These Pilots Were Sued For Quitting. They Say It Was Dangerous To Stay.

As a new commercial pilot, Nate Hilliard came to Southern Airways Express two years ago with no illusions. “It’s really become more the standard than the exception in the industry, unfortunately.” A counter-lawsuit filed against Southern alleges that planes were hobbled by frequent maintenance issues, including substandard de-icing equipment, broken air-conditioning units and inoperable autopilot systems Nate Smallwood for HuffPost Many pilots said they feared being retaliated against if they refused to fly or lodged a complaint with regulators that could be traced back to them Nate Smallwood for HuffPost Southern says the training agreements make for a fair deal: New pilots get valuable time in the cockpit without paying for their flight hours, and they repay Southern with revenue-generating flights before moving on to big-name airlines and higher salaries. “The very reason that these pilots had a job with Southern is that we choose to fly with two licensed pilots rather than one pilot and an auto-pilot,” he said. “one of these pilots chose to leave for safety, maintenance, or any other reason during the hundreds of hours they flew with us prior to attaining the 1,500 hours needed to go elsewhere,” Little said. He said carriers like Southern know that “as soon as these pilots hit 1,500 hours, they’re gone.” So they require pilots to sign training contracts.