ABSTRACT

The most precious thing to a pilot, and especially the captain of an airliner, is his or her ego! Nothing feeds or destroys that ego quicker than the quality of the last landing. This little anecdote probably exemplifies that point more than any other I can think of. Following a particularly hard landing, the captain, trying to maintain some sense of dignity, pulls himself up and moves to the cockpit door. As the captain, he knew his company required him to thank the passengers as they deplaned. Still smarting from his embarrassing landing he did all he could to avoid eye contact with the passengers as they passed him on their way out of the airplane. Feeling somewhat relieved that there were no comments, he felt that maybe he was home free. Finally, the last passenger, a little old lady using a cane, approached him and said, “Sonny I have a question.” “Yes ma’am,” replied the captain. “What can I do for you?” The passenger responded, “Were we shot down or did we land?”