'AVIATION SCHOLARSHIP DIRECTORY 2008

'AVIATION SCHOLARSHIP DIRECTORY 2008

'There's a lot of scholarship information floating around—if you know where to look. Therein lies the problem: Where do you find this information? Heather M. Cook, editor of Phoenix Flight Publications, has compiled a new directory to help you get started. Aviation Scholarship Directory 2008 includes information about 517 scholarships available for flight training, advanced ratings, mechanic and technical training, college degrees, specialized training, and more. The author, who "has won all nine scholarships she has ever applied for," offers advice on how to write a winning scholarship essay, what to expect when applying for a scholarship, and how to get great letters of recommendation. The 312-page soft-cover book sells for $24.99 and may be ordered online; an e-book version is available for $19.99, as is a year's worth of updates for $14.99. http://www.aopa.org/epilot/redir.cfm?adid=13764

A Journalist is looking for a Girl With Wings

I received a message today from an author looking for an interviewee - but with a short lead time (thursday). If it doesn't apply to you, or if you know of someone who it does, please forward it on. I personally think that being a "minor" airline pilot could qualify...

Contact information follows. Please mention Girls With Wings if you should follow up on this - and let me know how it goes!

name = Pat Olsen
email = POls1212@Hotmail.com
comments = I'm a journalist. Pilot/writer Kevin Garrison passed this site on to me. Would you please post this? For a possible first-person column in the biz section of a top U.S. daily, I'm looking for a female pilot with a major airline to talk about how she juggles this job along with a side business and kids.

Contact: Patricia Olsen, POls1212@hotmail.com

DEADLINE=THURS. A.M. 11/29

p.s. I do not have any other information, and have not confirmed the request.

A Girl With Wings squeaks it on!

November 7th: Kristine was on her own, flying an airplane around the airport traffic pattern (a rectangular route from the departure end of the runway around to the approach end - takeoffs and landings are the two most important skills, after all). This is a huge leap for student pilots - can you imagine? - the courage it takes for a person to get into the airplane that they have only flown with an instructor, but this time - ALONE. There is still a lot of training to be after this point, but the instructor has trained for this day, and won't release a student until they're ready, but nerves being what they are, a lot of times it's the student who needs to know she's ready to go out on her own...

"You know, a lot of unexpected things happen, and usually they're not the ones you practice; but the fact that you practiced a lot of different things puts you in the proper mindset to handle whatever it is that comes along, even if it isn't the one that you've experienced before."-- Former
astronaut, Neil Armstrong (first man to land on the moon)

The picture above (Kristine wearing a shirt with writing on it) shows the tradition of cutting out the back of the tshirt to show how sweaty the solo student pilot has gotten. She is shown holding the cutout with her instructor pilot in the picture to the right.

Here are also videos of her flight, takeoff and landing phases...
http://www.girlswithwings.com/Bios/Kristine.html

Female Pilots Still Face Obstacles

AVFLASH NEWS
November 21, 2007

Female Pilots Still Face Obstacles


By Mary Grady, News Writer, Editor
It wasn't that long ago that female pilots here in the U.S. were an uncommon sight -- and unsettling, to some. Now in other parts of the world, women are just starting to find their way into the front seat, and not everyone is happy about it. In Qatar, the first Arab woman to fly a helicopter has been widely ridiculed and subjected to threatening phone calls after appearing in public wearing her pilot's uniform. "All phone calls had a similar message to convey," Munira Al Dosri told The Peninsula. "People were telling me they felt ashamed to see me without the abaya and veil (Qatari women's traditional attire). They told me they were ashamed of me being a Qatari woman." Qatar, a small country bordered by Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, is one of the richest countries in the world. Al Dosri works for Gulf Helicopter and plans to continue flying and earning more ratings.

"My family, especially my parents, are very understanding and supportive," she said. "Thanks to them, I am able to carry on with my profession and focus on what I'm doing."

