I have finally been pushed to the limit with this Hudson River landing of the US Airways Jet several weeks back. This story has not just taken on a life of it's own it's turning into legend and worse a bully pulpit for a bunch of grumbling pilots.
Before I go any further I have to qualify myself, In one of my past lives I was a military pilot, to be specific a combat helicopter pilot and after my tour in a certain South East Asian country of little note today I went on to the lofty position of instructor, transitioning new pilots into Hughes 500 Scout helicopters at Ft. Rucker, AL. Then after wearing out my welcome in the employ of Uncle Sam, by mutual consent with Honorable discharge in hand and a chest full of medals I embarked upon civilian life. I opened my own business, became successful and started buying fixed wing airplanes for business, I owned a Cessna 172 then a 182 and finally a 210. All were used for work, commuting from my base in Chicago and traveling around the mid west on business through which I managed to amass several thousand hours of flight time. I have close friends who all continued flying after the military, one becoming Chief Pilot for the Anaheim, CA police department, one who was a standards pilot for PHI (Petroleum Helicopters Inc) and an EMS pilot in Cleveland and one other who went on the graduate from Embry Riddle with heavy jet ratings, enough for my qualifications, I know real pilots from wannabes and wish they were's.
There is no doubt that the good pilot and crew had a great deal of luck on their side that fateful morning when a flock of geese decided to fly right into their path and managed to get sucked into the intakes of both engines, but, and here comes the big but, these are professional airline pilots and as such are some of the best trained, most capable individuals to ever strap a jet to their rear ends and take it for a ride. These guys are professionals, they train on an ongoing basis for emergencies of this exact nature and with the exception of a very few individuals these guys are the best at what they do. Don't kid yourselves for one second, this flight crew knew exactly what to do every step of the way. True, after landing and clearing the ship of their charges they more than likely went looking for clean underwear and a good stiff drink to celebrate the successful water landing they had just executed to perfection.
What annoys me to no end though is the whining by the good captain about good pilots turning away from flying because of the pay cuts being pushed by the airlines, what a crock. I openly admit that I never had a real love affair with flying and really only flew because it made my work more efficient, the military part kept me from being a second lieutenant leading a squad of ground pounding grunts in the jungle, that however, doesn't mean I was any less professional in my approach to flying, but brings me to my point. The vast majority of pilots fly because they love flying. I take that back, they don't just love flying they live, eat and sleep flying. Airline pilots in particular consider themselves the consummate professionals and take great pride in their skill. So, what is he saying, that the only pilots left are the guy's who can't do anything else, wrong, these aren't teachers they're PILOTS. I say he's irresponsible making the remarks he did because it's a slap in the face of pilots everywhere.
True, Airline pilots have always made a great living and true again, in the last few years the airline companies have cut pay in an attempt to stay competitive, but, I don't believe this has had any effect on the quality of pilots in the industry. Plain and simple, airline pilots fly because that's their vocation and for most their avocation. You don't have to be afraid of flying by the comments that have been made.
Thanks for reading,
"In keeping his heading by the stars, a pilot must remember that they move".
Charles Augustus Lindbergh
1902 - 1974
Don't forget to check out my other blog http://www.theindependentpost.com/ just click on the link and it will take you right there.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment