Crisis in the Cockpit, Day Two:

Imagine you're in the front seat of a car with a driver and two passengers in the back seat.
The driver is young and hasn't logged too many miles on the road. You're in heavy traffic and you're wondering whether this young driver has what it takes to avoid an accident.

Now imagine the same scenario, only you're a pilot. Instead of a couple of passengers, you're carrying more than 90.

There is a growing shortage of commercial pilots in this country... a shortage that presents smaller airlines with a tough choice: Either fly fewer planes or hire pilots with less experience. Many regional airlines -- those that operate under contract to the major carriers -- are dealing with the problem by simply lowering standards.

It used to be you needed thousands of hours of flight time to get hired as an airline pilot. Now, however, pilots with just 250 hours of flight time are routinely being hired. Technically, they do meet the federal minimums -- but just barely.

"The problem is, we're bringing in very low-time, inexperienced pilots and putting them in the right seat of jets," one pilot tells WOKV's Pete Combs, on the condition that his name not be used.

Another, speaking on the same condition, says, "A pilot... who's just been through flight training at a regional airline... I don't feel that's an adequate level of experience for me to feel comfortable putting my family in the back of the plane."

John Prater, president of the Airline Pilots Association, tells WOKV, "Many of these pilots coming fresh out of flight schools are being hired by the regional carriers. So six weeks after they're hired, they're flying as first officer on a 30-, 60- or 90-seat jet."

A copilot is to help the captain manage the workload. But many regional pilots say... instead... the captain ends up being a babysitter. One regional captain says copilot inexperience has led his colleagues to take drastic measures.

"Within the last month, they have physically taken the controls away from the first officer. They've never had to do this before."

Prater says there's one person who can prevent that: the regional airline's flight instructor.

"It is the pilot, the check airman -- the regional airline's instructor -- who has to be able to stand up to management and say, 'No. I know we have invested $10,000 or $20,000 in this pilot, but he or she isn't ready yet."

The problem is that regional airlines can't get enough better-qualified pilots. Since 9/11, commercial aviation is a lot less attractive to potential pilots than it used to be. The benefits are evaporating and the pay is much lower in regional aviation than it is for pilots at major airlines. As soon as they can, many experienced regional pilots leave for bigger airlines, where the pay is better and the hours are shorter. That leaves less experienced regional pilots who often have the bare minimum experience required to do the job.

"I'm worried -- not only for my safety, but for other pilots and passengers as well," one regional pilot tells WOKV. "It's just a matter of time before something's going to happen. They're going to break a plane or they're going to hurt a lot of people."

Tomorrow, we investigate the pilot shortage, as our series, "Crisis in the Cockpit" continues.

Crisis in the Cockpit, Day One: 

Pilots for regional airlines say they're working more and more, and getting less and less rest between flights.

WOKV's Pete Combs reports the lack of crew rest is literally causing some pilots to fall asleep at the wheel.

It happened twice in two days over Hawaii. Pilots for Go! Airlines have apparently fallen asleep in the cockpit. In the second incident, on February 13th, the pilots now admit they were both asleep for almost 20 minutes, as they overshot their destination by miles.

"Air Shuttle 10-02, Air Shuttle 10-02, Air Shuttle One-Thousand-and-Two, if you hear approach, contact approach immediately," radios an increasingly worried air traffic controller. But there's no response. Instead, the regional jet continues to fly past Hilo and over the ocean until finally, one of the pilots wakes up. The flight lands safely. The pilots later admit they were indeed both asleep.

Pilots say they're working up to 16 hours a day. The FAA says pilots can only FLY eight of those 16 hours. But they tell WOKV's Pete Combs that just means more stress and less rest.

"I know there's a big perception among the public that we only work four hours a day, then go home or to the hotel or to the beach," says one regional airline captain, who asks that his name not be used. "In all actuality, we're flying four and five legs a day -- with delays -- to some of the busiest airports in the country.

"It takes a toll," the captain says. "It takes a real toll."

"You ought to ask, 'How many hours' sleep did your pilot get last night?" says Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

Prater says there's a shortage of pilots -- especially at the regional airlines. And that, he says, means pilots now on the job are now stretched to the breaking point with virtually no rest.

He points to one example he calls "horrific:" Some pilots are being scheduled for just five hours' rest between "work days."

"We have some airlines say, 'Well, it's only five hours. You can just sit in the airport or sleep on the plane. We won't even give you a hotel room."

Crew rest is on the National Transportation Safety Board's top ten list of issues it wants addressed. The NTSB calls the FAA's response to the problem "inadequate."