Shawn
Thanks for bringing up the topic, it's a well-worn subject and, as in the Gulf 139 case, has cost lives in the past, and most likely will cost lives again in the future.
Many of those who made the "wrong" decision have been remembered by friends and colleagues as one whom they thought would never have done such a thing - yet they did, and there's never an explanation available as to why. The scariest part of reading about accidents which have followed either a mechanical failure and subsequent emergency or poor decision-mkaing and subsequent emergency is wondering "What would I have done in the same situation?"
I know some people who scoff at what they see as the foolish performance of their peers, but if I've learned nothing else in the 51 years I've been on this earth, I've learned that there is nobody so perfect they can stand in judgement of others.
In practice, having had all sorts in the back over the years, offering an alternative is still the gentler and more effective way to let them down. As noted already, trenchant digging-in of heels tends not to go down too well.
Ultimately, there is no training for it. The day it happens, you'll have to take that nervous deep breath all on your own and try to hide your anxiety while you deliver what you hope will at least seem to be a calm and polite reason why they can't have exactly what they want.
The aircraft belongs to the company, the licence to fly it is mine.
Fly safe, all - and God speed to the departed!
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Last edited by heliski22; 11th Jun 2008 at 16:28.