The use of singular they is more than a 1000 year old, borrowed from the Norse during the Viking incursions.
It was used in the Wycliff Bible (1382) and The Canterbury Tales (1400).
The teaching of plural only they to be replaced by a generic he began in the late 18th century and never caught on with the peasant class no matter how hard the educated classes insisted.
When I was in high school in the 70’s I was taught that singular they was acceptable when the antecedent gender was unknown.
It was good enough for Jane Austen, it’s good enough for me.
It could also imply that the helicopter pilot was suffering from identity crisis, which most woke asshats want everyone to assume.
For some reason, I read this with a British accent. It’s bad enough to hear from the Grammar Police but do we really need the Grammar History Police as well? I may or may not be interested to know for how many decades has that knowledge been stuck in your brain just itching for the opportunity to ooze from your head to your fingers?
I know it’s early but any post that includes Viking incursions, the Wycliff Bible, the Canterbury Tales, and Jane Austen is my choice for best post of the day.