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Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

cnn.com

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Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#51

Post by floren »

mauvehaus wrote: post #32
yingw787 wrote: post #21

Older article, but apparently Pakistan carts its nuclear weapons around in regular delivery vans: https://www.wired.com/2011/11/pakistan-nukes-delivery-vans/ I personally think this is a bad idea.

The Brits moved the plutonium or HEU (don’t remember which) for their first bomb around in quite ordinary lorries: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk_zpjK3cTo I’m not saying it’s a good idea, but there’s certainly precedent.

The plutonium pit for the Trinity test was carried from Los Alamos to the test site in a 1942 Plymouth Special Deluxe: http://nuclearsciencemuseum.blogspot.com/2008/08/first-plane...

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#52

Post by ceejayoz »

ciarannolan wrote: post #40
bayesianbot wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an updated video from the same channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO5rXxJRmf4 I'd start at 4:50.

Is any cockpit audio removed from this? It's pretty damn silent for two guys who are about to smash an airplane into a residential area.

Sounds like it's just the ATC. Cockpit recordings aren't typically released except in transcript form, I believe.

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#53

Post by ciarannolan »

gus_massa wrote: post #42
bayesianbot wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's an updated video from the same channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO5rXxJRmf4 I'd start at 4:50.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO5rXxJRmf4&t=4m50s (If you don't remember how to add the time, you can use https://youtubetime.com/ )

You can also right-click any Youtube video and choose "Copy video URL at current time".

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#54

Post by anon102010 »

tux1968 wrote: post #45

The fact that the landing gear lever was pushed down into the extended position, and then the plane decided not to deploy the landing gear because of the overspeed issue is a horrible UI. The lever should refuse to budge unless moving it will in fact deploy the landing gear. These pilots are horrible, but that doesn't mean we can't improve the controls still.

Uh? The UI was giving them plenty of warnings and alerts. They have supposedly been trained thoroughly on all of this.

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#55

Post by albntomat0 »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #46
seesawtron wrote: post #39

On a smaller but more widespread scale is the issue of fake licenses for driving automobiles. It is common knowledge how you can get these licenses easily in "some" (similar) countries without ever giving a driving test and/or going through any sort of written exam where you have to go through the rules of the road. Some argue that they are only endangering their own lives on the road but one can see how that is comp…

Adding big hoops to jump through and lots of ways to lose the ability to legally do something that is more or less required to be a functioning member of society in many places does not seem wise to me. People wouldn't be breaking the law in order to drive if being able to drive wasn't a really big deal.

I understand the point you're trying to make, but being given the ability to pilot a multi-ton vehicle at 70+ mph clearly needs testing requirements. They needn't be overly burdensome, but absolutely need to consistently apply. If someone has to search out a place with no literally requirements, as the parent comment states, they really should not be driving.

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#56

Post by throwaway0a5e »

jaywalk wrote: post #30
throwaway0a5e wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of them aren't flying commercial jets though. They're mostly people flying GA-sized aircraft for hire without paying for the right papers to do it (i.e. doing it on a private pilot's license or an expired license).

None of them are flying commercial jets. This is the US, no commercial airline is going to hire an unlicensed pilot.

The reason I didn't use an absolute in my initial comment is because I can definitively see situations where someone qualified but not licensed would wind up in the co-pilots seat because one of the pilots scheduled to make a flight couldn't and cooking the books was seen as a lesser problem than the flight not happening.

You have to remember that in rural areas "but that's illegal" doesn't really carry much weight. It's more a question of the reality of enforcement and ethics/morals. The reason people in rural areas don't go fishing with explosives, dump their hazmat on the side of the road and do other things they could get away with is because they mostly all agree that these things are wrong and the cost of not doing these things is low enough that most people elect not to do those things.

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#57

Post by tux1968 »

anon102010 wrote: post #54
tux1968 wrote: post #45

The fact that the landing gear lever was pushed down into the extended position, and then the plane decided not to deploy the landing gear because of the overspeed issue is a horrible UI. The lever should refuse to budge unless moving it will in fact deploy the landing gear. These pilots are horrible, but that doesn't mean we can't improve the controls still.

Uh? The UI was giving them plenty of warnings and alerts. They have supposedly been trained thoroughly on all of this.

They were distracted. Why on earth would you object to the idea of better feedback? If the lever is locked until the plane is willing to engage the landing gear, it's more safe than the current UI.

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#58

Post by albntomat0 »

teruakohatu wrote: post #18

"PIA has grounded all its pilots who hold fake licenses, effective immediately." I would have thought anyone with a fake license was already grounded. It sounds like they knew this was an issue and just looked the other way.

It's concerning that they have such a specific number of pilots with fake licenses. It's not like this is something surprising that they're rushing to respond to, at least that's the impression I got from the article.

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#59

Post by leemailll »

sriram_malhar wrote: post #31

I heard this anecdote in India, and I'm not sure if it is apocryphal. There was a small airline flying turboprops to service a Himalayan region. Someone asked whether it was safe to fly these planes and the response was as hilarious as it was scary: "Yes, sir. It is very safe. They used to have 11 planes, 10 of them crashed and now they are really really careful with the one left" :)

Sounds like Nepal airlines

Re: Almost 1 in 3 pilots in Pakistan have fake licenses, aviation minister says

#60

Post by thev4lley »

I don't think most people appreciate the level of regulation that ensures safety and quality of life in Western countries. Go to many countries outside of that spectrum and you may still see beautiful architecture and more. Now did the team that worked on that project have the necessary experience to drive a safe and long lasting solution? Does the concrete and steel used follow good standards? This means that it may not have critical structural problems today, but in 5 to 10 years, you may have to reconsider your infrastructure. By doing shoddy work, you have a higher rate of catastrophic failure, larger carbon footprint and many other issues.
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