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Old 19th November 2005 | 18:21
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Georgeablelovehowindia
Death Cruiser Flight Crew
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Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Vaucluse, France.
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You're correct, the episode was called "Jet Jockeys" and it caused a bit of a furore in the airline pilot fraternity in Britain. The director concerned set out with an agenda to show the pilots in a less than favourable light and succeeded.

Great play was made of the autopilot being engaged early in the climbout, the time spent in the rest bunk while the 747 droned through the night, the uneventful landing into BKK, and then the confusion on the ground frequency over which gate they were parking at. The clear implication was that the aeroplane took care of itself for the whole flight and then the dozy pilots couldn't manage the easy bit at the end.

Off duty in Bangkok was a potential minefield of course! However the crew were briefed not to go anywhere near Patpong - the 'Red Light' district - and staunchly resisted the film crew's pleas to be taken there. They did allow themselves to be filmed having a drink and surprise, surprise, the beers which they ordered were substituted by the director for some ridiculous cocktails with parasols stuck in the top. Finally, there was the slagging-off by ATC in Oz.

The episode duly went out, followed a month or so later, by the captain concerned writing to the BALPA Log, detailing the 'stitch-up.' Suffice to say it vividly demonstrated to the rest of us the perils of dealing with the media, and it led to a marked reticence to feature in such programmes in the future.

I suppose "The Pilots" pandered to the pomposity of the era and "Jet Jockeys" went to the opposite extreme. You can gather that from the respective titles, can't you?
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