Why pilots get paid so much

Almost every commercial plane is automated. This includes most functions of take off, landing and in flight management. Pilots are highly trained so that when the shit hits the fan, they know what to do and carry it out with surgical precision.

This flight was a Thompsons flight from Manchester to Lanzerotte. When it sped down the runway to takeoff, a bird was sucked into the right engine causing an engine failure.

Listen to the pilot and you will understand why they get paid so much. And they damned well deserve it. They are a breed apart from the rest of us.

If you watch closely, you will see that the engine starts spitting out flames immediately after sucking in the bird. At this point it is too late to reject the takeoff, the plane has already been rotated and pointed skyward. This is the worst nightmare for pilots as it leaves you in a shitty situation. You only have one option, get the plane in the air, deal with the engine failure and try to come back around and land. While planes can fly on just one engine, it is far from ideal, especially on take off as the power is halved and the plane handles like a bitch as it will turn right easily, but will take effort to turn it left as the right engine is not working.

While the plane spits out flames, the engine is still one. You will see that the plane takes off, the wheels are retracted and the pilots immediately run through the engine shut down procedure. Before the wheels are even in the wheel bay, the right engine has successfully been shut down and the pilot makes the mayday call.

In my opinion, this is an excellent example of well planned procedure and emergency management. They do not fuck around or even pause for a second. They are straight onto the task at hand, dealing with it with lightening speed.

Think about this next time you book a flight. Pay that little bit extra to go with a good airline. When I came to the philippines, I booked with British Airways as I know their pilots are some of the best in the business. Most have been pilots with the RAF which is how they had enough flight hours under their belt before moving in to commercial airlines.