Editor—A day in the life of a hospital consultant: is it so different from that of an airline pilot?1 Awake from a restless night. Study the latest directive from the flying tsar. Finish off writing lecture notes on emergency landing procedures. Set off to airport via a charity coffee morning to receive cheque to buy a new pilot seat.
Arrive Stansted. Pilots' car park full of ground crews' cars, so have to park some way away and walk to check-in.
Take morning flight to Paris. Mid-channel find out that there is only one trained air steward in the cabin and the rest are steward assistants; go back to help. Standing room only because of 30 overbookings.
Land; sprint across tarmac and take 9 am flight to Copenhagen. During flight do two appraisals of navigators, answer 10 written complaints about cuisine, and lecture flight staff about latest safety procedures.
Land at Copenhagen. Race across tarmac and take 11 15 am flight to Brussels. Land 1 pm on two sets of wheels as one set now 15 years old (application to lottery fund for new set failed). Receive round of applause for good landing and a writ from a passenger whose duty free goods fell on his head.
Take flight to Athens. Co-pilot is new style trainee with 10 minutes' flying experience. During flight talk down two other landings because staff are inexperienced.
Arrive Athens 3 pm. Immediate turn-round. Flight back to London Stansted 7 pm. Find car wheel clamped. No problem as bleep went off and I had to take emergency cargo flight to Glasgow. Big bonus: I was able to wave goodnight to the children as I flew over the house. Arrive Glasgow in the early hours of the morning; canteen shut so grab stale sandwich from vending machine and try to grab an hour's sleep in airport terminal chair.
Still, it was better than yesterday.
Footnotes
colin.trask@southend.nhs.uk
References
- 1.McDonald E. One pilot son, one medical son. BMJ. 2002;324:1105. . (4 May.) [Google Scholar]