The point I was 'trying to make' ( though obviously not very well - i.e. I'll admit that in my previous post I used the term 'pax' too loosely, in as much that there are indeed occasionally people in the cabin with experience which is pertinent and we're all the better for them being there too ) is that just because some 'laymen' ( n: A person without professional or specialised knowledge in a particular subject ) perceives that it's unsafe doesn't mean that it is; Though, conceptually, whizzing about at the speed of a bullet, several miles above the Earth, in a pressurised aluminium tube, is seemingly a ridiculously dangerous way to travel.
Nb. W.r.t. to the psychology and flying, I was once told that aircraft manufacturers try very hard to make the pax forget the above by hiding all the control cables, etc., from view behind nice plastic panelling, i.e. sanitising the raw machine, whereas submarine manufacturers try their hardest to remind submariners at every moment that they're operating in a dangerous environment by leaving all the pipe work on view - interesting huh ?
That said, just because somebody in the cabin sees another aircraft in the sky, and that to them it might seem close, does not mean from the professional / aeronautical view point that it is.
Also if we were to broadcast a PA to the cabin every time we passed another aircraft it'd actually (imho) become bloomin' irritating, e.g "yep folks, out on the left there's another one heading our way"..... a short while later ..... "and there's another one, looks close but no need to worry"..... ditto ..... "and here comes another one" - gimme a break ! - and what if you then pass one close-by but didn't say anything (eating your dinner, or whatever) you'll almost certainly then have Johnny pax saying "Uhm, guess they didn't see that one coming, just what are they doing up there, it looked real close to me, I'm gonna write in and complain that they obviously aren't paying attention !".
Indeed, sometimes you're so busy in the flight deck ( reading the paper, doing the crossword ? ) that other aircraft just whoosh by and your none the wiser, and also some TCAS systems only go out to 5Nm so by the time you locate your target, in time to make a nice PA, it's gone past - but there's bound to be some eagle-eyed pax in the back who sees it and believes you were dead-on a collision course, and that it was only 'luck' that kept you both apart - despite the fact that ATC didn't feel the need to say anything to you about another aircraft and that the TCAS didn't even squeak.
As per my previous addition, it typically takes years to become an airline pilot, and we then similarly spend
years in the air plying our trade, so it just seems a bit temeritous(?) to have somebody who maybe only flies a few times a year ( possibly doing less airmiles and flights than we do in a busy summer week ) suggest that you risked their lives by flying 'too close' to another aircraft and that they're going to write to your company to complain about you - err, run that by me again ?!
Now w.r.t. Kegworth, yes the pax might have noticed that the left ( or was it the right, or number 1 or number 2 ? ) engine was chucking out flames / sparks, but the bigger problem ( as we all know - if you've done the CRM courses ) was the mix of experience levels on the flight deck, their characters, and how they handled their emergency.
That said, it did not help that
' They were not informed of the flames which had emanated from the No.1 engine and which had been observed by many on board, including 3 cabin attendants in the aft cabin.'
Veritably you or I could have been sitting in that cabin, looking out at the left donk, and it'd have made very little difference to the outcome ( which in part is why CRM's now so popular & required ).
W.r.t. flight training costs, if ones adds up the cost of the flying training and combines that with the loss of earnings during the for
one year, study period (i.e. you'll need money to live on) then I'll stand by the cost of £50k - and fyi I've got both UK & USA professional pilot licenses, and yes it is a lot cheaper in the USA, though it does also seem to be getting cheaper to get a license in Europe too.