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For my money, Air Jamaica has some of the best pilots in the world. I was on an AJ flight a number of years ago where the pilot landed safely at Newark in 50mph crosswinds during a nor'easter. These guys routinely make long approaches over water and put their planes down as softly as a kitten's paws on the runway in exactly the right place.
At least when Butch Stewart was running things, I always felt safe on Air Jamaica. Once my flight was delayed a half-hour because the batteries on the emergency megaphone were past their change date. That's how thorough they were; fully cognizant that for an airline from a developing nation to have a crash was a death knell.
In recent years, as the government took over the airline again, the delays and cancellations have been so pervasive that I stopped flying them. But notice that they still haven't had a crash yet.
