Originally Posted by
Jonzarno
ALL I am saying is that a flight undertaken by ANY pilot is neither safer nor less safe PURELY AS A RESULT of whether the pilot is being paid or not.
I think we understand your point, but don't believe it is quite correct. The decision whether to cancel a flight or not is quite different where you are just giving your mates a joy ride, and can say "weather not good enough, lets go and have a drink in the clubhouse and come back next weekend", compared to paying 'passengers' turning up and expecting to be taken - particularly if you need the money, and are concerned about the 'fixer' saying they won't use you again.
I do remember quite some years ago when BA ran helicopters in the North Sea, pilots aborting an approach to a platform where there was a parked second chopper at one end and the lit flare stack was blowing over the other end. The oil company platform manager wrote to BA ops saying they were obviously unreliable and they wouldn't renew the contract. This got up to the BA Chairman, who wrote to the oil company Chairman putting things straight, and all hell let loose at the oil company, with the platform manager back home in Houston quicker than you could turn around.
Can you imagine McKay accepting that from Henderson ?