Continental Pilot Dies During Flight

The captain of a Continental Airlines flight from Brussels to Newark died in the cockpit over the Atlantic, several news outlets have reported.

The Boeing 777 carries a flight crew of three, and the two other pilots have landed the jet in Newark,  The Star-Ledger reports. The name of the 61-year-old captain has not been released.

Regional Pilot Pay Is Not ‘Fair And Reasonable’

U.S. regional airline pilot pay is “fair and reasonable” and “in line with comparable professions,” Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association told a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday, as Bloomberg reports.

So what’s fair and reasonable? Co-pilots earning as little as $23,900 and an average of only $32,000. Pilots earning an average of $67,000 to $76,000, depending on the type of aircraft they’re flying.

What’s a “comparable profession?” According to Cohen, that’s a “paramedic or medical assistant.”

I’m not buying it. Commercial pilots should earn more than that because they are — or should be — worth more than that.

These people are operating aircraft worth $30 million or more and are responsible, over time, for the lives of thousands of passengers. They have had extensive and expensive training. The best are very highly skilled — and we want only the best.

We won’t get them, though, if we won’t pay for them.