I fully agree with you, Caedes. Prayer is OK as long as you don't fail to do your utmost to solve the problem yourself to the extent you reasonably can, like the pilot should obviously have done.
Actually, I forgot to add to my first post that as I was falling asleep yesterday I heard a voice inside me (my own, of course) saying: "Olga, you are probably as irrational as the lady you visited today, but don't let that worry you. Keep on praying as long as it gives you a measure of pleasure and comfort. After all, you are not hurting anybody..." ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ (I don't know if it means the same in English, what I mean is that I next fell peacefully asleep)...