We have a degree here, Aeronautical Science in which people learn to be professional airline pilots. Its the largest such program in the United States.
And let me be VERY CLEAR here. Students learn the basics of flying here. They learn how to fly Cessnas and the largest such craft that students fly under the pervue of the university is the Seminole. Look for a picture if you like. But the university DOES NOT train people how to fly 767s or any other large airliner. They learn basic aerodynamics, navigation, basic systems, airport security (ya, I know) in classes and to fly small planes outside of classes. We have no 767/757 simulators either. If these people did go to ERAU, they learned to fly 767s and 757s elsewhere.
About the television part, I saw the segment tonight and unfortunetly, the shots were made up entirely of close ups of her head and couldn't see the reflection behind her. Also, people from ABC interviewed a group of us afterwards and I'm frustratingly just out of the shot. And they didn't use anything I said. Oh well. Woulda been cool I guess.
[ September 12, 2001: Message edited by: Stingray ]
Is he a freshman? What's his major? Is he any extra curricular activities or ROTC?
(and isn't your last name Kardde?)
He's from Columbia, Maryland. I think he started there maybe two years ago?
All they needed were people with a basic knowledge of flight control and programming the auto-pilot. Once the auto-pilot was set, no one really needed to be at the controls unless a change of course was needed.
It's not that hard to point a plane in the direction of a building. But it does require training. I couldn't do it. You couldn't do it. It takes a significant amount of training even for just the rudiments. And you simply need to know where the shit is in the cockpit. Those things are fucking forests of switches, dials, readouts, and buttons. They were trained. No doubt about it.
If we can find somebody who recently 'bought' a 767/757 simulator or anybody so far connected with who has used a simulator recently, then we have our men. I doubt it will be that easy though.
(and no, I don't know him. I know hardly any, if any, juniors. But I'll remember the name for future reference.)
[ September 12, 2001: Message edited by: Stingray ]
Though more than one news crew made a very large deal over the fact that an American university might have trained at least on of the terrorirsts, I doubt you'll find much in the way of an update clearing Riddle's name.
Waleed Al-Shehri, Class of '97, has been found alive and well in Morrocco. Seems the hijackers stole the identities of several professional pilots. The true extent of their training seems to have been rudimentary flight lessons at small aviation schools and not universities.