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/QatariHelicopterPilot_FemalePilotsStillFaceObstacles_196629-1.html

EAAs Learn to Fly Newsletter

Here's a great resource for you GWWs in Training:

Sign up for Reach for the Sky - EAA's Learn to Fly Newsletter

We'll send you a FREE monthly e-newsletter developed by EAA expressly for individuals like you who have an interest in learning to fly and a desire to join the ranks of the growing sport pilot universe. Reach for the Sky content will focus on answering your questions, identifying and explaining fears and apprehensions we've all faced learning to fly, discussing flight-training experiences and challenges, and providing learning tips for prospective and new student pilots. The newsletter will also include what you have experienced!. You are not only invited but encouraged to share your flight-training experiences with us so that we can share them with others in the community of new particpants in the world of aviation.To subscribe to Reach for the Sky, EAA's Learn to Fly Newsletter, enter your email address below and select 'Subscribe' from the drop down box. Don't worry, we won't pass on your e-mail to anyone else and you can unsubscribe at any time. See a sample

http://www.sportpilot.org/learntofly/subscribe.asp

Girls With Wings and the Brownies

Last weekend I went to NASA Glenn Research Center and had the opportunity to teach over 100 Brownies how to fly!

We still used the cockpit posters I use for the older girls in the GWW Activity, but this time the girls got to "fly" by attaching their "engine" (a balloon) to an airplane (straw) on a string. I will post more information on the activity on the website fun pages soon.

You have to love their enthusiasm!

Get your money here...

Girls With Wings wants to stress that it supports your goals of flight training and additional ratings, and is a corporate member of Women in Aviation, Intl. We support the same mission!

It's Not Too Late – New WAI Scholarships Listed
There is still time to apply for the 2008 Women in Aviation, International scholarship program. Applications must be postmarked by December 1, 2007. Scholarships are available in various categories including Engineering, Flight, Maintenance, Dispatcher and "General" scholarships that provide money for everything from transition training to college books to flight gear. For more information including scholarships offered and application requirements go to: http://www.wai.org/education/scholarships.cfm

Late Deadline Scholarships Also Available
If you need a little more time to get your application together OR if you have already applied for the maximum number of 2008 WAI scholarships (2), consider an additional application for one of the following late deadline scholarships. Deadline: December 10, 2007.- Bombardier Business Aircraft Services (Lear 31A Pilot Training)- Bombardier Aerospace (Learjet Maintenance Training)- ExpressJet Airlines, DBA Continental Express (Regional Jet Transition Course)- Garmin International (cash award and potential paid summer internship at Garmin)- Horizon Airlines (Dash 8 Q400 SIC Type Rating)- ICAO (Training Scholarship - Aviation Security)- ICAO (Training Scholarship - Environment)- ICAO (Training Scholarship - Communications, Navigation and Surveillance)- Telex Scholarship ($500 and a Telex ANR headset) The application deadline for these scholarships is December 10, 2007.

To view scholarship descriptions go to: http://www.wai.org/education/scholarship_list_latedeadline_2008.cfm

Cartoon

I just love this cartoon. I think it says a lot for Girls With Wings, too, doesn't it?

A Girl With Wings Makes The News

At left is a page out of the Airline Owner and Pilot Association magazine featuring their program, Project Pilot, and in particular (bottom left) one of the GWWs, Lin!

Congratulations to the pilot you mentored, Jack, on his success, and thanks to you, Lin, for your support for this new pilot!

Read more about this program at http://flighttraining.aopa.org/projectpilot/

and about Lin at http://girlswithwings.com/Bios/Lin.html

Thunderstorms building at altitude.

Airplane Owners and Pilots Association (of which I am a member), has many resources for pilots online. For example: AOPA Air Safety Foundation Thunderstorm Avoidance Minicourse.

Thunderstorm clouds can be easy for VFR pilots to spot, but IFR pilots flying in the soup often rely on air traffic control (ATC) to route them around the severe weather.
Communication is key when working with ATC, as the AOPA Air Safety Foundation explains in its new four-minute minicourse, Avoiding Thunderstorms.

Avoiding Thunderstorms contains actual ATC transmissions between controllers and a pilot who flew into a Level 6 thunderstorm with tragic results. The audio dramatically illustrates the need for clear pilot-ATC communication and understanding of radar services provided.

The course advises pilots to verify with each controller they are handed off to exactly what services they will receive. This can help minimize the chances of a misunderstanding.

