The Regional Airlines and Professionalism

Everyone in the aviation industry knows something about the so called, "Pilot Shortage", but what is true.  On one side some believe that there is going to be a major shortage in pilots and it will start through the regionals.  According to Aviation Week (2015), 20,000 pilots are expected to retire in the next seven years, due to the mandatory 65 age retirement.  Also, they go on to state that fewer students are deciding to become pilots.  This is due to high costs of education and high hour requirements set forth by the FAA.  On the other hand Tallman J. (2015), says that the Airline Pilot Association states that there is not a shortage of certified pilots.  So the pilots may be out there, but are not willing to work for the regionals.  This almost certainly to the low starting pay.  Also, Tallman, representing AOPA, states that general aviation is the foundation that provides the airlines labor force, although general aviation has not been a high priority when it comes to policy making lately.  I believe that no one can deny a lack of pilots in the regional airlines.  This is from a multitude of factors.  First, the people who may be interested in becoming pilots may not be able to afford the increased cost of schooling. Also,  when done with school a student has to earn many hours, while still holding student loans.  On the other hand there are many certified pilots who could fly in the regionals, but are choosing not too.  This could be due to the lifestyle or the pay of that career.

The new regulations have definitely put a damper on perspective pilots.    The regionals are starting to understand the implications of the pilot shortage and how to make there company's more attractive.  Endeavor has a couple interesting propositions for its new employees.  First, Endeavor is giving an $80,000 signing bonus over the course of 4 years, on top of regular pay, if you sign a contract with there company.  This is meant to pay of pilot loans of prospects.  Another attractive offer from Endeavor is a guaranteed interview with Delta Airlines in a sort of pathway program.  This is accomplished because Delta is a parent company of Endeavor. It just goes to show how quickly the industry is evolving.  Although ALPA is responsible for the benefit of many pilot's there are other organizations that benefit the aviation industry.  This includes IAM or the International Association of   Mechanists and Aerospace workers.  IAM is a union that works with companies, such as Boeing or Southwest Airlines.  

Professionalism is holding yourself up to a higher standard.  During the Colgan accident the pilots were just going through the motions and not paying attention to what they were supposed be doing.  Nor did the see the warning signs that ultimately lead to there demise.  Not only did the pilots violate the non essential conversation rule, but management did not train the captain appropriately to fly the airplane.  There was plenty of blame to go around and a blatant lack of professionalism that lead to this accident.  I believe lack of pay is a contributing factor as it makes pilots lead a lifestyle that provides less sleep and ultimately more stress.  Ways that I will implement professionalism is by making sure a get help when I need it and coach or help my co workers when ever possible.  Also, I will make sure to organize not only my work life, but also my personal life.  Organization can provide a decrease in stress and safer work productivity.  The most important thing is to just hold yourself to a higher standard and put your all into what you do.  

References:

Aviation Week. (2015, February 16). The coming US pilot shortage is real. Retrieved from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/coming-us-pilot-shortage-real

Tallman, J. (2015, May 5). Pilot shortage: Yes or no? AOPA. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2015/May/05/osu-pilot-supply-conference

UAV's

Civilian UAV's are an incredibly fast moving market.  Even though they are being used now, there will be many more purposes in the future.  Currently, drones are being used for hurricane hunting, 3-D mapping, protecting wildlife, on farms, and during search and rescue missions (Handwerk, 2013).  UAV's making hurricane hunting much safer, as you can imagine.  The human element no longer needs to be in harms way to collect data.  3-D mapping and is quite monotonous, so it makes sense to hand a job like this to an unmanned aircraft. Spraying fertilizer on a farm can be hazardous so this reduces risk.  Finally,  with a drone you can travel into areas of more risk, such as a dangerous search and rescue.  UAV's are being regulated by the FAA.  Currently there are two ways to get FAA authorization for a civil UAS. One way is to receive Section 333 exemption.  This is a granted exemption in accordance with Section 333, as well as a civil Certificate of Waiver or Authorization.  This is mostly used for low-risk environments. The other route is to get a Special Airworthiness Certificate.  In this situation an applicant must describe any and all aspects of there system, as well as where they are going to fly it (FAA, 2015).

