Do you think the controller involved in your incident should be fired? The controllers involved in the scenario that protect the hornet mentioned?
Were they being unprofessional? or did they make a mistake? There IS a difference.
The controller in my case issued correct clearances, it was the pilot of the conflicting traffic that missed the runway change. And the pilot's landing clearance acknowledgment wasn't exactly by the book, but made sense
assuming it was made in the context of the current information. And the controller made exactly that assumption, which, of course, was a very wrong thing to do. It wasn't premeditated, the other pilot's phraseology, unfortunately, was customary for the airport; and had I not made the assumption that I had missed something and the controller knew better, nothing would've happened. Anyways, at the end, the controller told the other pilot to "phone the tower", so I knew the issue wasn't swept under the rug, and it was OK by me then (8 years ago).
In protectthehornet's case, there was no premeditation either, but all the probing by the DC10 crew absolutely should've lighted all the red lights and triggered all the warning bells in the controllers' heads, yet it didn't happen. So I think they were totally unfit for the job and decertification was justified.
And in this JFK case, it was a deliberate and wanton breach of rules and regulations, so I'll have even less problems with these guys being fired.
I might aswell say..."Don't assume the pilot is any more focused as they might aswell be looking up new crewing schedules whilst overflying their airport".
Dosen't really reflect the industry as a whole?
If you think that I'm saying pilots are a superior species, you're missing my point by a mile. And yes, that would be totally fair to assume they're looking up new crewing schedules overflying the destination airport. Particularly if they're doing it NORDO and at a cruising altitude. Anyway, the rule they teach you at motorcycle riders courses "on the road, everybody wants to kill you" might be a good rule of thumb in the air, too.
And as for the industry, my airborne ass is always first, and any industry is a very distant second.