Originally Posted by
757FO
Here's one I forgot to share from the summer. DYKWIA's come in many forms, sometimes even as kids...
Flight delay because there is a line of thunderstorms between us and the destination with no good options around it. I make a PA in the gate area explaining why we haven’t boarded yet. A young kid (maybe 16) and his mom walk up to me afterward, mom says “he’s a pilot and he wants to have a word with you.” I turn to him, he has Foreflight open (Foreflight is an app that primarily general aviation pilots use for weather, navigation, etc) and says “Weather at the destination is VFR….” I ask to see his iPad, turn on the radar feature, and slide to the left. “If you see a way around this line of weather you come get me.”
His mom said I was dismissive, and that his son was going to the Naval Academy to fly F-18s and I should take him more seriously. I explained that at 16 he was not a licensed pilot, but a student, and still had much more to learn. Upon landing, he made a point of telling me my landing was firm! (I mean it was, but still....)
There's a certain irony in that statement, given they've just taken you seriously enough to tell you you're doing your job wrong. 🤦♀️