For an experienced pilot, this maneuver was relatively straightforward.
He also said it was not unusual for an experienced pilot to practice takeoffs and landings.
He was an experienced pilot, though, whom many colleagues, neighbours and friends have already vouched for.
According to Mr. Hortman, Mr. Robinson was an experienced pilot with 1,800 to 2,000 hours of flying time.
Victor J. Saracini, 50, an experienced pilot who had been a Navy flier, was at the controls.
Mr. Molin was an experienced pilot, with 4,400 hours of flying time, 1,835 of them as co-pilot of an A300.
Mr. Schrenker is an experienced pilot, as evidenced by videos of some of his most daring flights that have been posted on YouTube.
And there is evidence that Mr. Schrenker was an experienced pilot who might have been trying to fake his own death.
The Lion Air flight had an experienced pilot and co-pilot, each with more than 5,000 hours of flying time.
An Ethiopian Airlines executive said Sunday that the airplane had "no technical remarks" and was flown by an experienced pilot, Yared Getachew, 28, of Addis Ababa.
The 55-year-old captain was an experienced pilot and a veteran of 10,910 flight hours, including 4,107 on a B-747.
