Arguing pilots fly 150 miles past runway

[JoeRedskin]

For what it's worth, when my Dad, a pilot, retired from the Air Force, he apparently had opportunities to fly for a number of airlines. Many, many years later I asked him why he didn't do this. His response was, essentially, "because I didn't want to be an glorified bus driver, I'd be bored to tears" and that was with the technology they had in the 70's.

I'm inclined to go with Angry on this one. While distracted, I imagine that, if a problem with the actual flight of the plane occurred, they probably would have become "undistracted" quickly enough. I don't mean "oh god the engines are out" but more of "hey, did the engine just sound funny? we better check it out" .

I have worked with dangerous machines many times in my life. After pushing the 50th peice of wood through a saw that will take your hand off in a second, you may begin to drift but you still be aware of the danger at some level and be ready to take appropriate action.