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Get Race Quotas Out Of The Cockpit Before We Literally Crash And Burn
[Federalist] Starting in 2020, airlines did two insanely stupid things: They forced a generation of their most experienced pilots into early retirement, then committed to new race-based hiring rules.A wagon train sounds more appealing to me right now than setting foot on a plane with a pilot more trained in detecting microaggressions at work than changes in airspeed and altitude. I hate flying. My poor husband still has a sore arm from where I grabbed him every time the plane hit turbulence on our last flight. I didn’t always hate it — I used to fly across the country to and from college constantly without thinking about it. I’d fly to Europe without stressing about anything other than how bored I’d be for 12 hours. The Chuck Yeager voice of the calm pilot telling me to put my seatbelt on was reassuring. I was in good hands — the best. But after one super bumpy flight through a storm cloud during a landing in Paris, I developed a fear of turbulence. This led to me falling into a plane crash rabbit hole. I learned about every gruesome plane crash from the last 50 years. I began to try to find out what caused most crashes, in a vain attempt to prevent having to go out like that. What brings down an airplane? 9/11: al-Qaida terrorists. The American Airlines crash right after 9/11 out of JFK airport in New York: pilot error. The terrible Air France flight from South America: frozen pitot tubes and pilot error. The Calgon Air crash: ice and pilot error. The miracle on the Hudson: fat geese. The miracle on the Hudson flight confirmed that in the unlikely event of a flight mishap, having a skilled pilot is literally your only hope. This is why the degrading of pilot training and hiring in America fills me with existential dread. Since the pandemic-induced early buyouts of older and extremely experienced commercial pilots, I’ve been extra jumpy. Days before a flight, I start checking the turbulence maps to preview my fate. Looking at weather reports. Trying to figure out how old my actual plane will be and what its safety record is. I don’t fly certain airlines or during certain times of year (summer is thunderstorm season). You could not pay me to take an equator-crossing flight or one near Singapore, both routes known for bad turbulence. You might say I am a neurotic lunatic, that this is no way to live — and you’d be right. But I promise you that if you ever fly with me, know that my frantic prayers are the only thing keeping that metal tube from plummeting to the ground. Posted by: Besoeker 2023-07-19 |
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