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CNN Live At Daybreak

Look at Training of Commuter Pilots

Aired January 10, 2003 - 05:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now for the latest on the Charlotte plane crash investigation. NTSB teams in Washington today begin transferring data from the black boxes to hard copy. Investigators are looking at whether maintenance on the plane's elevator had anything to do with the crash. The elevator controls the up and down movement of the nose.
Twenty-one people were killed when the commuter flight crashed into a hangar at Charlotte's airport just seconds after takeoff.

CNN's Patty Davis looks at the training of commuter pilots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-five-year- old Katie Leslie, the captain on board Air Midwest Flight 5481, was the one who radioed in there was an emergency on board. Leslie, an experienced pilot with 3,400 hours in the air, half in the Beech 1900D. Her actions and that of the co-pilot in the 37 seconds their plane was in the air are being examined by federal crash investigators.

But how experienced are pilots who fly the commuter airlines at handling emergencies?

CAPT. GARY SEILER, NORTHWEST PILOT: They still have plenty of experience to be doing it. They just haven't been in it as long as most of the major airline crews.

DAVIS: The FAA requires all captains at the regional and major airlines to have the same 1,500 hours of flight time, pass written and practical tests. All pilots must undergo proficiency checks every 12 months, simulator tests every six months.

DUANE WORTH, AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION: The simulators are very sophisticated for every type of airplane any more, from the smallest turbo prop to the largest, you know, jumbo jets. So it's, the training issues have been uniformly satisfactory to the FAA.

DAVIS: But most pilots at the major airlines start with 6,000 hours under their belt versus 2,000 to 3,000 for commuter pilots. Not surprisingly, first year first officers at major airlines make more, $37,000 a year versus $28,000 at commuters. The commuters have long been training camps for the major airlines.


Aired January 10, 2003 - 05:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now for the latest on the Charlotte plane crash investigation. NTSB teams in Washington today begin transferring data from the black boxes to hard copy. Investigators are looking at whether maintenance on the plane's elevator had anything to do with the crash. The elevator controls the up and down movement of the nose.
Twenty-one people were killed when the commuter flight crashed into a hangar at Charlotte's airport just seconds after takeoff.

CNN's Patty Davis looks at the training of commuter pilots.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY DAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Twenty-five-year- old Katie Leslie, the captain on board Air Midwest Flight 5481, was the one who radioed in there was an emergency on board. Leslie, an experienced pilot with 3,400 hours in the air, half in the Beech 1900D. Her actions and that of the co-pilot in the 37 seconds their plane was in the air are being examined by federal crash investigators.

But how experienced are pilots who fly the commuter airlines at handling emergencies?

CAPT. GARY SEILER, NORTHWEST PILOT: They still have plenty of experience to be doing it. They just haven't been in it as long as most of the major airline crews.

DAVIS: The FAA requires all captains at the regional and major airlines to have the same 1,500 hours of flight time, pass written and practical tests. All pilots must undergo proficiency checks every 12 months, simulator tests every six months.

DUANE WORTH, AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION: The simulators are very sophisticated for every type of airplane any more, from the smallest turbo prop to the largest, you know, jumbo jets. So it's, the training issues have been uniformly satisfactory to the FAA.

DAVIS: But most pilots at the major airlines start with 6,000 hours under their belt versus 2,000 to 3,000 for commuter pilots. Not surprisingly, first year first officers at major airlines make more, $37,000 a year versus $28,000 at commuters. The commuters have long been training camps for the major airlines.