A couple of days ago, I wrote about the second season of HBO’s The Rehearsal, starring Nathan Fielder. It attempts to examine pilot communication issues, and culminates with Fielder flying a Boeing 737 with 150 people onboard.
Continue reading: How Nathan Fielder Was Able To Fly A Boeing 737 With 150 Passengers
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The dude basically got HBO to put him through flight school on their dime. And still produced better TV than a lot of what they're putting out recently. Legendary.
My jaw dropped for the last few minutes showing him flying as an employee with Nomadic (the same guys who do Cockpit Casual on YouTube).
Hahaha, I was waiting for this post. I knew you'd have to write about it after you said you were hooked on the show this season.
To go from being waterboarded by an animatronic breast to this....
There's video out there on YouTube as well from the Nomadic co-owner/Captain he flew with at the end (Bob Allen) on his YouTube @Captain-Kentucky of ferrying an Avelo 737-700 too.
But yeah, you hit on the key point - this is all perfectly legal. I wouldn't see it as a loophole as such, but I explain it as the 1500 hour rule applies to pilots who, for the most part, are insulated behind an airline selling a ticket to the general public, so they are relatively anonymous. Someone flying under part 91 like this is more likely to have passengers who know what they're getting themselves into, so to speak. And great point you make - you could hop on a LH flight on a widebody with a first officer who has like 350 hours because of their ab initio training/train to proficiency model.
Very fascinating episode.
Why am I not surprised it was an Avelo plane? They'll clearly do damn near anything to make a buck lol
Best part of all of it is him now becoming a ferry pilot as a full fledged side gig.
What a show, what a brilliantly weird person.
FAA minimums for a Commercial Pilot's license are 250 hours total time required, not 200.
In your first line you stated the leading cause of accidents is pilot communication. Remove the word pilot and you got it right. The DCA accident will prove the above.
I and one little correction, it's an airline transport pilot certificate, not license.
ATP 727, 707, 720, 747, 757, 767, L1011
He mentions at the end that while it may have been his first time piloting and landing a 737 with passengers onboard, that he also trained with a aircraft ferrying company (Nomadic Aviation) alongside Captain Bob Allen, (@CaptBob_Nomadic on X and of TikTok fame), repositioning 737s in South America and Africa. And he likely made this connection through his first officer, Aaron Von Arsdale, who has also flown for Nomadic, as confirmed by co-owner Steve Giordano (also the creator of Cockpit Casual on YT):
https://x.com/SteveNomadic/status/1927154834467151883
Have to point out that these are likely reuploads from TikTok and other sources since @CaptBob_Nomadic is Bob Allen's handle across all social media. He has many fans/imposters.
Airliners are routinely "ferried" by end user flight crews; long flights are pretty normal for that class of aircraft.. "Real ferry pilots" (I'm a retired one) deliver light aircraft all over the world, often under challenging circumstances.
ATP, 50+ single engine North Atlantic crossings
Its a good bet that sitting in the right seat (but keeping a very low profile) will be someone with significant experience ready to jump in should things go sideways. Its likely to be either from the airline or someone known to the airline. Aviation seems to work around an implied pecking order -- no matter how well qualified you are and what role you're performing there's always someone, somewhere, peering over your shoulder, ready to instruct, advise or assign blame as appropriate.
Interesting that Avelo didn't want to be associated with Nathan Fielder or HBO but is fine being associated with running deportation flights for an administration that is illegally deporting people.
Nathan Fielder is unwatchable. Why give him attention?
He will soon be forgotten forever, which is what he deserves (along with anyone who gives him air time).
Just want to tip my hat your way with words, 'waterboarded by an animatronic breast' is a wonderful way to put it.