Pulling Wings From Butterflies: Tercio De Varas

by Mike Simkins

'The most powerful aviation book of the year' CNN AVIATION CONTRIBUTOR KARLENE PETITT 'This reads like a trial in a John Grisham novel' JUSTICE GEORGE W. KING 'A must read not just for aspirant airline captains but anyone who enjoys a cracking good story. Jaw dropping at times.' CAPT B BOYLE 'It is a compelling a story as you will ever read and every word is true.' SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER MARK LANEGAN 'A spot-on revelation of how the industry works behind the scenes punctuated with typical pilot humour. You will never believe all they say after reading this.' CAPT. P LIGHTFOOT Pulling Wings From Butterflies is the incredible personal account of the story the aviation establishment tried to suppress. It is the tale of one airline captain who jeopardised his entire career when he refused to place corporate greed ahead of passenger and crew safety. Following the unique journey from rock drummer to commander on one of the worlds most advanced aircraft, Pulling Wings From Butterflies - Tercio De Varas, pulls back the veil to reveal a case that finally decimates the airlines PR mantra that 'safety is our number one priority'. Captain Mike Simkins stood alone, to confront the culture of a corrupt, multibillion-dollar aviation industry that has resulted in pilots falling asleep moments before landing, documents relating to pilots hours being falsified, and crew being bullied into operating illegal duties all while unions and regulators turn a blind eye. It is a story passengers will not want to believe and those with romantic and idealistic ambitions of becoming pilots or cabin crew will not want to hear. Discover not only the provocations and threats that pilots face in today's cut-throat aviation industry, but also the steps crew can take to protect themselves when organisations claiming to have your back turn theirs away. Pulling Wings From Tercio De Varas is the first book in the trilogy that exposes the reality behind the cockpit and boardroom door of today's aviation business. Buy the first in the series Pulling Wings From Butterflies Tercio De Varas today!

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 9, 2020

Reviews

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished this book ages ago, but couldn’t figure out how to write a review on Goodreads. I was excited to read it because I’m in it! I’ve been anxiously awaiting the author’s next book because he’s telling an important story…a true story that anyone who spends any amount of time traveling the friendly skies needs to know. Mike gets into the weeds a bit, but he is documenting the pressure put on pilots to fly when they are not adequately rested, and the triumph of corporate greed over public safety. He’s fighting the good fight, and I can hear his ripping English accent on every page. Go Mike!

[NEIL BENJAMIN LOFT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic! As ex airline cabin crew myself, i found this read totally enthralling. I couldn’t put it down and it reads like a thriller - just the subject being FDP and fatigue! Well done Mike for having the will to challenge behaviours and corrupt processes. Literally can’t wait for the rest of the series to be released.

[Paul Lightbody · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long-haul airline Captain with 27 years and 22,000 hours in the game I can highly recommend this insightful book. A spot-on revelation of how the industry works behind the scenes punctuated with typical pilot humour. You will never believe all they say after reading this.

[Chris Lightfoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early on in my career I had the pleasure of flying with Mike on many occasions. He was always a gent, a pleasure to fly with and a professional to the end. Now, nearly 20 years on, I’m much more experienced in the airline world, and a Captain and examiner myself now too. I was vaguely aware that Mike had been tangled up in something to do with fatigue but that’s it.

Oh my goodness. What a story; it’s explosive and certain people should be hanging their collective heads in shame. I thought the book was very well written indeed, making it accessible for the layman too. It’s staggering that this happened; what a stitch up.

I used to be fascinated hearing about Mike’s ‘previous life’ in the music industry so it was also great to read about it in more detail.

A really excellent read (read in under a day!) and I very much look forward to the next two volumes. If you read this Mike, thank you for sharing your story!

[Morthen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, easy to read and follow.

The author of the book, a musician and a professional airline pilot, tells his side of events when he was being suspended from flying after he had reported to his employer that he was unfit to fly the planned flights due to fatigue.

Almost unbelievable narrative, but unfotunately fully believable. After working for two decades in the aviation industry myself, I unfortunately have to admit that the practices described in the book take place within the aviation sector, although these topics are rarely spoken outside of the pilot community. Even more rarely with one’s own name, as it could have a devastating end to any pilot’s flying career.

The writing seems to be a little onesided and there is some tautology in the book, going through some of events again and again. Even strong polarization occurs, looking into things in a black and white manner (not seeing any shades of grey). But taking into account the immense pressure and stress the author had to put up with, with his ”wings clipped” for months and being labelled by his employer as ”dishonest” or ”without integrity” I understand the author’s feelings. (What I personally did not like was the onesided public badmouthing or shaming of people using their real names.)

This book adresses and tries to open important tabus within the aviation sector e.g. the sometimes authoritarian (almost totalitarian) leading styles, punishing of whistleblowers. Having a punish culture or a culture of fear is contradicting to the regulations as aviation sector should be run with a totally opposite, safety minded open and honest ”just culture”, which obliges pilots to report fatigue or any other safety related issues without having to fear any punishment for reporting.

For people wanting to dig deeper into this story, I found the following articles online that add credibilty to the author’s described chain of events.

https://www.balpa.org/Media-Centre/Pr...

https://www.balpa.org/About/Files/M-S...


I am looking forward to reading the sequels of this book, expected to be published a little bit later (in 2021).

[Al Dickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book. I can well imagine Mike was a pretty irksome person to manage and I suspect this in part is why Thomas Cook undertook a kak-handed attempt to get rid of him. That said the issues and poor practises he pulled them up on and their attempts to pressurise pilots to use their legally allowable discretion to fly longer shifts simply to make up for crewing and rosta deficiencies is disturbing. Thomas Cook may no longer be in business but you wonder what other airlines are like in this regard. Well written and definitely looking forward to the next instalments.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting insight into the industry and likely to be a true reflection. The author seems to be an interesting character and has quite an arrogant narrative along side the facts; I can't imagine he's ever wrong about anything. That said, it's always good to talk safety in the aerospace industry - I read most of this on a plane which added to the suspense. Will definitely read the next two books and hope for a shade of humility to balance out the story

[Ben Bohan-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping read diving into the challenges faced by modern day Airline Pilots and the normalisation of deviance.