RYANAIR boss Michael O'Leary recently suggested there was no need for a second pilot on aeroplanes – and that a flight attendant could be trained to take over the controls in an emergency.

I’m sure many people heard this suggestion and thought: Hang on. Isn’t that the plot of the film Airport 1975?

Well, maybe it might work if you're lucky enough to have Charlton Heston in the control tower to guide your Karen Black character through the controls. But should we be be basing our health and safety procedures on 1970s disaster movies?

If so, killer sharks can best be dealt with by an aquaphobic cop taking to the ocean with an old sea salt. Fires in sky-scraping hotels can best be dealt with by blowing up the water tanks on the top floor. And passengers in capsized sea vessels will be okay just as long as there's a tough-talking maverick priest to guide them through the upturned hull to safety.