This is actually quite illuminating by itself. I saw nothing in the registration that required someone to be a professional pilot in order to comment or ask questions. I would suggest you contact the administrator to make your forum invite only. This way you may be able to hide what is apparently a shared and very deep, almost paranoid defensiveness from the general public.
First; how, exactly would a "media hack" get a reliable source off an anonymous board? Make up a name of, or ascribe it to someone's nickname.
Second; if I was some nefarious professional reporter, why would I have admitted right off that I was not a pilot? Believe me, by not doing so and with a little "pushing", a good reporter could have gotten some really juicy "quotes".
Pilots and the work they do has long been a source of admiration to me. I had always hoped that without the physical problems that made me unable to fly, I might have been able to fly. But you really need to thicken your skins a little bit. That way maybe you could provide those outside the brotherhood (or sisterhood) with a viewpoint other than paranoid defensiveness and general overall arrogance.

..............

I'll do it for half as much as long as I get to use a shiny, new pen! :D

Well for one, the majority of people that are on this board join in order to ask questions that pertain to, well, flying...or getting hired by an airline. They don't exactly start asking questions such as yours for their very first post, so naturally questions such as yours are going to raise some eyebrows.

If you knew how many brand new accounts pop up after every crash, all by "someone who has had an interest in aviation and am asking a few questions," and then having our answers quoted by the media, you would realize our "paranoia" is justified.

Also, if ever you are at a bar or party and want alienate a pilot, ask him/her about "that one crash a while back." Better yet, tell him why you know 9/11 was an inside job and that "chemtrails" are part of a government mind control experiment. If I had a dollar for every one of those questions, I could retire at 50.

You SCAB! :D

Make sure he throws in a newspaper too.

All questions the public wants to know the answers to can be found in that readers digest article. What was that called? 50 secrets your pilot won't tell you? Yea that one, all the answers to this crash are in there.

I never flew for any of the regionals like you did, so maybe that experience is what drives such an intemperate post. But for you to still state this now that you're flying for a major, gives me pause about you being one of our few problem children.

I've been flying for majors since 1979 and without a doubt, airline pilots are the most centered, calm, rational and very intelligent group I've been exposed to. My 3 day physical in 1983 was done at the Mayo Clinic and the entire last day was devoted to psychological testing, profiling and sessions with shrinks. Most all the majors were/are the same. I think the pilots of major airlines have the smallest percentage of problematic people than ANY other profession. Bar none.

Just can't imagine what professional experiences of yours could have led you to such a post.

Carl

I'm thinking when you "grow your own" like LH does, you may want to watch out for inbreeding. The guy seemed to have some special handling and no shortage of cash.

As I understand it, the psychiatric profession has a higher incidence of suicide that almost any other. Hmmm...

Anyway, (shameless plug alert!) watch for my soon-to-be-published fact-filled (well, facts based on hazy memories, rumor, innuendo, and totally made up fantasies) research paper: "Aberrant Personalities in Airline Cockpits."

Those who wish to be omitted from this fine exposé may submit a suitable editing fee, payable in gold bullion only, any time prior to publication. You know who you are...