Originally Posted by
SWAcapt
Perhaps a little hypocritical Hog? Why would you assume the worst and somehow come to the conclusion that it was obvious that there was an emergency? How do you know if a potential disaster was averted? Certainly with a little thought, you as a pilot, might be able to come up with a reasonable scenario that would require the aircraft to adjust it's gross weight and return to it's point of origin without there being an in flight emergency. I know I can.
Main Entry: emer·gen·cy
Pronunciation: \i-ˈmər-jənt-sē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural emer·gen·cies
1 : an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action.
2 : an urgent need for assistance or relief.
Hypocritical? Hardly.
My point was this: why assume the worst of your fellow pilots?
When the newspapers and the talking heads start talking about "pilot error" well before any investigation is completed, we are quick to condemn it. When one of our own on the board implies that a pilot miscalculated his/her FTDT,resulting in the dumping of 1000 of pounds of fuel, a return to the gate, and the inconveniencing of scores of passengers, you think it's worthy of defense.
For my part, I will assume that the pilots and crew did an outstanding job in handling whatever situation they faced. That was the intent of the quoted text within my post. If I overshot the mark, who cares? We have enough critics and management types who are happy to tell us that we're not worth the money we're paid.
Hog