WestJet: Male Passenger Leaves Female Pilot Sexist Note Saying Women Shouldn't Be Captains

Should women be pilots? One passenger on a WestJet flight didn't think so and let the crew know it. A female WestJet pilot took to Facebook to post a sexist note a male passenger left on an airline napkin.

Capt. Carey Smith Steacy of Surrey, B.C. was shocked by the note she received on a flight from Calgary to Victoria. The note, written on a napkin by a man named David, reads:

"The cockpit of an airline is no place for a woman. A woman being a mother is the most honor, not as 'captain.' Proverbs 31. We're short mothers, not pilots WestJet. Sorry not PC. P.S. I wish WestJet could tell me a fair lady is at the helm so I can book another flight! In the end this is all mere vanity. Not impressed. Respectfully in love, David"

The passenger reportedly also asked flight attendants whether Captain Smith had enough hours to be a pilot, since he was concerned about his safety.

In addition to posting the note to Facebook, Smith, who happens to be a mother of two, also posted a reply:

"To David. Thank you for the note, you discreetly left me on your seat," she wrote. "I respectfully disagree with your opinion that the 'cockpit,' (we now call it the flight deck as no cocks are required), is no place for a lady. In fact, there are no places that are not for ladies anymore. I have heard many comments from people throughout my 17-year career as a pilot. Most of them positive. Your note is, without a doubt, the funniest. It was a joke, right? RIGHT?? I thought, not. You were more than welcome to deplane when you heard I was a 'fair lady'. You have that right. Funny, we all, us humans, have the same rights in this great free country of ours."

The airline did not want to respond fully because it didn't want to give credibility to the note and the author, but they did say, "We are enormously proud of the professionalism, skills, and expertise of our pilots and we were disappointed to see this note." The airline said it has 1,118 male pilots and 58 female pilots and WestJet Encore has 96 male pilots and 10 females. The airlines has had female pilots since it started in 1996.