You'll also learn about ATC services, the enhancements in controllers' weather radar displays, and the importance of giving pilot reports. A list of weather- and ATC-related subjects at the end of the course leads you to more information. http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/newsitems/2005/050701storms.html

You can also read one of their Safety Advisor Publications, 8 pages long, at http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/sa26.pdf, which includes:

What if the worst happens and you find yourself in the belly of the beast? You can increase your chances of surviving a thunderstorm encounter by taking a few, simple steps. First, throttle back and slow down before getting into severe turbulence.

Aiming for maneuvering speed (Va) can help protect the airframe from being overstressed by the violent air currents of a thunderstorm, but don’t try to “chase” a particular airspeed. As the airspeed needle swings wildly, you’ll be doing well to hold the average of the swings somewhere near the published Va.

The second step is to make the airplane as aerodynamically “dirty” as possible without lowering the flaps (which usually reduces structural strength). In complex aircraft, extend the landing gear. The added drag reduces the potential for rapid acceleration and, in turn, the potential for loss of control, or excessive airframe loads.

Finally, maintain a very loose straight-and-level flight attitude and forget about holding a particular heading, altitude or airspeed. Trying to exercise precise aircraft
control in a thunderstorm is both futile and counterproductive: It’s impossible, and it greatly increases the odds of damaging the airframe.

Thanks for checking out the Girls With Wings blog.

More Scholarship

They are out there!

NEW WAI SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED; DEADLINE EXTENDED
Women in Aviation International has announced several new scholarships for 2008 plus an extended deadline to make it easier to apply. The new scholarships include type ratings from Bombardier Business Aircraft Services, ExpressJet, and HorizonAir, as well as a separate scholarship for Learjet maintenance training, also offered by Bombardier. Other new scholarships are being offered by the International Civil Aviation Organization, Garmin, and Telex, whose scholarship is accompanied by a headset. The deadline to apply for the new offerings is Dec. 10, while the deadline for the remaining 46 scholarships is still Dec. 1. For complete details and application information, see the http://www.wai.org/.

The application deadline for the 2008 AE Scholarships is fast approaching!
These scholarships are available to eligibile 99s members for flight training, jet type ratings, university studies in aviation, and aviation technical training. To confirm your chapter deadline, please contact your Chapter AE Scholarship Chairman or Chapter Chairman. The deadline for receipt by your Section AE Scholarship Chairman is **DECEMBER 1st** !

And, for 2008 we are again offering New Pilot Awards to complete your first pilot certificate and also the Maule Tailwheel Training Award. (The application deadline for these is April 1, 2008.)Information and all forms, including instructions and checklists for applicants and Chapter and Section AE Scholarship Chairmen, are on the 99s website (http://www.ninety-nines.org/).

Established in 1940 to honor our first 99s president Amelia Earhart and continue her legacy in helping deserving members to further accomplishments, today our Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund has surpassed $3 million thanks to the generous donations and bequests of 99s members. We would also like to thank United Parcel Service and the Maule Aircraft family.

Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Type Rating Scholarships

Southwest Airlines is proud to announce that we will award two scholarships for Boeing-737 type ratings. The scholarships are available to WAI members only who meet our minimum criteria (as described in this listing). The winners will be announced at the convention in San Diego, and training will be held in Dallas, Texas. Scholarship winners must be available for potential employment by SouthwestAirlines within one year of successful completion of the B-737 type rating class and additional review board. To obtain an application go to http://www.southwest.com/ and click on 'Careers,' scroll down to the 'What's new section' and click on the Women in Aviation link.

All scholarship applications must be postmarked on or before December 1, 2007.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
Flight experience:- U.S. FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate.- Must be at least 23 years of age, at time of hire.- 2500 hours total or 1500 turbine total, including a minimum of 1000 hours in turbine aircraft as the Pilot in Command, as defined by FAR Part I. Recency of experience is considered.- Southwest considers only Pilot time in fixed wing air craft. This specifically excludes simulator, helicopter, WSO, RIO, FE, NAV, EWO,'Other,' etc. Medical:- Current FAA Class I Medical Certificate.- Must pass FAA mandated drug test. Education:- High School Diploma or equivalency required.- Graduation from an accredited, four-year college preferred. Work authorization: Established authorization to work in the United States Language: Must read, write, and speak English fluently. WAI Membership: Membership will be verified. Recommendation Letters: Minimum of three letters from any individuals who can attest to the pilot's flying skills.(Scholarship value $TBD)


This message was posted by Laura Smith, a first officer with Southwest Airlines and a huge advocate for women in aviation. She additionally wrote:



I've been specifically directed to post this information by a LUV Captain because evidently right now there is a lack of applicants for this. Southwest is a wonderful place to work, and even though there is no interviewing for pilots going on currently, wouldn't it be great for you tohave your B-737 type rating all completed when those interviews start again? You can't win if you don't apply!

