I'm an Airline Captain - Ask me anything!

[alexd112]

Hi all,

As the title says, I am a senior airline captain with 20 odd years of experience. Ask me anything!

Thank you alex

Very interesting
Thank you 😊

If you were to have a crash landing eg where the plane is likely to break somewhere. Where is the best place to sit on the plane!

Where did you train OP? And how much was your training? And how did you fund it?

Thank you - very interesting. I promise I have no intention of flouting the rule and always switch my phone off! But I was just curious as to the danger and why it was left to trust rather than enforced. I guess the majority will obey the rule, thus reducing the risk considerably.

Thank you. :)

@alexd112 what's your top tip for people who are irrationally scared of flying? (Apart from the usual "safer than driving your car" etc)

I absolutely adore flying and feel quite sad for people who can't experience the joy and pleasure of the amazingness of flying! In the sky! Hurtling over the planet! Wheeee!

The idea of enduring a flight gripping the armrest, or needing medication to cope is awful.

This is one of my favourite threads! Thank you OP:

What are your thoughts when you read the rate stories about flight crew drinking before work? Is alcohol testing common?

Is it true the pilot and co pilot must have separate meals In case one gets food poisoning???

Great thread, thank you. Which airline has the worst reputation for treatment of staff?

Elspeth - some aircraft do have oxygen gas, rather than chemically generated oxygen, for therapeutic medical use and in a decompression.

@Tinseltower
I honestly can't answer that - every impact is different. Different speeds, different attitudes, different terrain...I would personally choose somewhere close to the exit.

@ShotsFired
Trust that no pilot worth their salt would unnecessarily take any risk or put themselves in a perilous situation, even if they are under commercial pressure. On a personal note, don't forget that pilots are human and we have the same desire to get home to our families. I'd like to see my children grow up and I have no desire to meet an early grave or lose my job for negligence. Also, don't forget because it hasn't really been mentioned here, that regardless of your experience and expertise, even the most junior co-pilot is trained and encouraged to be appropriately assertive towards the captain - this means that if the captain makes mistakes or formulates plans, the co-pilot is encouraged to pick out the faults or make input or offer alternative suggestions. We rely heavily on each other to get you to your destination safely.

@LoveProsecco
My thoughts on flight crew drinking before work is that it is disgraceful and completely irresponsible. There are clear stipulations from state to state regarding the consumption of alcohol. Anyone who pushes their luck deserves to be punished accordingly in my opinion. I have no problem with random testing, which does happen.

@autumnleaves101
It's recommended but not always practical.

@Rememory
I couldn't possibly comment. I have plenty of friends who fly for a particularly aggressive employer though.

Have you ever flown over or near an erupted volcano?

To everyone who enquired about their children being interested in aviation, here's what I would say:

When a person walks into an interview, their academic results only paint a small part of the picture. Obviously do your best in school - subjects I would suggest would be maths, physics or another of the sciences, a European language, and geography. That's not to say that somebody with an A level in history and music doesn't make a fantastic pilot.

A far bigger part of the picture is your personality. Solid candidates need to be able to communicate clearly, confidently and accurately. They have to have the ability to say 'I don't know' when asked about something they do not know rather than bluff. It shows that they understand that they cannot know everything and that it's not a one man (or woman) show. Being a member of a team is important but not necessary. You have to show that you can lead as well as follow others. You have to be able to describe situations where your skills helped a team overcome a challenge. Even if you have studied something completely non related to aviation, use it to your advantage by showing how it demonstrates that you can apply yourself through intensive studies. The course for ab initio pilots is ferociously intensive but short lived (approx 14 months).

The hardest part for most people is raising the funds to train yourself. It costs in the region of £90,000 - BUT do bear in mind that the salary is very competitive and you recoup that investment very quickly, while most of your college buddies are earning less that half of that. You will be in a position to repay your loan and enjoy a healthy salary. There are very few airlines left in the world who do fully sponsored cadetships and the competition for places on these is mind boggling. You'd be looking at a ratio of one job per 5000 applicants. Most pilots nowadays have to fund their own training and get their own license before they can approach an airline. Also, don't forget the Armed Forces is an amazing way to fly. Doing a college degree will certainly stand to you. It will also be a nice insurance policy to have in place in case you ever lost your flying license due to medical reasons.

Be sure to take a couple of flying lessons before you commit to anything. Study aptitude tests, increase your 3D thinking ability, join a team sport and most importantly - if at first you don't succeed - keep trying, keep trying, keep trying!! Some of the best pilots I know only made it after a number of failed attempts.

