Ian McKenzie

Why Do You Want to Be an Airline Pilot Ian McKenzie

This is the story of a young mans dream to become an airline pilot. A joy flight in a Tiger Moth at the age of ten fired his enthusiasm to fly and led all the way to becoming a check captain on a modern-day jet aircraft. Along the way, he was to experience flying in New Guinea not long out of the stone age, face the dangers and rigors of flying the Cairns Aerial Ambulance in a rugged country with no aides, and go through the trauma of the 1989 airline dispute that changed the Australian airline industry and saw him leave Australia (along with 1,100 other pilots) to be involved in the setting up of SilkAir, the regional carrier of Singapore Airlines. He was close to the events that led to the crash of MI185 when 109 lives were lost and was heavily involved in the training of the young new breed of Asian pilots.