A few months ago, I was assigned an empty flight to take a plane to a maintenance center and return. What an opportunity! Two empty legs? An overnight in a neat city? Sounds like a free family vacation! I made sure it was all above board with the company and planned everything out. It was my first time flying the family since my son was born. Seeing as I was a professional pilot, I figured the various external pressures would not affect me any more than being tasked with transporting the flying public.
It ended up being the opposite. I was thrown off my routine, distracted trying to help the family while completing all my preflight duties. Combine all that with pressure to drop the plane off by a certain time and I consciously recognized that I was feeling rushed.
