, the type of plane involved in the accident.

In Colgan's submission to the NTSB, the company describes its hiring process as rigorous. But, Colgan said, Renslow "was not truthful on his employment application." Renslow did not disclose two of the three proficiency checks he failed, Colgan said.

Colgan said it followed federal rules requiring airlines to seek applicants' records, but it was unable to get some of Renslow's information because "Renslow was not employed as a pilot at the time" of his failed check rides. At the time, there was no published guidance on obtaining information from the Federal Aviation Administration, Colgan said.

The airline also said Renslow and First Officer Rebecca Shaw did not manage their work schedules properly. While both operated flights out of Newark, New Jersey, Renslow lived in Tampa, Florida, and Shaw lived in Seattle, Washington.

During public hearings before the NTSB in May, airline critics said low pay led crew members to live far from their home bases, contributing to fatigue.

But Colgan said its pay and commuting policies were not to blame. Renslow had 27 hours between flights and Shaw had four days off before the crash, the airline said.

"Colgan Air expects its pilots, and all its employees, to present fit for duty, regardless of where they reside," the Colgan report said.

Shaw "did not plan her personal time properly prior to reporting to duty," the airline said. "Rather than commuting to [Newark] on February 11 and staying in a hotel, she chose an overnight commute."

Shaw earned $26 an hour and was guaranteed 75 hours a month, putting her salary at a minimum of $23,400 a year, Colgan said. But she was on pace to earn "well in excess" of the minimum, the airline said.

In a separate submission, the Air Line Pilots Association did not discount the role of the pilots, but said the "fundamental training this crew needed for the situation faced the night of the accident was inadequate." Further, the association said, the Q400 aircraft did not have, nor was it required to have, systems that would have alerted the pilots that the airspeed was abnormally low.

The NTSB is investigating the crash.

Evidence collected by the NTSB suggests the crew improperly responded to signs the plane was approaching an aerodynamic stall, pulling on the aircraft's control column instead of pushing.

[Pratt]

Regardless of the cause of the accident the company should have been backing the pilots or not saying anything. That is what the NTSB is there for, to find the probable cause and make reccommendations.

For the company it sounds like a typical CYA!!

[GARRETT]

Shaw earned $26 an hour and was guaranteed 75 hours a month, putting her salary at a minimum of $23,400 a year, Colgan said. But she was on pace to earn "well in excess" of the minimum, the airline said.

Well thanks for clearing that up Colgan, here we thought your pilots were under paid!

[Expat]

It is simple, if the plane maker, the company, ATC, or whoever gets blamed, they have to pay out big time. If it is a pilot error, then nothing.
This is why the NTSB rushes off to scenes all the world, to protect American interests, like Boeing. The Concorde crash is a good exemple. Get someone else to pay!

[pika]

It's true the NTSB's job is not to assign blame; that's why we're here...

A perfectly good airplane with stall protection features stalls, crashes, and kills everybody. If you don't want to fly the airplane at least monitor the autopilot. Low wages really had nothing to do with this disaster.

[ETOPS]

No doubt fatigue and poverty wages are major issues!

Nevertheless, anyone who questions blatant pilot error as the cause of the Buffalo crash should watch this animation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxywEE1kK6I

[pika]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... 201948.xml

Here's the solution. No mention of wages or fatigue though. Pass the KD.

[N2]

What time does the train leave?

[Meatservo]

Did any of you watch the excerpt from that show on the PBS website. My blood ran cold as I listened to and watched that corporate douchebag, Roger Cohen, squirm and blink uncomfortably, with his eyes darting every which way as he tried to keep a straight face, talking about poor people who make less and work harder than his pilots, able to eke out a living "responsibly". People like him are the cancer that is eating our industry and society. When you see a guy like this, tanned and well fed, and well-dressed, strutting about the office acting like he's got the whole thing under control, you can say to yourself, this is where the other third of my pay is going. Dressing up this corporate fag who has weekends off, great salary and bonus, pension plan and the gold key to the executive washroom, sitting in his beautiful office surrounded by pictures of his private school kids, secreting royal jelly. It makes me want to throw up. It makes me want to GIVE up. Suddenly I understand what is going to make our society end. One day these douchebags are going to take a look around and realise there is nobody left to actually do any real work. Perhaps they believe automation will save them.

