Check out a new show on The Discovery Channel called Air Pressure. About young pilots learning to fly for a small air carrier in Indonesia. Lots of bush flying in Pilatus Porters and Caravans. Some of the bush strips they land at are interesting to say the least. Good show so far . . . I think they have had two episodes.

Susi Air? I don't get Discovery channel.

Have flown with them quite a bit. One of my colleagues refused to fly with them after a few accidents.

Those were either West Papua or one with a Porter in East Kalimantan doing Lidar survey, fuel starvation.

Correct, Susi Air. I am not surprised there were a number of incidents. Young pilots coupled with challenging flying conditions.

The young pilots represented many different countries.

I also flew with another outfit there that flew float planes. The pilot had spent some years in West Papua and had some interesting stories.

Flying there (Kalimantan) sure beat driving! Generally Kalimantan wasn't too bad as you didn't have the elevation you find in some places. The weather, well sometimes not so good.

Mike: Thanks for the tip. Will look for it!

I also watched it the other night. What I found hard to believe, PIC with 250hrs total time?

No wonder there were so many wrecks scattered around. And how about the approach to that jungle runway with fog and cloud obscuring it?

High dollar airplanes with low time pilots; wonder what their insurance cost.

Nothing tests a low hr pilot more Hot Heavy and High.
If you land a job as PIC and you survive the first month or so at it, you should likely do alright from there.
You either conquer the steep learning curve to satisfactorily temper your nerve for such work, ...or seriously bomb out...R.I.P.
thats if you don't chicken-out and quite before hand.......

I have colleagues who have been doing the PNG highlands for like 20 yrs, and others who R.I.P. at the infant stages of their career.

and employing low hr pilots may not be that silly as it seems, since they won't have ingrained bad practice habits like some of the
much higher hr pilots that may be applying to work in the mountains.

They pay nearly nothing which is why they can only attract inexperienced pilots. That place is purely a time builder.