Due to the vastly growing use for a UAV I assume they will be integrated into the NAS in at least the next 10 years.  The process is sure to be long and the FAA would probably consider implanting it in steps.  The first problem is going to be deciding where a UAV will be legal and safe to fly, especially in urban areas.  For instance if amazon were to deliver with drones where would be a safe route to fly in order to get to your house.  If an unidentified flying object were to be close to your property some might take action, such as shooting it.  Another problem is UAV's interfering with manned aircraft.  This could lead to disaster if the UAV were on a collision path.  The general population may not feel welcome to the idea of UAV's for these reason's.

UAV's have taken the soldier out of harms way, but that brings with it a new set of challenges.  With this system a soldier can go to war in Afghanistan and be home for dinner.  What a crazy thought!  It's safer and provides convenience that has been unheard in past wars or civilization. Targets can be identified and killed, as well as being able to watch over soldiers so they can get some shut eye on the battle field. Though this sounds like an amazing addition to the United States military. The major drawback are financial and most of all ethical.  Of course a unmanned plane is going to be expensive, but how exactly due ethics come into play.  A movie called "Good Kill" (2014, September) exemplifies the moral/ethical concerns of UAV's in todays military.  In the movie Good Kill Major Thomas Egan went from flying F-16's directly in Afghanistan to flying a UAV remotely from Las Vegas.  He is challenged with the feeling of being a coward and would give anything to be actually back in Afghanistan, but the demand is shifting towards drones and he won't be shipped back.  This man see's horrifying things everyday, then is sent back to his family as if nothing happened.  This plays very strongly on Major Egan's conscience and show's a very good depiction of the ethics of UAV's in war.  Doing research I found potential management and flight jobs here if interested.

References:

FAA. (2015, March 17). Civil operations (non-governmental). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/uas/civil_operations/

Handwerk, B. (2013, December 3). 5 surprising drone uses (besides amazon delivery). National Geographic. Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/

Amin, M., Cartier, N., Foreman, Z., & Niccol, A. (2014, September 5). Good kill. United States of America: IFC Films.

Space Tourism

Space tourism is an interesting topic among aviators because it's said to be the career of the future. The idea of the first space tourists to orbit started in the 1990's.  The first space tourist was Dennis Tito, on April 28, 2001.  There were many hurdles through the journey.  First Dennis was going to be sent to the space station Mir through a company called MirCorp, but this station was deorbited before the flight.  At this point Space Adventure Ltd. helped send him to the ISS (Seedhouse, 2014).  Tito not only paid $20 million for the trip, but trained just as an astronaut at that time would. It was a quite tedious process.

The FAA n.d. has put in regulations so that the risk towards individuals who wish to partake in space tourism are mitigated.  Also, the the FAA expects the space tourism company to inform the individual that there are some risks involved.  This involves, but is not limited too providing safety information and acquiring a license to conduct a launch.  Finally, the systems in place must be proven before passengers are allowed to board.  These regulations were developed in 2004 (FAA, n.d.). I feel that these regulations are  adequately restrictive.  The industry is not over regulated and it provides an ability to grow.

We are on the brink of space tourism becoming more and more of the norm.  I believe space tourism will first be  acquired by the rich, as has already been proven.  As the industry becomes more stable the price may come down so that your average consumer can take the trip for the price of a vacation.  This will only come after launches are deemed to be very successful with a limited risk.  As risk comes down so will price. From my perspective this will not be a transportation alternative, but moreover selling an experience, such as the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls.

Virgin Galactic has set form the qualifications they feel are appropriate for their pilots.  This includes U.S. citizenship, a current FAA commercial pilots license and medical, degree level qualification in a relevant technical field, graduate of a recognized test pilot school, with at least two and a half years of post-graduate experience, diverse flying background with a minimum of 3,000 hours flying, to include considerable experience of large multi-engine aircraft and high-performance fast jet aircraft and low lift-to-drag experience in complex aircraft, operational experience in an aerospace aviation project or business, and preference given to those with experience in spaceflight, commercial flight operations or flight instruction (NBC, 2013).

