Rusty pilots admit they are making mistakes because of a lack of flying time

Interesting. Delta seems to be keeping some of their wide body pilots current as they are using 767-400 to RSW from Detroit and MSP. Those are normally single aisle equipment.

Rough landings I can deal with, forgetting a checklist item not so much?

The airlines are in a very difficult situation. When they cut back flying and retire fleet types it creates a domino affect that has a major impact on their pilots. When an airline decides to retire say all of their 767s and 757s, all the pilots that flew those aircraft need to bid and train on another fleet type. When an early retirement package is offered sometimes hundreds of senior pilots take it, opening seats on wide bodies that fly internationally. So a senior 737 captain might bid to a 777 and start flying to India instead of Indiana. It’s pretty common on international trips for the Captain to make only 1 or 2 landings per trip. With cut backs in flying they may only get one trip a month and to remain current they only need to make 3 landings every 90 days. Cut backs have a snowballing affect that involves every fleet type and every seat. I think its a tribute to the pilots,of all the airlines, that have kept the system as safe as it has been.

Skipping a checklist is not a "mistake". It is hazardous risk-taking with potentially catastrophic consequences. Northwest Flight 255, with a combined 29,000 hours in the cockpit, still haunts me.

When I learned to fly I would sometimes go weeks between flights. My instructor drilled into me the use of checklists ... always. It's a good habit to get into, even for a seasoned pilot who may have just flown two legs. I would take my Piper to two or three different airports and follow the checklist religiously every segment of every flight.

There is a reason for the 2 pilot requirement (sometimes, rarely, even 3).

so much for keeping ASAPs confidential.... this is completely counter intuitive to fear the public for no good reason. Professional Aviators are believe it or not HUMAN and therefore prone to making mistakes. This is why we have ASAP in the first place to ensure we uphold a positive culture of safety. just saying...

And here is me thinking that all pilots had to have regular refreshers on simulators in order to keep their licences. That's why Ansett had a simulator for each type of aircraft they flew, and pilots had to keep up to date on them to keep flying.

I have the solution for that. It's called a flight simulator, available on Steam for 60 bucks.

Flying an airplane is an exhaustible skill.

my son left the air force after flying as a flight engineer on KC-10 air flight refueling and C-140 for 24 years..I would fly with him any day at the controls ! I'm not criticising pilot's, but if that is your profession ? you need to be on top of your game everytime you enter that cockpit ! what scares me the most is younger pilots with a minimum of 1500 flying hours to fly ? Will miss all the seasoned pilots who are at their retirement age ! As a pilot said to me on a layover, "after 10 feet on take off, everyone is a passenger. " I just wanted to say...keep the skies safe and for all those who fly...

Reports like this just unnecessarily alarm the nervous flying public, and could erode pilot trust in confidentiality of ASRS reports. To report a mistake through ASRS you’d first need to recognize the mistake, and then you’d correct the mistake. I’d worry more about mistakes that aren’t noticed.