Originally Posted by Firesysok
You fools need to remember that you cannot and will never have regular every-day pilots screened to this level. Your precious low, low ticket prices reflect this. If you want astronauts then be prepared to pay as if you were going to the moon or further.
Nor will the airlines install biometric command-and-control iPads in the loo ceiling, replete with fingerprint and retinal scans that need authentication by each stewardess before the pilot comes out to drop a deuce.
If this comment represents the new breed of Professional Pilots, we are in bad shape.
There are plenty of us that got into aviation because we love flight. Being granted a pilot certificate, whether private or ATP with a bunch of types on the back, is a great privilege.
If more money is required to keep psychologically stable folks in the cockpit, I ask how much money? And are wealthier pilots more psychologically stable or motivated?
There isn't one solution. You need pilot screening at hire time, recurring screening as part of the medical process, keeping 2+ people in the cabin at all times, and possibly a big fire axe. Many of these are already in place.
As for paying for astronauts, I submit that many astronauts earn far less than many professional pilots flying set routes. Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong didn't earn much as test pilots. Were they poor pilots?