Laura Smith

LUV FO

More information on joining Women in Aviation International can be found at http://www.wai.org/, and there are numerous other amazing scholarship opportunities listed on the website!

More Shuttle Pictures

Courtesy of Elaine, check out these phenomenal pictures from someone who works for NASA sent us these pictures from the past mission (Endeavor). Hardly looks real! http://www.texasjim.com/NASApix/NASA%20pix.htm

The New Girls With Wings eZine

Hey all,

I finally got the newsletter out. I try to have it done the first of the month, but I have been overwhelmed with scholarship applications. I am going to have heck of a time choosing just one. See the applicants for yourself.

If you'd like to read the whole newsletter, go here.

And we are having some huge sales at the Girls With Wings store. Please help me keep GWW up and growing!
Thanks,
Lynda

The Islands

I took the following pictures when I was on a trip down to the Dominican Republic. You know the saying, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride?" Well, I guess that is true for me in the literal sense (ha), but also figuratively. The crew usually ends up in an exotic location at night, only to spend the evening getting to and checking into the hotel. I did have enough time the next morning to go for a jog before we flew out with passengers, but no lounging around the beach for me!

Ever wonder why water in the Caribbean has that distinctive range of blue to green colors?

If someone were to ask you what is the color of the ocean, chances are that you would answer that is was blue. For most of the world's oceans, your answer would be correct. Pure water is perfectly clear, of course -- but if there is a lot of water, and the water is very deep so that there are no reflections off the sea floor, the water appears as a very dark navy blue. The reason the ocean is blue is due to the absorption and scattering of light. The blue wavelengths of light are scattered, similar to the scattering of blue light in the sky but absorption is a much larger factor than scattering for the clear ocean water. In water, absorption is strong in the red and weak in the blue, thus red light is absorbed quickly in the ocean leaving blue. Almost all sunlight that enters the ocean is absorbed, except very close to the coast.

According to NASA Oceanography at http://science.hq.nasa.gov/oceans/living/color.html, blue water in the Caribbean Sea looks blue because the sunlight is scattered by the water molecules. Near the Bahama Islands, the lighter aqua colors are shallow water where the sunlight is reflecting off of the sand and reefs near the surface.

Lat Long

This is the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at KPDK (Peachtree DeKalb, GA). On the corner of the building you can see the "lat long" of the building. Due to the increasingly frequent use of GPS in aviation, this information comes in handy for pilots initializing their Flight Management Systems (FMS). They can plug in these numbers so that the GPS can find itself and accurately plot the route to their destination.

What is "lat long" or latitude and longitude?

When looking at a map, latitude lines run horizontally. Latitude lines are also known as parallels since they are parallel and are an equal distant from each other. Each degree of latitude is approximately 69 miles (111 km) apart; there is a variation due to the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate ellipsoid (slightly egg-shaped). To remember latitude, imagine them as the horizontal rungs of a ladder ("ladder-tude"). Degrees latitude are numbered from 0° to 90° north and south. Zero degrees is the equator, the imaginary line which divides our planet into the northern and southern hemispheres. 90° north is the North Pole and 90° south is the South Pole.

The vertical longitude lines are also known as meridians. They converge at the poles and are widest at the equator (about 69 miles or 111 km apart). Zero degrees longitude is located at Greenwich, England (0°). The degrees continue 180° east and 180° west where they meet and form the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean. Greenwich, the site of the British Royal Greenwich Observatory, was established as the site of the Prime Meridian by an international conference in 1884.

To precisely locate points on the earth's surface, degrees longitude and latitude have been divided into minutes (') and seconds ("). There are 60 minutes in each degree. Each minute is divided into 60 seconds. Seconds can be further divided into tenths, hundredths, or even thousandths. For example, the U.S. Capitol is located at 38°53'23"N , 77°00'27"W (38 degrees, 53 minutes, and 23 seconds north of the equator and 77 degrees, no minutes and 27 seconds west of the meridian passing through Greenwich, England).

