Though of course, it all began when an airmail pilot in the State of Washington was offered an incentive to fly a man to a very important meeting in California.....(the only seat available was on top of the mail bags)
The pilot said "Well, I guess if my ass gets there, yours will too....."
Well, exactly. The 'responsibility for hundreds of pax' can be overstated - the pilot wants to get there in piece too! I'm reminded of my mate, retired BA captain who, when asked what it's like to fly that awfully big jumbo jet with hundreds of pax in it says "I just fly this little bit at the front, and the rest of it sort of follows along".