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Old 03-28-2015, 02:00 PM
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Carl Spackler
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Joined APC: Apr 2008
Position: 747-400 Captain
Posts: 12,487
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Originally Posted by Seggy View Post
I know we have a contributor to Flying Magazine on here that has interacted with some folks after what he wrote. Hopefully, he sees it the way I (and I hope) others see it and will get feedback where feedback is needed.

I am absolutely disgusted by another 'contributor' to Flying Magazine and his attempt to formulate a substantive opinion of the what happened concerning the German Wings tragedy...

What we have here is an arrogant, self promoting piece where the 'contributor' is using the wave of sensationalism journalism after a complex incident in an attempt to self promote his ego and get his name in the mainstream. The broad strokes of assumption he makes against professional pilots is deplorable. He has NO clue about my or others experiences that helped shaped our duty of responsibility and trust as professionals with our passengers (or cargo) and airplane when he makes doltish remarks like this....

Nor are pilots of a higher moral type than the rest of us. Despite the pieties they occasionally utter, pilots do not consciously shoulder the burden of hundreds of lives or feel more responsible for a full airplane than for an empty one.
Furthermore, he misses the point completely when he makes two other crass statements like this...

Besides, most flying is routine -- hours of boredom, the cliché goes, punctuated by moments of sheer terror. The glitches have long since been ironed out, and the airplanes are so wonderfully engineered that they usually protect even the worst pilot from himself.
and then...

The greatest guarantee you have that your pilot is devoted to your safety is the fact that he or she is in the airplane with you.
Flying isn't routine. No two flights are ever the same. Flying seems routine thanks to the dedication of thousands of professionals that strive to make it as routine as it is for our passengers and cargo entrusted for us to fly. Flying is extremely safe for what it is. There is a big difference between routine and safe. Your fellow 'contributor' misses this point. The reason why it may seem routine to him is that after a complex tragedy like the German Wings flight, the aviation community, led by Pilots, come together and challenge each other to make the system safer and enact changes in an attempt to guarantee that the system that the pilot is in with the airplane are operating in is the safest possible. The pilot is devoted to the passenger's and cargo's safety for more reasons than that they are 'simply in the airplane with you'. Pilot's want this industry to succeed. Many have livelihoods that depend on it and they want nothing more thjan a safe and vibrant system for themselves and their counterparts at other airlines.

What I am asking the Flying Magazine writer on here to do is bring back these thoughts to the other 'contributor' and other's thoughts on here towards what he wrote. He missed the mark completely in his attempt at an op-ed. I would personally characterize it as a sensationalism journalism.

I am sure others would also love for the poster on here to bring back their thoughts about what Les Asbend is saying as well...
Unfortunately, our profession has to deal with this more than most. Peter Garrison is a licensed pilot, but has never been an airline pilot. Yet he provides this professional critique of a profession in which he has no personal experience.

If a guy who writes the journal for his neighborhood association provided this kind of critique of the journalist profession, journalists would rightly respond that the critic had zero credibility. Same with a life guard critiquing cardio thoracic surgeons.

The truth is that we airline pilots don't think much about the large number of people who wanted to be airline pilots, but for whatever reason didn't do it/make it. A small number like Garrison provide these critiques to somehow soothe their troubled souls. As an airline pilot, this just comes with the territory. I mostly try to ignore it and enjoy the pleasurable interactions I have with my passengers both pre and post flight. They are a lot more intuitive than attention seeking "writers."

Carl
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