Article by Simon Calder of the Independent
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I think it's also worth pointing out that a junior doctor is just that - ie junior. One day he/she may well rise to become a senior consultant earning £300,000 a year in private practice. A very senior captain may enjoy a salary rising to £100,000 after 20 years service with an airline, assuming that the airline doesn't go bankrupt during that period. Would be interesting to see a comparison of life expectancy after retirement of the two groups.
Furthermore, Mr Calder is a graduate of Crawley Tech College (or perhaps it's University of Crawley these days) which has a proven track record of producing high flying academic achievers supplied to key posts within the cleaning industry!
Furthermore, Mr Calder is a graduate of Crawley Tech College (or perhaps it's University of Crawley these days) which has a proven track record of producing high flying academic achievers supplied to key posts within the cleaning industry!
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To put Mr. Calders knowledge in to perspective, I personally have never taken him seriously since he did a travel show on BBC1. I forget the name but it was broadcast from Terminal 1 at Manchester Airport.
He sat extolling the virtues of Sky Europe and announced they flew from Manchester to Salzburg and from London to Bratislava and Krakow, seemingly oblivious to the fact they also served both those destinations from the airport he was sat in.
Brilliant journalism.
He sat extolling the virtues of Sky Europe and announced they flew from Manchester to Salzburg and from London to Bratislava and Krakow, seemingly oblivious to the fact they also served both those destinations from the airport he was sat in.
Brilliant journalism.
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How many minutes/hours did the good Dr spend with knife in hand doing Dr things this month? How many tests did he require and how long did he delay the decision before he would consider making that cut? How much risk did he incure personally?
How many people could he kill with one poor decision?
How many people could he kill with one poor decision?
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I wish people would stop trying to compare professions based on how many could die by bad decision making.
That in reality has stuff all to do with it. Being a surgeon is far more nerve racking than doing our job. There are very few single decisions we make that could lead to catastrophe, whereas they literally have someones life in their hands on a daily basis.
So enough of the whinging about Doctors and Surgeons. The point here has been about rubbish journalism not about comparing one profession to another.
Oh and one point, surgeons are refered to as Mr not Dr.
That in reality has stuff all to do with it. Being a surgeon is far more nerve racking than doing our job. There are very few single decisions we make that could lead to catastrophe, whereas they literally have someones life in their hands on a daily basis.
So enough of the whinging about Doctors and Surgeons. The point here has been about rubbish journalism not about comparing one profession to another.
Oh and one point, surgeons are refered to as Mr not Dr.
I Have Control
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Decisions decisions
It's not purely decisions that pilots make/don't make that can cause catastrophe. There's the small matter of hand-foot-eye co-ordination when taking-off/landing the beast, plus a myriad of clumsy or inappropriate physical actions which can start the ball rolling towards a big mess.
Surgeons also have very demanding jobs which are simply not comparable, and Calder's tabloid-standard journalism which tries to draw comparisons should not be taken too seriously.
(Incidentally, surgeons are labelled as Mr., because historically their job was done by barbers, who were not considered sufficiently skilled to be addressed as Dr.. )
Surgeons also have very demanding jobs which are simply not comparable, and Calder's tabloid-standard journalism which tries to draw comparisons should not be taken too seriously.
(Incidentally, surgeons are labelled as Mr., because historically their job was done by barbers, who were not considered sufficiently skilled to be addressed as Dr.. )
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I'll have to admit that I initially only scanned the article, which happened to be a bit of toilet reading material a few days ago. Considering (a) that the headline was "Let sleeping pilots lie - you're more at risk on the motorway", and (b) that Simon Calder is a well known journalist who likes to make provocative points:
1) Is it really surprising that he is going to take a couple of cheap shots as pilots? Excuse the pun, but shouldn't you just rise above it?
2) Hasn't everyone missed the key point, namely that for all the concerns which might be quite legitimately raised over working hours, the aviation industry is actually incredibly safe. Speaking of motorways, any ideas why car insurance premiums for journalists tend to be so ridiculously high?
I also don't think that the medical comparisons take account of relative risk. If I go into hospital for an operation, I am hoping that the procedure will make me better - but there is also a very high chance that it will not, or that I will catch a superbug, or that other complications will develop.
