Dear readers,
These past few weeks have felt a little bit like we are all back in high school. After the accident in Toronto, there has been a lot of speculation, misinformation and rumors surrounding the pilots with regards to their backgrounds and experience levels.
When I was learning to fly, one of the first lessons I learned was to avoid judging another pilot's mistakes, as I could make the same errors one day. Instead, focus on learning from their mistakes. Remember, it’s not if you will have an incident or accident, it’s when!
I was in recurrent training last weekend, and after class a couple of female pilots were mentioning how some passengers have disrespected them by saying things like, “You’re a DEI hire, aren’t you?” This is unacceptable and as a pilot group, we need to stick together and defend our fellow qualified pilots.
We don’t have all the facts yet for the accident in Toronto, but we do know that the names of the pilots were leaked, which is extremely unprofessional. We won’t know the facts until the Canadian TSB releases the documents. Until then, withhold your opinions, be kind to your fellow pilots, and do not contribute to the spread of rumors.
Rumors, gossip and speculation can mentally and physically destroy a person. Before you click send with the latest “info” you just received, ask yourself this; “If this were my spouse, my child, my parent, my loved one, would I share it?”
Fly Safe (as always and now more than ever),
Craig Pieper
