If you missed the Frontline report that aired on PBS Tuesday night about safety on regional airlines, just click here and you can watch it in full online, and you can also join a discussion there inviting comment from the pilot community. The report, with correspondent Miles O’Brien, a Cirrus pilot and former CNN anchor, examines the challenges of a pilot’s life at the regional carriers, and raises questions about safety. By Wednesday morning, the pilot discussion board already counted over 260 entries. Some of the posts are from current or former Colgan Air pilots (at least, that is how they identify themselves; there is of course no verification of any of their identities). There is a wide range of comment, much of it critical of regional airline practices in general and Colgan in particular, though a few posters defend the expertise and dedication of crews at all levels.
The Frontline Web site also offers an array of added features, including an open roundtable discussion with several key people from the report (including the producer and a former pilot for Colgan Air), a database of airlines’ safety statistics, added clips with pilot interviews that weren’t in the broadcast version, and more.