Pilots might be responsible for the lives of hundreds of passengers, but thankfully most flights pass without incident - and even if there are issues, how many times are these resolved between pilot and ATC, with 99% of pax being none the wiser? The worst experiences most passengers will have to deal with from a lifetime of flying are a bit of turbulence, and maybe a missed approach or two (even that has to be about 1 per 1000 sectors? - please correct me if I'm wrong).
I don't see what is wrong with asking questions about safety - the reality is that when any system is imposed, it very rarely gets revoked, even if the benefits are minimal. As many commentators have quite rightly pointed out, airlines and their staff have to follow the regulations, and they have to take responsibility for their customers whilst they are onboard. But if governments really wanted to reduce the risks of travelling, safety briefings would be at the end of the flight, and they would be about the very real risks associated with getting into hire cars and driving on the "wrong" side of unfamiliar roads, being conned by scam artists, falling foul of local laws, getting drunk on unfamiliar local tipple, and so on.
Perhaps that's another point for another time, but considering how much the Indy likes to make this whole industry the sole global warming scapegoat, I'd actually be quite grateful for an argument pointing out just how safely passengers are dealt with by the hugely professional crews who operate our flights. And let's not forget that the very same Mr Calder also took to the podium to defend people's freedom to fly at last year's Tory party conference.
So before you get the red ink out, I'd remember that the industry has as many reasons to show Mr Calder gratitude as it does to slag him off.
1) Is it really surprising that he is going to take a couple of cheap shots as pilots? Excuse the pun, but shouldn't you just rise above it?
2) Hasn't everyone missed the key point, namely that for all the concerns which might be quite legitimately raised over working hours, the aviation industry is actually incredibly safe. Speaking of motorways, any ideas why car insurance premiums for journalists tend to be so ridiculously high?
I also don't think that the medical comparisons take account of relative risk. If I go into hospital for an operation, I am hoping that the procedure will make me better - but there is also a very high chance that it will not, or that I will catch a superbug, or that other complications will develop.
Pilots might be responsible for the lives of hundreds of passengers, but thankfully most flights pass without incident - and even if there are issues, how many times are these resolved between pilot and ATC, with 99% of pax being none the wiser? The worst experiences most passengers will have to deal with from a lifetime of flying are a bit of turbulence, and maybe a missed approach or two (even that has to be about 1 per 1000 sectors? - please correct me if I'm wrong).
I don't see what is wrong with asking questions about safety - the reality is that when any system is imposed, it very rarely gets revoked, even if the benefits are minimal. As many commentators have quite rightly pointed out, airlines and their staff have to follow the regulations, and they have to take responsibility for their customers whilst they are onboard. But if governments really wanted to reduce the risks of travelling, safety briefings would be at the end of the flight, and they would be about the very real risks associated with getting into hire cars and driving on the "wrong" side of unfamiliar roads, being conned by scam artists, falling foul of local laws, getting drunk on unfamiliar local tipple, and so on.
Perhaps that's another point for another time, but considering how much the Indy likes to make this whole industry the sole global warming scapegoat, I'd actually be quite grateful for an argument pointing out just how safely passengers are dealt with by the hugely professional crews who operate our flights. And let's not forget that the very same Mr Calder also took to the podium to defend people's freedom to fly at last year's Tory party conference.
So before you get the red ink out, I'd remember that the industry has as many reasons to show Mr Calder gratitude as it does to slag him off.
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Doctors Vs Pilots
Dear Mr Calder,
Please note the following points to help you overcome your ignorance:
1) Doctors dont undergo breathaliser tests or have biannual medicals.
2) An operation theatre does not travel at Mach.86 at 41000 feet in a thunderstorm.
3)Doctors are not monitored through voice or data recorders
3) Doctors dont suffer from Jet Lag
4) Pilots cannot kill passengers one evening and walk off to the nearest pub for a drink with the mates.
5)Pilots often pay with their OWN lives for making mistakes.
Please note the following points to help you overcome your ignorance:
1) Doctors dont undergo breathaliser tests or have biannual medicals.
2) An operation theatre does not travel at Mach.86 at 41000 feet in a thunderstorm.
3)Doctors are not monitored through voice or data recorders
3) Doctors dont suffer from Jet Lag
4) Pilots cannot kill passengers one evening and walk off to the nearest pub for a drink with the mates.
5)Pilots often pay with their OWN lives for making mistakes.
