As long as pilots will fly junk just to get hours, the
a**holes will run slipshod over the pilots. But there are
good operators and there are professional pilots.

Putting all cargo into a 737 or even a Caravan is just not
possible. I've seen planes being flown on cargo flights
that damage visible from many feet away, such as warped
cowls from the engine fire, no rubber on the deice boots
[just cloth], puddles of oil in the cowl [btw, this was one
airplane at one moment]. It took me over an hour to get the
feds to finish their lunch break and come over and ground
the airplane. It left anyway after the FAA office closed
for the day.

I'm not saying there are no problems with cargo flying, but
the solutions the author of the article talks about are not
possible. First thing. pilots need a backbone.



--
James H. Macklin
ATP,CFI,A&P

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN"
wrote in message
m...
| Jim Macklin wrote:
| The author of the newspaper hit piece was an idiot.
There
| are problems, poor maintenance and bad management lead
the
| list in my mind. But he focused on how many FAA
inspectors
| and the way they are assigned. Also, he bemoaned the
fact
| that a C310 isn't icing approved.
| Pilots know how to handle that issue, don't take off, go
| somewhere else and land. It is just not possible to
have
| all cargo flown by two pilot crews in a 737 under part
121,
| which is the "answer" that the Miami Herald author seems
to
| thing is the solution.
|
| The Miami Herald is a rag looking for sensation, not
facts.
|
|
| I strongly suggest you go back and read it again. He
definitely exposed the
| flaunting of the required rest rules and poor maintenance.
The point of the
| limited number of qualified FAA inspectors is that there
aren't enough to do the
| job. The results are paper inspections.
|
| From your comments, I'd have to guess you've never been a
freight dog. I have
| and I thought the man hit the nail on the head. Don't
fly? Your delay better
| be damned short or you're going to be looking for another
job. And they are few
| and far between. When I was flying cargo, they all seemed
to be in East BF,
| Iowa. I live on the east coast and want to stay here.
|
| If I lost an engine within 200 miles of my destination, I
was expected to fly to
| the destination; not somewhere else. The company didn't
get paid if it went
| somewhere else; at least that's what they told me. While
management might state
| one policy, the reality was generally quite different.
Mission completion was
| Job One.
|
|
|
| --
| Mortimer Schnerd, RN
|
| VE
|
|