Hope that helps everyone who was curious!

@Summersun111
I've flown close to Mount Etna in Italy - it was slightly smoky if that counts. It wasn't exactly National Geographic stuff!

Thank you.

You've mentioned Trust in one of your answers. Do you have voice training for when you do your announcements? You all sound very calm and reliable, there must be a bit of psychology at play to instil a sense of trust between you and your passengers / crew!

Have you had anyone go into labour on your flight? Any babies born on your watch?
Do you re-route flights for medical emergencies?
Does an airplane have emergency meds on it? Like adrenaline, defibrillators etc?

Thanks!

I'm a doctor and whenever we have training on errors/ learning from mistakes we are ALWAYS told that medicine should be more like the airline industry (in many parts of nhs an adverse outcome leads to an individual being scapegoated, and everyone else being v defensive).

Every time we are shown a video made by a pilot whose wife tragically died during routine surgery. One of the doctors in particular got 'tunnel vision' and lost awareness of how unwell she was, and other staff recognised what was happening but didn't speak up. Amazingly her husband responded by making this video encouraging the NHS to adopt aviation type systems so that a similar mistake could be prevented by better systems, less hierarchy, more situational awareness and simulation training, but absolutely not blaming the individual doctor and insisting they should continue in their career. It's an amazing film, I've seen it so many times at various training events that I prob know it off by heart now. Although I don't think there has been much progress as we are still watching the same film 8 years later and saying "oh that's a good way of doing things..."

In your experience is this true, is the aviation industry good at dealing with genuine human errors, and setting up good systems so that one person's error won't have a catastrophic outcome?

This is the video about errors aviation/ NHS

Amazing guy to respond by making this video

I'm terrified of flying but going to NY is top of my bucket list. I've left a plane before take off once. So claustrophobic and I have panic attacks. Any advice?

I know of a lady petrified of flying until she was given one or two hypnosis sessions and was able to get on a plane, no problem. Maybe hypnosis might be worth looking into...

@StorminaBcup
We don't get any voice training but because our communications with ATC and because our communications with each other in the cockpit have to be clear and concise, we tend to speak with confidence and authority naturally. Believe me, that's where it ends - I certainly don't speak in such a measured way at home!

@Tuppencew0rth
Never had any babies. We do divert flights if the medical emergency is serious enough (particularly if a doctor on board advises us to do so). We do carry defibrillators and a basic medical kit which the cabin crew are trained to use.

@HopelesslydevotedtoGu
The aviation industry is absolutely head and shoulders above most when it comes to human factors, threat and error management, and leadership and teamwork.
For instance, a ground staff member could (and would) approach a pilot to advise them if there was something amiss. There is never a question of insubordination. We fully accept that we are human beings with limitations and the ability to make mistakes. We openly seek feedback on our actions and take criticism and correction without any hard feelings. I always encourage even the most junior flight attendant to speak up if they are in anyway unhappy. It is particularly important that they are empowered to voice their concerns. We do not feel as if our ability or skill is being questioned. We have so much to deal with in such a dynamic situation that distractions always happen, and while we do our best to manage them well, things do get missed and sometimes someone else will point out your oversight before it has an effect on the operation. I'm not sure how it works in the medical world - however, I do believe there is a very steep gradient between staff, and that a junior nurse for instance would be extremely reluctant and almost afraid to point out an error made by a senior consultant during an operation. If you put a pilot's CRM skills inside that consultant, he/she would ask for input, ask if there is anything he/she has missed... If something was pointed out by the junior nurse, it would be thanked and actioned and at the end of the procedure the senior consultant would recap on what happened, acknowledge and appreciate the assertiveness of the nurse, and remind them that their skills and role are just as important in ensuring that the operation is carried out as safely as possible. It's a very comfortable and reassuring atmosphere to work in. Thanks for the link to the video, it's quite eye opening. Personally, I would encourage you (or maybe you already do) to promote this working environment - in fact, I think it would improve many work places. Nobody can get it right all the time, and we all need support to carry out responsible jobs.

While you're here - could you offer any advice to my dd who is considering a career in medicine? She is very talented and hardworking, I just worry that the workload and work life balance is very challenging. Thanks

Apologies gekiort I did not mean to come across as rude. I clearly did reading my post back.

Thank you to all the others especially the OP taking the time out to answer our questions.

For those who asked weather was good though dc said lots of turbulence. Yes they definitely touched down. There was an announcement afterwards but I think she was quite upset & trying to comfort girl next to her who was in a bit of a state.