| UPDATED: 14:03, Tue, Feb 16, 2021
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Pilots have flights all under control, or so one hopes. Even the very best pilots still have days when stress gets the best of them. Pilot Patrick Smith has shared the part of the flight that can make him the most anxious.
9525 appears to be first and foremost about a person who clearly had a lot of problems. what he did not have was very much airline flight deck experience though. just 600 hours. how that factored in we don t fully know. it does throw a spotlight, however, on some larger questions of how to get safe and professionally solid aviators into the cockpit, especially in the face of today s global pilot shortage. lubitz was trained by lufthansa in a program that takes either inexperienced pilots or even non-pilots and turns them into airline first officers. the very first job in that right seat. the co-pilot seat of an airline cockpit often with more than 150 people in the back. in this country, it is different. most airline pilots start in the military and do variety of pilot jobs winding up with thousands of hours before they get to where this co-pilot got. it could be changing. probably the best part of my job is waking up very early,
his food steps and i want to be an american pilot. now he s walking in the same halls american flight academy as his father, one of 1500 new pilots american is looking to hire over the next five years. this the first time american has launched a hiring blitz since september 11th. the reason, new routes due to us airways merger, large number of pilot retirements and a vast expansion of its fleet. we re receiving approximately five new airplanes every month, over one airplane a week right now. reporter: tom can t wait to get behind the real controls, knowing his father is smiling down. i really think that he d be proud. yes, he would. an absolute pleasure to meet him. american obviously, as you can see, looking for the best of the best. the airline tells me they have received about 10,000 applications for the pilot jobs.