2010-05-19 16:22:16.381036+00 by Dan Lyke 4 comments
Ya know, one of the reasons the world continues to work is that "terrorists" tend to be pretty stupid. Want to get into the cockpit of an airliner? Thomas Salme spent a few hours in a flight simulator, forged some papers, and flew 737s for 13 years before he was caught.
[ related topics: Aviation Current Events Work, productivity and environment ]
comments in descending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2010-05-20 14:34:10.40919+00 by: meuon
Yeah.. sounds like he shortcut-ed some steps and bypassed some paperwork, but I'll wager he got promoted to pilot on merit. I'd fly with him.
#Comment Re: made: 2010-05-19 18:53:58.135962+00 by: Dan Lyke
He also started out as a co-pilot, which I believe mostly involves a shitload of reading off checklists for the pilot in command. Not to take it too lightly, but a devoted three years of that before he ended up in the left seat means he's probably pretty good now.
#Comment Re: made: 2010-05-19 18:21:47.579944+00 by: ebradway [edit history]
According to the article, he had a commercial license but it didn't mention what endorsements he held. The biggest problem with getting licensed for large commercial planes is all the intermediate steps. First you need a private pilot license, then you need a high-horsepower endorsement, then a retractable landing gear, then IFR, then multi-engine, then... then... then...
It sounds like he kept it simple by training in a real 737 simulator and only flying 737s. And flying is normally a rather dull activity. It's the abnormal events that separate the men from the boys. And seriously, I doubt a license really makes much difference.
#Comment Re: made: 2010-05-19 18:07:09.03158+00 by: meuon
To make a point: he wasn't some dude off the street, he had experience in aircraft maintenance and possibly other types of pilot licenses. Suprised it took hime so long to get caught in the normal paperwork heavy world, but his fine is pretty light and sounds like he's got 12 months to get legal.