Originally Posted by
Hetman
Had a pax poke his head into the cockpit during deplaning belligerently demanding to know why we took off with a tailwind.
" Because it was safe and because it was legal. If you have a couple of minutes I can go over the performance calculations with you."
Offer declined.
I would be surprised if until this day he does not tell the story to his adoring friends of the time he called out the stupid professionals for being professional.
Had a similar experience flying into someplace in the northeast on Christmas eve a few years ago. The weather was reported as just above cat 1 mins with snow so we shoot the approach. Get to DH and no lights, no runway, still in the soup. Go missed. Airliner behind us does the same. We get a box vector and get set up for the cat 2 and try again. The second attempt is uneventful (except that the weather was closer to cat 2 mins than cat 1) and we taxi to the gate. I'm standing in the jet way looking at the paperwork for the flight back while passengers collect their gate check bags. One middle-aged man approaches me and angrily demands to know the reason for the missed approach. I explain the above in layman's terms to which he replies (still fuming) that he could have landed in this and that we were a couple of chicken schnitz (his exact words). I calmly reminded him that the fact he was in the jetway at his destination more or less on time suggested that we had indeed landed to which he responds with another muttered "chicken schnitz". Attempting to difuse the situation, I then say "Sir, you sound like you must be a pilot so surely you..." Before I can finish my sentence he proudly presents his private pilot certificate with an instrument rating. Dumbfounded, all I could reply with was "well...you guys are the most dangerous pilots in aviation. I hope you have a safe drive home."