It’s not “incompetence” we’re talking about, it’s relative levels of experience. Someone who has tens of thousands of hours of experience will have had occasion to be exposed to, or have familiarity with, more of those exceeding rare situations where seconds cannot be wasted. To return (again) to Sully: when they tried to recreate in a simulator what Sully did, experienced pilots crashed the plane again and again when they chose an alternate “solution.”
Additionally (I dont know the specifics of the King’s schedule) but if he is taking off/landing at many different airports, that’s another risk factor. A pilot with tens of thousands of hours will likely have great familiarization with every airport he lands at. If you watch Mayday Air Crash Investigation, there are several episodes involving pilots (experienced ones, no less) arriving at an airport configuration for the first time, not adequately familiarizing themselves with the particulars, with disastrous results.
Is it really so remarkable to prefer to not have a “hobbyist” as one’s airplane pilot?
