Not only would you blink your eyes in amazement, you would also opt to get off the plane, or request another pilot fly the plane.
Sure, but no one is arguing that it's 'ideal' - just that jail is too much, especially given the fact that he undoubtedly SAVED people's lives by flying the way he did, (I've only seen it once, so I could be wrong, but I recall that officials pretty much admit as such.) regardless of whether he could have potentially saved more, had he been sober.
Take away his pilots licence, refuse to allow him to fly again, sack him, even sue him - all reasonable - but I would've thought some leniency would be shown with regards to incarceration, in recognition of the fact that MORE lives would have been lost, had he not attempted to minimise impact... If he was sober, he might've done even better. However, he also could have froze and not taken preventative measures, in either state, and he didn't.
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"
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WorldSacred
8 years ago
regardless of whether he could have potentially saved more, had he been sober.
That's the key element of the issue. He could have potentially saved more lives sober. What if they breathalysed Whip upon disembarking the plane without incident, and found that he registered. He would still be doing prison time.
If he was sober, he might've done even better. However, he also could have froze and not taken preventative measures, in either state, and he didn't.
I would suggest someone willing to fly inverted in an intoxicated state would be more willing to fly inverted in a sober well rested prior disposition. The adrenaline kicks in and helps focus people on their tasks better when a person is sober. Adrenaline does flow during a time when an intoxicated person is under stress. But you will find that much of that is to compensate for the drowsiness, and lack of coordination.
There might be extenuating circumstances to drive in an impaired state. But if you are driving in the course of doing your job, you have no excuse. And someone operating a plane filled with passengers, you have NO excuse at all to be even slightly intoxicated. What are people trying to say? That Whip needed to be in an accident that he handled well, to excuse him from his prior actions? He isn't being punished for the crash. He is being punished for the intoxication.
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Howlin Wolf
8 years ago
What if they breathalysed Whip upon disembarking the plane without incident, and found that he registered. He would still be doing prison time.
... and rightly so. In this case, however, the 'incident' makes all the difference, in my opinion.
you have NO excuse at all to be even slightly intoxicated.
I didn't say anybody did. I'm just saying that in this case his heroism mitigated the harshest potential punishment, and he should've been spared jail (albeit, never being allowed to fly again).
What are people trying to say? That Whip needed to be in an accident that he handled well, to excuse him from his prior actions?
Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying; take everything into account. You may disagree. The law may disagree - but I think that in this case, the law was an ass.
He didn't kill anyone - the crash killed people, and the film says that what he did SAVED lives... Recognition of those lives that were protected should have been factored in.
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"
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WorldSacred
8 years ago
I don't know, Howling Wolf. If it takes a plane crash for someone to realise that a pilot was drunk at the controls, I would not make a national hero out of the pilot. How can you say that the plane crash makes his case for a lenient gaol sentence? It would be whatever he did wrong, plus operating heavy machinery inebriated. And since his only failure was to be drunk, that is what for he was punished. Not the plane crash, not the loss of life. Otherwise, he would not step foot out of gaol for the rest of his life.
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Howlin Wolf
8 years ago
... except that sparing him jail is not 'making a national hero out of him' - it's just that; sparing him jail... He'll still lose his job and all of his money, he'll just be free... Giving him a medal would be making a national hero out of him, but I am not suggesting they do that.
Think of it this way; according to the movie, if another perfectly sober but not naturally gifted pilot had been flying that plane, then EVERYBODY would have died... So you would rather that, than have any laws broken? Personally, I'd rather see some people alive, even if the preparation wasn't the best... Nobody is saying he did nothing wrong, but if there's only him that can save people (regardless of the implausibility of that, it's what is said) then I'll still take him...
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"
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franzkabuki
8 years ago
I'm not so sure what Whip did even qualifies as "heroism" - a more sober way of looking at things would be to say he was merely doing his job, which is to safely operate the aircraft and try to bring it back on the ground in one piece. But, of course, the film stacks the deck strongly in Whip's favour by announcing that "no one else could have done as well as he did" (now, why would that be?) and having him do fancy somersaults in the sky which in a real life situation would likely be useless and perhaps even impossible to pull off. "Hero" and "heroism" are grossly overused words anyway - and were likewise somewhat misapplied when, for instance, Captain Sully had his day on Hudson river back in 2009.
And it's still unquestionably Whip who's the as-hole of our story, not the law, ESPECIALLY considering that he was a repeat offender who had been guilty of piloting commercial aircraft under the influence on numerous occasions before. Recognition? Sure, give him a medal for outstanding airmanship. Then throw him in jail for repeatedly putting the lives of his passengers at risk.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
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