Under Pressure: Flying the Boeing 777

For many, being a pilot is a very glamorous job. It does sound like a high profile job, but it is by no means an easy feat. I chose to be a pilot because I wanted to be a globetrotter. I knew that being a commercial pilot is an opportunity to travel to many exciting places. To become a professional pilot, I have trained over 2000 hours. After finishing my training I applied for British airways and trained for nearly one year in the flight simulators of the Boeing 777.
Finally, to my delight, the day had come when I would be flying my maiden flight for British Airways. This was the new & most sophisticated airline, the Boeing 777-300ER from London to New York. The journey would usually take 7 hours but the crew has to report for the flight preparation 2 hours prior to the flight. After all the final checks with the ground crew, we gave the green signal to invite the passengers on-board. Once we had all the passengers and their luggage loaded, we taxied to the runway. The weather was miserable in London this morning and there was an excessive amount of water on the runway. Once we a...