Sleeping Pilots

The news about the Northwest Airline overshooting their destination by something like 90 minutes hit the front page news all over the world. As usual, it got me thinking (Crap, that bad habit again) about the whole issue of doing well your whole life and then screwing up once. I'm not at all sure that our society handles this with complete logic, compassion, individualism or common sense at all.

Now I completely understand all the standard arguments about their screw up possibly putting hundreds of people's lives on the line because of their line of work. What if their apparent lack of situational awareness (cool words I learned from my pilot daughter) buried the plane in the dirt destroying those poor unsuspecting people's lives and even potentially more on the ground? The other argument running around in the aviation world is that these guys were probably screw-ups before and only just now got caught with their preverbal pants down on this one flight. I'm certainly not sure how we would know that though, now would we?

Ya know? It struck me that these two pilots, whom I know nothing at all about, have ( I heard) thousands of hours of perfect service. Hours and years apparently doing everything by the book and safely doing their jobs. It would seem to me these facts would have to be taken into consideration when trying to judge this one infraction, no matter how grave it is. After thousands of hours of professional, safe flying should their licenses, career and livelihood be taken from them over this one thing?

I think this situation unfortunately happens a lot of times in normal life also. Where good, hardworking, honest folks just plain screw up once in a blue moon after a lifetime of being "perfect". Where people who would normally not do anything wrong or crazy at all go off the deep end for some crazy once in a lifetime reason that cannot be understood. I wonder how many crimes of passion or rage are completely out of character for the people involved. Things they would never think of doing when their lives are on track and normal.

I know this can't be compared with the airline pilots dilemma but I do know I've had weird moments when I thought I was being treated unfairly taking into account my normal reputation. When for instance the power company sends me a "shut off" notice because I forgot or mislaid my bill and it was late. When that happens, I always get super angry with them for not checking my record to see I've paid perfectly on time for years on end with no problems whatsoever. It lets me know I'm just a damn number to them after all these years and they could care less of my record of perfection.

Okay, I'm certainly not the FAA or any other aviation department who has to make these decisions about these two pilot's licenses, lives and career but I sure would hope their entire flying record would be at least as important as this one incident. Personally, I would think when both facts are put on a balance scale, their total service would far outweigh this one screw-up.

What say you?




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Come on.......DO IT!