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On 2/1/2003 10:54:27 PM coastalcruiser wrote:
Sounds to me like "you get what you pay for" doesn't it? I'll bet 21 folks and thier families would have gladly paid more. Sad but true.
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Would they?..or rather should have they? Hindsight is most regretabley indeed 20/20.
Sadly niether the Press nor the Flying Public seem to accept that our work/services is indeed skilled labor...and needs to be supported with descent wages...at the cost of more for a ticket from point A to B.
Safety is directly linked toward the calibre of people performing this work...and better wages/benefits draws this talent in most, if not all cases. Labor of Love has it's place too.
The shear fact that an automobile mechanic can earn better wages...have a better lifestyle promoting hours and in some case benefits , as opposed to a Aviation Technicians conditions.. and yet have no ways close to the same legal/moral obligations to the public is staggering to anyone with an IQ higher than thier shoe size.
Aviation has been lowered to the lowest common denominator in terms of the value we provide Vs.what the invoice price buyer actually recieves.
This crash is yet another shinning example of where "Outsourcing" tends to draw second best in terms of talent..and even the support mechanisms backing the people performing the work. This has yet to be prooven in this case...but like the Valujet crash in 1995...IT WILL become the prime or extreme mitigatng factor in due course!!
One can only hope that this trend in de-valuating the skills within our industry will change before more lives...and the integrity of our industry and careers become cheapened or maligned any further.
Confidence in the product...and Safety come at a price. Out of sight..should not equate to out of mind when it regards flight safety..nor should it when you ask any craftsman to perform work on even your 6 passenger 3500 Lbs. car.
Take note of where the two skills and circumstances seperate themselves. 3500 Lbs at 60 MPH has no comparison to even a commuter plane carrying 20+ passengers at 225MPH at 20,000 feet.
We have essentially become nothing more than "Greyhound" with wings...and this is due in part to the "Wal-Mart" type world that has grown and gained wide acceptance.
The motto of being cheap and accesable is all that matters anymore in terms of the consumer..The cost of quality behind the scenes only becomes an issue when the worst case scenario rears it's ugly head in retrospect.
I miss the day of the local hardware store...and the man that owned it..and knew how to offer assistance with the products he sold. Wal-mart can't do that..but they put the man out of business that could.
I miss the days of a full service gas station where the oil was checked and the windshield was cleaned too. The man might even be able to point out that the tires were low on air..and resolve that before it becomes a bigger problem.
I wonder where the world went so wrong?.and at the price of what? In all cases...Human lives... and quality of life.
I guess it's that kind of quality that society is no longer able to pay for...or at least not in this world anyway.