You think this is a joke?

It is an old, old joke:

"Did you hear about the moron who tried to swim the English Channel? He got 3/4 of the way there, decided it was too far, so he went back."

The joke worked because it was so far fetched. Please not the word "was".

Did you hear about the 30 year veteran pilot for Flybe Airlines who flew 300 miles from Cardiff to Paris, decided he wasn't qualified to land the plane so turned around and went back?

Yeah, I know...fog conditions. This just in...if you have been flying for 30 years and are 3 steps below qualified to land in those conditions, I am not sure I want you flying me anywhere.