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!

alexd112 thank you . Love that you have a work voice and a home voice!

Regarding medicine, I see it as a calling.
Yes, the working hours are sometimes shocking and the time it takes to qualify is incredibly long, but students of mine who wanted and did get into medicine have had the wish to do so and could not be deterred.

Advice to your DD: get plenty of work experience in related fields, e.g. work in a hospital around people (not admin), or in any healthcare setting as a Saturday/Sunday job, read widely (New Scientist etc) and do your absolute best in school.

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!
Statistically, you are least likely to die on impact if you sit in a middle seat towards the back.
If you survive the initial impact, the best place to sit is by an exit, or in an aisle seat close to an exit.
The chance of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 220 million, so it's not something to get too bothered about.

If anyone is interested in aviation safety culture compared to medicine there is a fantastic book “The Checklist Manifesto” by Atul Gawande, he is a surgeon who found ways on reducing infectious in surgery and other things by studying other industries. I teach safety to chemical engineers and I recommend it to them. It’s very readable without any specialised knowledge. I think it covers the same case as the video.

That's great that you have such intelligent systems in aviation. Things are improving in medicine but some specialities are better than others.
In some specialities hierarchy and never questioning the Consultant very much a thing. I think that generation will retire soon though!

One difference is that we are often working in poor conditions making errors more likely - Dr Hawa Baba Gaba for example - and we don't usually have the option to limit workload if we think it unsafe.

One thing I notice is that when a patient is harmed, in some teams all talk of no blame culture goes out the window and people start being v defensive and someone gets scapegoated.

Partly because GMC fitness to practice investigations are perceived as a complete nightmare and unfair, there is a high rate of suicide amongst drs under investigation.
Partly because the victims/ family/ press can prefer to have a 'bad apple' responsible rather than a conclusion that no individual was to blame and everyone should continue working.
And partly the reaction from colleagues who can be unfairly critical, I think partly due to relief it wasn't them.

How do you handle this in aviation if a crew member makes a human mistake? Is the investigation done in such a way to reduce stress on them? How is it handled if someone is harmed and the family/ press think someone should be blamed?

Just off to work but will reply about your daughter later :)

I love the Martin Bromiley video. What an amazing man to use his experience and try and ensure more and more people learn from it. The NHS is learning though, check out the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, I think the chief Investigator is from an aviation background.

This is a really interesting thread. I particularly like reading about the management systems in aviation, and how anyone of any rank can confidently report an issue.

I work in an organisation where the exact opposite is the case- management are incredibly closed minded and take feedback badly. I plucked up the courage to raise something with my manager last week, and was told to leave if I don’t like it. I won’t make the mistake of expressing an opinion again!!

Another fascinating AMA thread - no questions, but thanks for all your detailed answers, OP

Regarding medicine, I see it as a calling

I don't believe its a calling. In fact most people I know who are in medicine are embarrassed when someone suggests it is.

The medic amongst my lot couldn't decide between flying or medicine but in the end medicine was his choice. There was no 'calling' about it but he's very happy in his career and has never said he'd wished he'd followed his siblings into flying. He made a level headed decision to go into medicine and that was it.

Love that you have a work voice and a home voice!

I was on a flight and my son was one of 3 in the cockpit because it was a training flight. Someone made and announcement that wasn't great and I said to my daughter jeez, thank god that wasn't your brother.

It was.

Am I correct in thinking you can't be a pilot if you are colour blind? Or have I made this up??

Thank you

I would also encourage a career in Air Traffic Control (NATS). Incredibly talented people.

This is where DH works, although he's management and not a trained ATCO. He agrees that it's a great career - interesting, lots of opportunity for progression, good shift pattern, excellent salary.

ATC must be one of the most stressful jobs... all that responsibility!

@drumandthebass
As far as I know you are correct. A quick search of the CAA website would confirm the medical requirements.

@PolkerrisBeach
@ihatethecold
I am sure it is quite demanding but just like the people flying the airplanes, they are highly trained and follow their procedures diligently. I have flown all over the world and it still amazes me at how professional and talented UK ATC are.

And not always on strike like the French...

