Airline pilots work with the best possible equipment and under highly favorable circumstances. They command a great deal of respect. Although many pilots regularly fly the same routes, no two flights are ever the same. FAA regulations limit airline pilots to no more than 100 flying hours per month. Most airline pilots fly approximately 75 hours per month and spend another 75 hours a month on nonflying duties.

While being an airline pilot can be a rewarding career, it can also be extremely stressful. During flights, they must maintain constant concentration. They must always be alert to changes in conditions and to any problems that may occur. They are often responsible for hundreds of lives besides their own, and they are always aware that flying contains an element of risk. During emergencies, they must react quickly, logically, and decisively. Pilots often work irregular hours, may be away from home a lot, and are subject to jet lag and other conditions associated with flying. Pilots employed with smaller airlines may also be required to perform other, nonflying duties, which increase the number of hours they work each month.

For other pilots who handle small planes, emergency equipment, and supply delivery or routes to remote and isolated areas, the hazards may be more evident. Dropping medical supplies in Central Africa, flying relief supplies into war zones, or delivering mail to northern Alaska are more difficult tasks than most pilots face. Business pilots' schedules may be highly irregular and they must be on call for a great portion of their off-duty time. Business pilots and most private and small plane pilots are also frequently called upon to perform maintenance and repairs.

Today, even commercial pilots face dangers that rival those encountered by small-plane pilots in war-torn or hard-to-reach areas. Airplanes have been a favorite target for terrorist activity for a number of years because they provide easy access to large numbers of hostages and transportation anywhere in the world. Terrorists found it easy to board commercial flights in September 2001, take command, and kill pilots, air crew, passengers, and huge numbers of workers at New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Since then, all kinds of safety and security measures have been implemented at airports and on board aircraft. Engineers are designing ways to secure cockpits to protect pilots and crew, as well as ways to communicate dangers to ground crew. Even so, flying an aircraft carries risks that are on the minds of all pilots today.

Pilots

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