One BIIIIG problem is the pilot mills that are turning out second in command pilots by the truckload. There is such high demand for the jobs that supply is many times demand and the price naturally goes down. A lot of these people are making less than 30k a year, I have seen stories as low as 22k a year for low time pilots in the right seat. Open up the back of any flying magazine and ther are half a dozen ads for a place that will guarantee you at least an interview with a regional carrier.

The problem with everyone demanding bargain basement fares is a big problem. The result is that they can only afford to pay pilots less than they would make as a night manager at Wendy's.

A BIGGER problem is a PIC who stalls a damn plane and then hauls back on the yoke! I got cured of that in my second flight lesson all those years ago. The CFI saw that I was going for that instinctive move to pull up when the plane started heading down and just let me get into a situation that the instructor had to get me out of. (This guy was absolutely unshakeable--one hell of a CFI!) In addition to needing fresh shorts, I learned right then and there once and for all, you don't cure a stall by raising the nose!

And yes, by the time a guy has 1,500 hours in the air, the minimum to be PIC on a scheduled airline, I damn well expect him to be able to recognize an incipient stall (especially when a STICK SHAKER clues him in) and I absolutely demand that he be smart enough to NOT pull up on the controls in a stall situation!!!!

--PP