Pilot training not adequate

To the editor:

In response to the article "Plane crash blamed on contaminated fuel system":

I have been a pilot since 1964 when I joined the U.S. Navy. In 2001, I retired from United Airlines after a 30-year flying career. I have more than 30,000 hours of flying time.

In response to the comments of Cape Air Charter owner Bill Beard, I would like to say that my brother, Dr. Bruce Junkin, was in the habit of letting what might be considered an excessive amount of fuel drain out of each tank during his preflights. He would sometimes shake the airplane to make sure there was no trapped water.

I have no idea what the contamination in the fuel system was, but it had to be fine enough to escape detection by eye and still be viscous enough to stop up the fuel filters.

The primary cause of "Inadequate emergency procedures and the airspeed not maintained" is that private pilots do not receive adequate emergency procedure training.

This is not the fault of the pilots or their instructors or the private-pilot training requirements set out by the FAA.

The fault, if any, is that it is much too expensive to provide the necessary training.

In my opinion, Bruce was in a situation (a double engine failure in a twin-engine airplane) that no amount of training could prepare a private pilot for. He ran out of ideas, airspeed and altitude all at the same time.

A.K. JUNKIN JR.

Belvidere, Ill.