Information from http://geography.about.com/cs/latitudelongitude/a/latlong.htm Map is from http://worldatlas.com/aatlas/imageg.htm

Also, Hawker Beechcraft is the company that makes the Beechjet, which is the airplane I fly.

Curtain of Rain

This is a picture taken on the ramp at West Palm Beach, FL. There were numerous cells all over the area (as usual), but in particular, the rain seem to be making a curtain on either side of the final approach course to Runway 9L.

Encouraging anyone to be a pilot...

This is an entertaining, realistic, somewhat cynical view of life as an airplane. Even given all of this, I still love being a pilot!

Flying the Unfriendly Skies with an Airline Crew: Tales from an Aluminum Tube http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/364996/flying_the_unfriendly_skies_with_an.html

In the movies, they always seem to swagger a bit. A hat cocked slightly to the side, shoes polished to a high shine. They move at a steady pace, never looking rushed, always relaxed and followed by a well dressed gaggle of flight attendants, all walking through a brightly lit, impeccably clean airline terminal somewhere. A hushed reverence silences the gate area when they show up, doling out a nod and a smile to the small children who point up at them, maybe a wink for the pretty girl stealing glances at them. And then as suddenly as they appeared, they are gone, disappearing down that long dark jet way. That was your flight crew, ladies and gentlemen, and that old stereotype, like Elvis, has just left the building....

Patterns: Tales of flying... and of life

Patterns: Tales of flying... and of life was written by a Girls With Wings role model, Bette Bach Fineman. Written in a casual story telling style, this chronicle of a woman's journey toward finding herself is very inspiring. Broadsided by her husband's betrayal (can you guess who he was?), she chose to exceed everyone's expectations of what a woman with aviation on her brain can accomplish. Mind you, she did this as a single mom of six kids! This is a very pleasant read of a woman who didn't let her circumstances keep her down. She doesn't dwell on how difficult it must have been to keep her family fed, just on her willingness to take advantage of opportunities that came her way, from mechanic to ferry pilot, flight instructor to artist. If the stories of the amazing flying adventures don't get you, the tales of the kindness of strangers and friends will.

Please visit Bette's website: http://www.bettebachfineman.com/

Shuttle Launch Today!

We flew over the shuttle launch pad today NINE minutes too early! In case you weren't aware, the Discovery shuttle launched today with a woman commander.

NASA Hails Smooth Launch

NASA officials and launch managers were pleased Tuesday following a clean countdown and flawless launch of space shuttle Discovery from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch Director Mike Leinbach said the launch team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center was able to study a potential problem of ice buildup without jeopardizing the shuttle while still launching on time."It was one of the cleanest countdowns we've had since I've been launch director," Leinbach said. Discovery and its seven astronauts have a tight schedule that calls for placing the new Harmony segment to the International Space Station, moving a tower of solar arrays already in space to a new location and overseeing the station crew rotation that will see Discovery astronaut Dan Tani and station resident Clayton Anderson switch places."(There is) just a tremendous set of challenges in front of us," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations.There won't be much time to savor the liftoff, though, because preparations are already under way to get Atlantis over to the launch pad for a Dec. 6 launch. "This is exactly what the (launch) teams have trained multiple years for," Gerstenmaier said. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

STS-120 is the 23rd shuttle mission to the International Space Station, and will launch an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module for the station. Retired Air Force Col. Pamela A. Melroy will command the STS-120 mission to take the Node 2 connecting module to the station. Melroy, a veteran shuttle pilot, is the second woman to command a shuttle. Marine Corps Col. George D. Zamka will serve as pilot. The flight's mission specialists will be Scott E. Parazynski, Army Col. Douglas H. Wheelock, Stephanie D. Wilson and Paolo A. Nespoli, a European Space Agency astronaut from Italy. Zamka, Wheelock and Nespoli will be making their first spaceflight. Expedition 15/16 Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson will return to Earth from the space station aboard shuttle mission STS-120. That flight will carry his replacement, Daniel Tani, to the station. Tani will return on shuttle mission STS-122.

