Originally Posted by
123494
Do any of you find yourself flying with fellow pilots (CA or FO) who are overly paranoid and think the company/world is out to get them?
Flew with a CA recently who was probably the best pilot I have ever flown with. Was very smooth and flew the plane by the book. Other than his flying and ADM, he was extremely paranoid about everything. Some examples were:
1. Afraid to speak to the FAs. Would only talk when a flight related issue came up. Otherwise, he was convinced they would take something he said the wrong way and report it.
2. Afraid of Pax. Was convinced they had video cameras out and ready to catch any mistake we made and put it on social media. Didn't like making PAs and avoided eye contact in gate area.
3. Afraid of Gate Agents. Was convinced they were writing notes trying to pin any delay on him. Had an extensive notebook to record every move they made and what Zulu time.
4. Afraid of dispatch. If he had to call them, he would never use his name, only the flight number and tail. Not sure why.
Again, he was a fine aviator and I picked up some good techniques from him. I could go on with examples of the paranoia. Just curious if others have had any similar trips. Are pilots just programed to think this way?
In my experience, some are just paranoid people, some have made a mistake and over-reacted when they got punished for it (IE said something edgy to/about an FA and got punished for it, now instead of just interacting appropriately they refuse to interact at all), and some got unfairly burned along the way and just choose to clam up. As long as they’re able to do their job without it causing communication/safety issues it’s not really anything to worry about.