5 answers
Kristopher
Student
Astoria, Oregon
1
Question
Updated
920 views
How is being a commercial pilot Questions.
1. Does it get scary at times?
2.do you feel safe while flying ?
3.How do pilots deal with stressful situations?
5 answers
Greg Marion
Captain at Spirit Airlines
13
Answers
Brentwood, California
Updated
Greg’s Answer
Hello Kristopher, there are times when things can get a little tense, but that happens in a lot of occupations. As you gain more experience and continue your training, you use those skills to help get through the challenging times. Stress can be dealt with in many ways. Getting exercise and eating right can help. It also helps to talk to your coworkers or others to help you alleviate your concerns.
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1738
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Kristopher,
I was a police officer at the airport. Speaking from experience in law enforcement, I will tell you that when "it" happens, you don't have time to stress out over it. Your training kicks in, and you do what's necessary to get through the moment, also relying on your team - co-pilot, and other flight crew. When it's all over, especially after your first incident or two, the severity of the situation sinks in and you just sort of sit there in disbelief. Those first few incidents will add to your self-confidence over the years, so, not only do you rely on training, but also, experience.
In your flight training, you will use a flight simulator, and face emergencies. So, you will have handled them before, just, not for real. As to feeling safe, you have to have confidence in the other components of the program. That includes your flight crew, but also your aircraft mechanics, the ground handlers, and Air Traffic Control.
If it's something you want to do, go for it! And, possibly consider going into the military first. The military will instill self-confidence in you, and hopefully give you some aircraft related training.
I was a police officer at the airport. Speaking from experience in law enforcement, I will tell you that when "it" happens, you don't have time to stress out over it. Your training kicks in, and you do what's necessary to get through the moment, also relying on your team - co-pilot, and other flight crew. When it's all over, especially after your first incident or two, the severity of the situation sinks in and you just sort of sit there in disbelief. Those first few incidents will add to your self-confidence over the years, so, not only do you rely on training, but also, experience.
In your flight training, you will use a flight simulator, and face emergencies. So, you will have handled them before, just, not for real. As to feeling safe, you have to have confidence in the other components of the program. That includes your flight crew, but also your aircraft mechanics, the ground handlers, and Air Traffic Control.
If it's something you want to do, go for it! And, possibly consider going into the military first. The military will instill self-confidence in you, and hopefully give you some aircraft related training.
Sikawayi Williams
Counselor
227
Answers
Hampton, Virginia
Updated
Sikawayi’s Answer
Hello Kristopher, this is an excellent question. As you know right now some airlines are in the middle of negotiations with the piolets to keep them flying, the piolet's say it's unsafe to fly the aircraft the way the airlines are asking them to. Some piolets are already on strike because the staff on the plane has gone from 10 people to less than 5 their contracts call for full staffing upon take off. Best of luck
Aftab Ursani
Flight EngineerB747 at Japan Airlines
42
Answers
Torrance, California
Updated
Aftab’s Answer
1. Fear is state of mind that mainly comes from Not Knowing what is going on. As pilot you understand your machine and therefore there is no fear during Normal operation of airplane. If abnormal and emergency operation has happened, then pilots have memory and written check list to perform. Pilot needs to be ahead of the airplane and needs to know what to expect in next minutes and hours.
Joseph Neilson
Radiation Detection Physicist
219
Answers
Oxford, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
I'm not a pilot, but do have an interest in aviation, and watch a range of aviation YouTube videos including some by a couple of commercial pilots - Mentour Aviation and Captain Joe. I think they're great resources for discovering more about the work of commercial aviators and maybe answering questions like these.
From what I've seen, I'd say in terms of the actual flying, probably commercial pilots don't really find moments scary. There's a lot of training and preparedness goes into commercial aviation, and statistically it's about the safest method of transport there is. There are so many safety features and procedures that have been set up to keep everyone safe and make everything rather smooth and routine - a lot would have to go wrong before a commercial pilot was in a situation where they're likely to feel scared. I'd guess a commercial pilot is more likely going to be scared by other aspects of the job - things like worries about failing their medicals are going to be bigger scares. I hear one of the scariest moments in piloting is what happens if you mess up significantly, even if everyone is fine - getting told a phone number to call to investigate your potential pilot deviation - that strikes fear into any pilot.
It's a quite different world in light aircraft general aviation, however - although pilots are still trained to include a large safety margin and not to fly outside of their "minimums", I think a lot of general aviation pilots experience moments when things aren't going to plan and it can get a bit scary.
From what I've seen, I'd say in terms of the actual flying, probably commercial pilots don't really find moments scary. There's a lot of training and preparedness goes into commercial aviation, and statistically it's about the safest method of transport there is. There are so many safety features and procedures that have been set up to keep everyone safe and make everything rather smooth and routine - a lot would have to go wrong before a commercial pilot was in a situation where they're likely to feel scared. I'd guess a commercial pilot is more likely going to be scared by other aspects of the job - things like worries about failing their medicals are going to be bigger scares. I hear one of the scariest moments in piloting is what happens if you mess up significantly, even if everyone is fine - getting told a phone number to call to investigate your potential pilot deviation - that strikes fear into any pilot.
It's a quite different world in light aircraft general aviation, however - although pilots are still trained to include a large safety margin and not to fly outside of their "minimums", I think a lot of general aviation pilots experience moments when things aren't going to plan and it can get a bit scary.
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