Following on from last weeks article about Pete Weber, here comes the next one on whether you would fly with Jonathan Irwin.

Who is Jonathan Irwin?

Jonathan Iriwn is a pilot of an Airbus A320, a commercial passenger jet. Seems quite ordinary, one slight detail is that Jonathan was just 21 years old when he assumed this position. That is right he is barely of legal alcohol drinking age and he is flying as the first officer on a commercial jet.

Flying at 16

Irwin made his first solo flight on a Glider when he was just 16 years old. He then joined the Air Training Corps where he spent 5 years training before being picked up for his job by British Airways.

British Airways recruiters were impressed with the way Irwin completed the rigorous training process and were quite satisfied that he had the competency to fly the passenger jet.

First Officer VS. Captain

Many will now be wondering as to what the difference between Captain of an aircraft and the First Officer on the aircraft. Well, truth be told there is very little difference between the Captain and the First Officer other than the Captain has more experience in the company. The Captain and the First Officer take turns flying the plane. Yes, this means that there is a very good chance that a 21 year old is piloting the plane you are on, if you are flying out of Gatwick in London.

The Question

This leads us to the question and based on your answer to the previous article, keep in mind that this is now regarding the flight of passenger jets. Would you board a plane and fly with a pilot that is 21 years old?

From my perspective if he has the competence to complete the flight course, I view Jonathan Irwin as good and as competent as any other commercial pilot in service.

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