Attention Aviatrices!!

I am still reeling from something I witnessed yesterday. It was my first day on the road this tour, and my co-pilot and I were holding short of the runway awaiting our takeoff clearance from an airport.

Another airplane was inbound to the airport and we heard it made a radio call announcing that it was intending to land there. First, a little background: There are two sets of regulations underwhich pilots can fly. You can either be under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) or VFR (Visual Flight Rules). Pilots first learn to fly under VFR - think good weather. With time, pilots get their instrument ratings so they can fly in "not so good" weather (ie clouds). Flying under instruments means you have to use all those navigation radios and instruments in the cockpit (and these days usually a GPS) to follow routing given to you by Air Traffic Controllers. There are a lot more rules to know and abide by. It takes a little longer to fly around like this - it's like driving via asphalt roads, via taking short cuts off road.

So, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has dictated what the dividing line is between allowing people to go VFR and IFR - in the interest of safety. You can fly your entire career under VFR, lots of people do. But many pilots have gotten themselves into trouble by thinking they can stay "visual" but get confused in cloudy conditions (pilots must trust their instruments -which is hard for people that rely on seeing the horizon to stay greasy side down) -- think JFK, Jr. These pilots that find themselves in this situation can "declare an emergency" and receive special treatment from ATC -- trained to assist them to safely land.

All right, so this pilot calling into the tower controller at the airport is coming in VFR for whatever reason (it's not a very nice day), but the tower calls her back to say that the airport is no longer VFR. I've talked about ATIS before (the prerecorded weather information pilots listen to on their way into an airport) and the ATIS said she could stay visual (or under the clouds). But the tower said that he was updating the weather, the clouds were lower than the ATIS stated, and they were now IFR. This pilot, in other words, was operating illegally (there was no longer enough room for her to operate under the clouds). She had a few options. The easiest would have been to acknowledge the new weather report and ask to be vectored onto an instrument approach (if she was instrument pilot). If not, she could have asked for a Special VFR (but honestly I don't know if this was an option to operate under reduced weather rules). She also could have declared an emergency. A lot of people are reluctant to declare an emergency, but it is always an option if a pilot is in trouble. You get a little leeway on the rules - you have to file some paperwork to explain yourself to the FAA, but she could have given herself a "pass" to come in and land.

But she didn't. When she told the controller that the weather was reported VFR on the ATIS, the tower told her again that he was "overriding" the ATIS with his updating information (warning #2). So here's where my copilot and I started cringing: She says, on the radio, "I really need to get in there" still looking for the tower to clear her to land visually. And warning #3, the tower repeats the weather and asks her what her intentions are. And here's the WORST part: She says, "I won't tell if you won't tell." It was like watching a train wreck!

Folks, ALL ATC radio transmissions are recorded!! Everyone has access to these recordings, including the FAA which is well within their rights - and obligation - to site this pilot for unsafe operation and confiscate her license. Additionally, the tower controller is obligated to REPORT her actions, and she was asking this guy to risk his license which he did by clearing her to land. If I (or anyone else witnessing this whole mess) were so inclined, they could get her tail number and report her, as well.

When she appeared to us on short final, she turned out to be the pilot for a commuter airline. Which meant she had to have her instrument rating and could have come into the airport on an instrument approach. No problem. Instead, she risked her license, the tower controller's license, a violation for her employer, the safety of her passengers, AND made an embarrassment of herself on the radio!

Now, I am not saying that she is the ONLY one to have ever done something like this. I'm sure a lot of people do this stuff all the time and get away with it. And I'm sure she was under a lot of pressure from her company to "get the job done." But she obviously knew she was wrong. If she loses her license over this, she'll have no one to blame but herself. Was it worth saving the ten minutes not having to shoot an instrument approach?? Was anyone's life in danger because of her actions? Probably not. Clearly she could see the airport and considered herself in a safe position to land. But accepting the role of pilot means sometimes we have to stand up under the pressures from the people (usually employers) standing on the ground safely or passengers who really want to get somewhere who may not understand or care about the inherent risks, reponsibilities and rights of operating an aircraft. Know the rules and abide by them at all times no matter who is watching or listening (and declare an emergency if necessary). Your license to fly and lives depend on it!