This is a tough post to write.
I always say that making the no-go decision is a hard thing to do.
We’re pilots and we are programmed to get the job done. We battle finicky airplanes, bad weather and all manner of x-factors to get our passengers from Point A to Point B.
But part of our job is to make tough decisions. And sometimes, the decision is to not carry on and to abort the immediate mission.
This has never been an easy decision for me to make but I’ve had to make it a handful of times and it gets a little easier with time. The reasons for the decision have always primarily been to weather (i.e. not being able to make it through a line of storms) and health (no/little sleep the night before), though there have been other reasons like an airplane just not acting exactly right.
I say it’s a tough post to write because I want to deliver 100% of the time and I will initially see an aborted mission as a failure. But then I come to realize that keeping my passengers safe and comfortable is actually a success and that although a flight may not go, it’s a relatively small deal and can never be the wrong decision.
