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

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

#131
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.…

Who exactly would be "qualified but not licensed" at a commercial airline? Your scenario is beyond absurd.

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

#132

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.

Didn't want to add politics to this, but i hope they get more funding for safety. Sadly, most of the funding they get from US and other Western countries is gobbled up by the Army which is the most powerful institution in the country. Their economic situation is a little worse now and it is likely they will become a vassal state of China in the future as well. China will take the role of USA in the country if it goes…

So you want to give them more money even if you know that money is systematically misused? Pakistan will become a vessel state of China, its totally inevitable. Pakistan is 1000x more valuable to China then it could ever by for the US.

The US should stop the idiotic believe that Pakistan is an ally. They simply are not, and have not been for a long time. It is well known that the support the Taliban. It is well known they are one of the main pushers of radical Islam. The only real value they ever had was to help against the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan.

And to do that the US ignored the warnings that they were developing nuclear weapons and basically created anti-western radical Islam.

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

#133

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…

Apparently there's chatter in recent days on China's internet regarding the Three Gorges Dam, and how it's setting / warping due to reservoir backpressure (pictures in link): https://www.theepochtimes.com/experts-warn-of-chinas-three-g... Apparently there's heavy rainfall this year. 300-400 million people live below the dam. I'm unfamiliar with domestic travel restrictions within China, but I can't imagine it's gotte…

It's worth noting that your source, The Epoch Times, is run by Falun Gong and is basically anti-CCP propaganda. I don't trust the Chinese government as far as I can throw them, but getting info from The Epoch Times has the same problem in the other direction.

For what it's worth, that looks like distortion I've seen in other Google Maps images. This South China Morning Post article includes a satellite photo released by the Chinese government to show everything is fine: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3017927/no-p...

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

#134
The one thing I have noticed about the PIA air crash is the effort some people have put into trying to explain the crash. Some of them have simulated the whole trip! It's quite depressing, especially since the errors are quite bizzare and the plane crashed into a residential area but thankfully no casualties in the areas.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUOn6FrDPwg

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM9ZrliDkNA

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

#135

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.

Why doesn't ATC demand they come in to line, the copilot didn't appear to explain the very high approach (7000ft when they should be 3000ft) ... is there a benefit to it?? First thing I learnt on a flight sim: slow down or you can't extend gear. Is the co-pilot allowed to smash the pilot in the face and take over when they realise they're ignoring basic instructions?

They're both pilots, or, if you want to put it that way, both co-pilots. The ranks are typically "Captain" and "First officer" and what ought to matter in a well-trained team is Pilot Flying versus Pilot Monitoring (sometimes other phrasing is used but that name scheme is pretty clear what's happening).

It takes explicit training to overcome a human tendency to defer, and that means training for all crew and especially cockpit crew. This is called Crew Resource Management and it involves learning interpersonal skills that enable the team to prevent individual human errors from having grave consequences.

CRM is most often important in the cockpit, in this example to get the pilot flying the plane to agree that this approach is bad and they need to try a fresh approach.

But CRM extends beyond the cockpit because in some incidents it's vital to remember that the rest of the crew are experts too, just not in flying a plane.

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

#136

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" :)

To me it simply sounds like all of the unsafe planes crashed and now the safest one is the one left ;)

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

#137

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.

You're only hearing the transmissions they made (likely recorded via the ATC side). Any in-cockpit conversations/panic would not have been recorded, or at least not released.

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

#138

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.

Didn't want to add politics to this, but i hope they get more funding for safety. Sadly, most of the funding they get from US and other Western countries is gobbled up by the Army which is the most powerful institution in the country. Their economic situation is a little worse now and it is likely they will become a vassal state of China in the future as well. China will take the role of USA in the country if it goes…

>but i hope they get more funding for safety

Here’s a wild idea: don’t try and fill the hole with money; if you can’t afford to safely move your nukes, you can’t afford your nukes, ergo you shouldn’t have nukes.

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

#139

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…

I actually watched someone get a fake driver's license in the California DMV once a long time ago. (This was at the old location at the corner of Latham and Showers in Mountain View.) I was taking the wyritten test after having moved there, and there was a woman (around 18) also taking the written test and blatantly cheating. She had the book with the answers out in plain sight and was just reading them and discussing them with her friends who were also taking the test.

The DMV employee noticed and warned the woman to stop. She put the book away for a brief moment, then got it out again. The DMV employee saw all of this. The same thing kept happening, and the DMV employee kept giving toothless warnings. Finally, the DMV employee allowed the woman to turn in her test. As far as I know, assuming she passed the driving portion of the test, she got her license that day.

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

#140

"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.

I love the confidence they express in knowing all the pilots with fake licenses.

I am sure they posted a Letter in all the airports "Do you have a Fake Lic. DO NOT FLY ;) "
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