At the risk of courting flaming I'm going to be even more controversial than my earlier post #49
Is it right to even hail the flight crew as heroic at all?. Were they not just doing their job, that they are well (exceptionally well IMHO) paid to do and that they regular practice for such eventualities?
If I do something at work that is part of my job (no matter how off the normal routine or unusual it is) then it is exactly that; it is part of my job that I am trained for, have experience in and am remunerated as such - and I would not expect hero status. But if a situation arose where I was suddenly unavailable and a junior stepped in and handled this hypothetical crisis with calmness and "saved the day" then that would be different.
Similarly if a firefighter carried off a rescue of someone from a burning building following all procedures and training to effect this, is he/she or hero? - or were they just doing their job? -
their chosen profession?. But if a member of the public with no specialist training managed the same thing? - that to me deserves hero status.
Now apply that thinking to BA038. The pilots did their job, they have received very thorough training and regular emergency practice for, and the flight crew are rigorously vetted and tested for these required cool-headed abilities during the initial selection process. Heros eh? Just a thought.........
With respect.
Unless your job involves a high pressure quick decision making process that could result in hundreds of deaths,then the comparisons you've made are irrelevant.