Szymon Kurzacz said:
Topic should be "Russian pilots are most stupid..."
Of course its easy to generalize and to stamp stereotypes on entire nations, but apart from being downright offensive, especially coming from a moderator, it does not contribute much to understanding of the actual situation and without understanding there can be no remedy.
The fact of the matter is that for decades the Russian pilot training was considered exemplary in the entire Eastern block and also widely recognized beyond it. Things have changed since, but not dramatically and many of those who were trained back then are still active pilots and instructors.
These pilots however are very often forced to use inferior equipment under a very restrictive set of company rules or stay grounded. Russian aircraft types, even the decent ones, are getting VERY old and maintenance has never been stellar. In many airlines it's been downright poor in the last 20 years, regardless of what types are operated. There are right now more than 150 airlines officially registered in Russia (2 years ago there were more than 200), many of them having a single aircraft or 2 and there's no need to explain what such a huge number means in regards of quality, control and accountability. The entire industry was broken apart into multiple pieces in the early 90s, many interested parties snatching whatever a/c and FBOs they could at the time and exploiting all these resources like no tomorrow, cutting corners on maintenance, salaries etc. Total jungle economy.
Nowadays it's common practice, not only in Russia, but in many other less-developed countries around the world to have airline practices and procedures, that do not account for safety, that are not in compliance with international regulations and even with common sense and that do not leave the pilots the liberty to alter them in any way, even when the pilot is competent and experienced enough to see the dangers and the shortcomings.
No pilot in their right mind would prefer to take-off with their aircraft covered with snow. However it's not him, but the company that decides whether they will pay for de-icing or not. Or may be just for de-icing but skip the anti-icing spray. It's the company that decides how tight the ground turnaround should be. And it's the company that penalizes or directly fires personnel that decide to go against these rules even if it is to ensure safety. Sad but true, and that's how it is in most companies. Of course you have the big mainstream ones like Aeroflot, Transavia, etc that are much more "civlized", but generally the corporate pressure on pilots is a mark upon the entire industry and it's not exclusive for Russia at all.
So once again, don't be too quick to judge and try to use your head once in a while. It's useful, even for sim-pilots.
End of rant
