Professionalism and flying

There have been several stories recently concerning professional pilots who have acted with a deficit of professionalism in the course of their duties.

In Atlanta, there was a jet that landed on a taxiway instead of the runway, needlessly putting slow moving airplanes in harm's way and then there's the crew who overflew their destination by 150 miles because, they claim, they were busy using their laptops???

Now, as a member of the human race I am just as capable of making a mistake (my wife might say even more than average), but I can't seem to wrap my head around what these pilots were thinking at the time. Yes, flying can be both fun and relaxing, but when you are pilot in command (PIC) of a bread and butter flight (i.e. one made for money), a certain level of performance is expected. These mistakes by seasoned aircrews, with 2 people checking each other's performance ranks on the amateur side of things.

Regardless of whether you are flying a Cessna 172 on 100 mile business trip, a King Air on a 500 mile excursion, or a Gulfstream traveling between the coasts, exhibit professionalism in your demeanor and behavior. Your passengers will be confident in your abilities and mistakes that might be made will be caught much earlier.

Clear skies and tailwinds!
Mike