If people are going to take everything seriously
Paddy I think it's a bit like one of us making a spoof alert call, telling you we're about to crash, then saying 'only joking'. If a BA pilot pulled that stunt, reports would soon wing their way to your management, don't you think?
Once you've opened your mouth and made an inappropriate remark, as I well know, you can't take it back and expect everything to stay the same.