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Jeffrey Streeter's avatar

A very reassuring article, Mariana. Thank you! And great to see you had such a fabulous time flying with the pilots.

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Dr. Mariana Calleja Ross's avatar

Thank you, Jeffrey! I'm glad it helps. A feeling of reassurance makes me feel like mission accomplished. 😊

And yes, that was one incredible experience! Plus we had such good weather so the views were stunning. What shocked me the most about cockpit prep for non-aviation personnel was that we have to be shown what to do and how to react in the unlikely emergency of pilot and copilot becoming unconscious for some reason. The buttons to be pushed and a couple other instructions. I remember feeling a huge responsibility when I learned I had to be able to react if something happened. Anyone who's invited to fly in the cockpit needs to know these things. I was both impressed and shocked. The ER doctor side of me went instantly activated!

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Jeffrey Streeter's avatar

I can't imagine a better person to be in the cockpit in case of emergency than you!

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Dr. Mariana Calleja Ross's avatar

Aww thank you! Means a lot. And honestly, I have great admiration for pilots. It's just insane everything they need to know to control such a structure from that cabin and with those panels only (or none!).

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Louise Haynes's avatar

How cool that you got to “fly” with the cockpit crew! Thanks for this article, Dr. Mariana. It was very interesting and useful!

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Dr. Mariana Calleja Ross's avatar

Thank you, Louise! And yes, it was amaaaaaazing. The captain is a friend of my family, and a couple months prior I met with him after many years. I mentioned that a dream of mine would be to fly in the cockpit. He knew my birthday was coming soon so he said "Okay! I'm getting you your birthday present!" And I was like WHAAAAAT? Then the rest was history. Best day ever.

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Louise Haynes's avatar

You’re so lucky❣️🛫

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Dr. Mariana Calleja Ross's avatar

It did help to be cheeky and throw my dream up in the air (pun intended haha). 😊

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