References:

Seedhouse, E. (2014, October 31). Encyclopedia britannica. Space Tourism. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/topic/space-tourism

FAA. (n.d.). New regulations govern private human space flight requirements for crew and space flight participants. Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/human_space_flight_reqs/

NBC. (2011, April 13). Dozens apply for space pilot jobs. NBC News. Retrieved from http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2011/04/13/6466987-dozens-apply-for-space-pilot-jobs

Germanwings Flight 4U9525 Crash

On a clear March day, an Airbus A320 crashed into the Alps carrying 150 souls.  This plane was not brought down due to a mechanical failure nor due to weather.  Andrea Lubitz, a 28 year old, low hour first officer decided to purposefully direct the A320 into the ground as a suicide.  He locked the cockpit door and watched as the plane careened toward the ground.  He took not only his own life, but all aboard that fateful day.  Lubitz struggled with depression although did not provide any of this information to his employer (Engel & Zang, 2015).  This may have been due too him looking out for his possible career demise.  After the accident a note was found written from his psychiatrist.  This note explained that Andrea Lubitz was not fit to fly.

Another similar accident was the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 350.  On final approach Captain Seiji Katagiri pulled the thrust reversers causing the DC-8 to crash into Tokyo Bay.  Of the 174 souls onboard, only 24 died.  This was in part to the First Officer and Flight Engineer regaining partial control of the aircraft (Wrigley, 2014).  The pilot actually snuck off the seen posing as a "businessman" on the flight. He was later arrested, but was actually found "not guilty", due to insanity (Wrigley, 2014).  The flight crew told investigators he had been acting weird leading up to the crash.  

An airline pilot has to undergo a medical evaluation once to twice a year depending on the persons age.  The depth of this evaluation is quite minimal and lacks some necessary points.  In order to create a safer aviation environment it may be beneficial to have a required more in depth psychiatric exam at certain intervals.  Possibly, a second opinion from another doctor to provide another layer of "checks".  The idea is not to make it impossible to get a medical, but also make sure there are no serious underlying issue that a regular medical evaluation would not catch.  If an issue did arise or a pilot feels he has a problem, then he should not be flying.  Although, the FAA could require the airline to hold his position for a certain interval, so he is not fired.  This may provide a time of healing for the depressed pilot and more safety in the industry.  

The biggest issue with a liberalized depression issue is that no airline wants to admit or broadcast that it has depressed pilots in its staff.  The FAA and airlines would have to work together in order to shed a positive light on the situation.  They would have to show the benefits for providing help and continued employment to pilots who are depressed.  On another note airlines aren't going to want to spend money or time on a pilot that can't fly at the moment.  So discussions would have to be settled on this issue as well.  If this plan works though, the skies will be much safer.  

References

Engel, P. & Zhang, B. (2015, March 30). Here's everything we know about the crash of germanwings flight 9525. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-we-know-about-germanwings-flight-9525-2015-3

Wrigley, S. (2014, September 16). Pilot suicides: fact vs fiction. Fear of Landing The Art Of Not Hitting The Ground. Retrieved  from http://fearoflanding.com/accidents/pilot-suicides-fact-vs-fiction/

Personal Introduction

My interest in aviation began when I was very young.  My mother had decided to become a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines and thus began my aviation adventure.  She spoke of all the interesting places she traveled and I knew that tone day I would find a way to experience that for myself.
I am an Aviation Flight Technology major with the anticipation of graduating in December of 2016.
The path I have chosen to travel is currently the airlines.  After flight instructing I hope to fly with a company such as Endeavor or Express jet. Then, when I gain enough experience I would like to transition to a major carrier, such as Delta Airlines.  Hopefully, I will have a long healthy carrier with Delta and retire as a senior Captain.