I'm an ATCO in the UK, alexd112 I may have spoken to you.
I'm definitely happier on my side of the RT. I love flying but wouldn't want to actually fly it. Although I am jealous of the better view you get. I did a fam flight up to Manchester once that was good

CoffeeTable wow I could never in a million years do what your do, so much responsibility! How on earth do you deal with the pressure having to juggle everything? I thought what happened with Peter Nielsen heartbreaking for everyone.

ATC was my dream job, I got through the initial testing but was unable to relocate down south so didn't bother attending. Still fantasises about it now!

It's busy, and you are working hard, but I never feel 'stressed' as such. We are part of an incredible team - my colleagues sat next to me, the other controllers working the airspace next to mine, and of course the pilots we are talking to. I know that I am highly trained and am confident to get the job done, and when I walk out of the door at the end of my shift I don't need to think about work anymore, I particularly like that about it.

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

Lots of positives to a medical career. Interesting every day, variety, secure career, great camaraderie with colleagues, when you do it well it feels a real pleasure to help your patients, lots of career opportunities, feels fantastic to have a meaningful role in people's lives.

I am really glad I've done medicine. However I now work very part time as I have kids and I chose my speciality with work/ life balance and part time work in mind.
When I worked full time I suffered from anxiety and spent my weekends worrying that I'd made a mistake.

I actually recommend not seeing medicine as a calling. The colleagues I knew who saw it as a calling worked exceptionally hard, stayed late, sacrificed their personal lives, tried to personally make up for NHS deficiencies, and in some cases suffered burn out, mental heath difficulties, drug addiction, suicide.. I see it as a job, an important job which I strive to do my best, but a job which I leave when I go home, and I would leave entirely if it wasn't suiting me anymore.

I definitely recommend your daughter applies for medicine if she is keen as it can be a great rewarding career, but keeps it in perspective. When she chooses her speciality be sure to consider what kind of work life balance she wants and how progressive each speciality is.

There is certainly a growing recognition of stress and burnout, supporting doctors in difficulty, the types of good working environments that you have in aviation, and by the time your daughter qualifies I'm sure things will be much improved.

In terms of getting in, it's too competitive and good candidates are turned away through no fault of their own. Having the best grades she can achieve, extracurricular activities and work experience and/ or relevant volunteer work is important.

Consider other healthcare careers too, a friend is a senior SALT and has a really interesting job, lots of autonomy and a much better degree of support and workload protection then I do!

I attended a selection day with the RAF and was told I should apply for ATC/ navigator roles as I scored very well on the assessments for that (multitasking tracking several moving things on a screen whilst doing maths, I can't remember what else they assessed).

I still sometimes wonder if it would have been a better choice for me!

Question for ATC people: I love the show breaking bad, but (spoiler) there was an episode where a character who had suffered a bereavement returner to an ATC job very early, couldn't cope and caused a plane crash. Is this nonsense, I imagine there are systems to ensure one person doesn't cause a crash with a brief loss of concentration, and after a bereavement/ serious illness you would have some assessment before returning to work?

My DH watched that and told me - I said it was daft.
We use software that monitors all clearances we give to aircraft (with deviation alerts if they are not doing what we have instructed), there is conflict detection built into the radar processing, and we work as a pair so there is always an extra set of eyes. The aircraft also have TCAS onboard as well.
Staff well-being is essential. If you're not feeling at your best, you don't plug in and control.

I hate flying
I cry every time
This is probably because my dh is an aircraft engineer
Is there anything you’d like to ask him about your plane?

Glad to hear it coffee.
I hate it when TV doesn't even make an effort to make things realistic. A bit of dramatic licence is fine, but it should be vaguely plausible!

This is probably because my dh is an aircraft engineer

My lot are almost all in aviation. Pilots, engineers and cabin crew. My husband was also an engineer. I used to be a terrified flyer but over the years it just became such a normal thing in our house, there were people coming and going daily, that somewhere along the line I stopped being afraid. I don’t even know when it happened and if anyone had told me that one day I’d fly with 4 of my lot on board and one signing the aircraft off I’d never have believed them because at one time I’d be saying oh my god no, we can't all travel together, something might happen.

It was so bad I wouldn’t even go to the loo in case I made the plane bounce up and down.