[BoostedNihilist]

there will be plenty of people around who would be willing to work.. but nobody will hire them because of their facebook photos..

hey "meat" "servo"

[Meatservo]

Useful commentary as always, B.N. At least you're consistent.

[wallypilot]

Did any of you watch the excerpt from that show on the PBS website. My blood ran cold as I listened to and watched that corporate douchebag, Roger Cohen, squirm and blink uncomfortably, with his eyes darting every which way as he tried to keep a straight face, talking about poor people who make less and work harder than his pilots, able to eke out a living "responsibly". People like him are the cancer that is eating our industry and society. When you see a guy like this, tanned and well fed, and well-dressed, strutting about the office acting like he's got the whole thing under control, you can say to yourself, this is where the other third of my pay is going. Dressing up this corporate fag who has weekends off, great salary and bonus, pension plan and the gold key to the executive washroom, sitting in his beautiful office surrounded by pictures of his private school kids, secreting royal jelly. It makes me want to throw up. It makes me want to GIVE up. Suddenly I understand what is going to make our society end. One day these douchebags are going to take a look around and realise there is nobody left to actually do any real work. Perhaps they believe automation will save them.

Many of us are smart enough, or lucky enough, to not end up working for a guy like this. Also, there are many, that are so focused on the "Prize" that they are willing to work for guys like this to get where the want to go. Still yet, there are many that have the blinders on and don't realise they are working for a "guy like this". It's a sad state of affairs, and I choose not to participate. Just don't work for idiots like these and there wouldn't be an issue. Too many people sacrifice their better judgement and think to themselves "it won't happen to me". And for most it doesn't. This is an old argumenet....I won't rant any further.

[Nark]

Don't confuse this for defending Roger Cohen:

Pilots who sign up for Colgan, aren't working "him." They have a wonderful union, ALPA, who's MEC has done a wonderful job of ensuring nothing.

There is a huge rift between regional pilots; those who are part of unionized airlines and ones such as GoJet, which are not.
Payscales and benefits are about equal, but apparently the "union" protects those, who need protecting.

Such as those who have failed 5 checkrides. Or to be fair, 2 while at the company.


This isn't the case of a dick operator from Manitoba who is only looking at the bottom line, who happens to own a few clapped out navajo's.

[El Comat]

I assure you ALPA had nothing to do with this accident, as Colgan pilots had just barely become ALPA members when the accident happened. Change doesn't happen overnight, and as someone involved in this industry you undoubtedly know that.

And BTW, ALPA is a wonderful union.

EC

[Nark]

I apologize if I wasn't clear enough in my original post.

I'm an anti-union guy, and I agree the union had 0 to do with the accident, but that is not what I'm getting at.

What I was eluding too, is that two comparable airlines, one union one not, both have the same benefits and track record (for the most part), however the one with the union hasn't really done much to help in the pay and benefits department. Roger Cohen is just a businessman making a buck.

[Mig29]

Meatservo,

you pretty much summed it all up!!

I have nothing more to say, I just hope this sort of sh*t ends soon in US and here at home, and some sort of legislation comes out protecting us and in turn everyone on board these regionals.

[Nark]

I have nothing more to say, I just hope this sort of sh*t ends soon in US and here at home, and some sort of legislation comes out protecting us and in turn everyone on board these regionals.

And therein lies the problem.

Most pilots expect someone else to do the fighting for better wages, QOL, etc... for them.

It's not the Union, nor the governments job to step in and force a better life for us (well it is, but hows that working out??). How about telling an employer to pound sand when they tell you do something:

1) unsafe
2) below a livable standard

[BoostedNihilist]

Useful commentary as always, B.N. At least you're consistent.

whatever you say "meatservo"

lol