WASHINGTON (AP) — The pilot who safely ditched a jetliner in the Hudson River says that pay and benefit cuts are driving experienced pilots from careers in the cockpit.
US Airways pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger says his pay has been cut 40 percent in recent years and his pension has been terminated. Sullenberger says cuts that followed airline bankruptcies after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks coupled with the current recession have placed pilots and their families in an untenable financial situation.
Sullenberger and other crew members testified Tuesday before the House aviation subcommittee about the Jan. 15 accident in which all 155 people aboard Flight 1549 survived.
The pilot said without experienced pilots “we will see negative consequences to the flying public.”
If “Captain Sully” is concerned, perhaps we should be too.
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