Meet A Mentor
MARK INNERBICHLER

Job:Airline Pilot
Birthday: September 7, 1956
Home: Eagen, Minnesota

Mark Innerbichler always wanted to be a pilot. Perhaps because his dad was a pilot, the thrill of flying always appealed to him. For the last seven years, he has been a commercial airline pilot for Northwest Airlines. Before that he flew in the military.

The most important qualities of a good pilot, Mark says, are "focus and discipline," because the hard part of flying is dealing with all the things that could go wrong. Mark is constantly taking classes to learn new things. He is trained for almost any "what if" situation you can imagine.

Mark says he realizes that flying is a very responsible job, but when he is sitting in the cockpit, he concentrates solely on flying. "I know that there a lot of people on the plane," he says, "but I put them in a different part of my mind." That's because, if a problem arises, he must remain calm. Mark says the first rule of any flight manual is "Do not hurry." The second is "Keep flying the plane" — in other words, don't get distracted.

Mark was able to follow those rules when he found himself in an emergency situation one time. "I didn't start to sweat until after I landed and saw the passengers get off the plane, saying Phew,'" he recalls.

Interview by Adam Berkin.

Instructor Grade-Perfect Theme Club Reproducible   •   Permission Granted to Duplicate

Back to Theme Unit