Ah yes... the press!
Obviously a fortune has been invested by the Telegraph Travel Section into an undercover, investigative report by a team of crack (addicted?) journalists based on hard evidence into this topic.
Shame on the tabloid editors who didn't pick up on it first!
So, here we have an un-named taxi driver who claims he is "always picking up drunk pilots and taking them to work". If he was so concerned why didn't he reported these pilots to the appropriate authorities? Probably because the journalist (this term is used so loosely that 'lying, no-hoper' would probably be more accurate) who invented this cabbie, and his/her editor were desparate for anything in order to fabricate some 'news'.
Just look at the facts as presented: 12-15 professional pilots a year out of over 10,000 lose their licence because of alcohol abuse according ot the CAA. That works out to 0.15%. Just to clarify for the mentally challenged journalists amongst us... that is
nought point one five of one percent nationally. Therefore, this unnamed 'cabbie' (more likely figment of the journalists drink and drug abused mind) who is "always picking up airline crew and pilots from bars and taking them straight to work" just happens to beat odds that would make a lottery winner seem unlucky. Assuming that that by 'always' he means once a week (and that's being generous) that one of the crews he picks up is from a bar and inebriated enought to be noticable, that means... errr... you work out the odds, I'm too drunk and I've got to go to work in five minutes.
How a rag like the Telegraph could let an article such as this be published without checking facts or maintaining standards of accuracy as laid down by their news depratment is surprising... or is it? As has often been stated here on PPRuNe, most of the media never let the truth get in the way of a good story. A pity that some of their more talented and honest journalists are tainted by association.
If you have information on journalists twisiting facts and making up stories before publishing, contact the
Press Complaints Commission on 020 7353 3732 or write to The Daily Telegraph Travel Desk, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5DT, or email
[email protected] and point out how utterly barmy and pathetic they are!
