Pilot (The Macra Terror)

The Pilot was the senior executive of the colony that had been taken over by the Macra, in charge of the pits and most of the day-to-day organisation. He was consulting with Barney about his dance troupe for the next competition when Medok ran past, having escaped from the correction centre. The Pilot ordered Ola and his guards to pursue him. After Medok had been caught thanks to the arrival of the Doctor, Polly, Ben and Jamie, the Pilot welcomed them to the colony and escorted them to visit Barney at the refreshing department.

When the Doctor released Medok from his cell, the Pilot accepted his ignorance of the law and had him and his companions sent to visit the pits instead to learn more about the colony. When the Doctor was found with Medok, the Pilot was unable to accept that they had seen Macra but believed Medok's claim the Doctor had been trying to make him give himself up. He oversaw the attempts to "correct" Medok but, when he resisted, sent him to the pits for life.

The Doctor and Jamie were brought before the Pilot again after the Doctor had destroyed microphones intended to brainwash his companions. The Doctor destroyed a similar device in the Pilot's office before Ben arrived with Polly, who claimed they had been attacked by Macra. Control claimed that Polly was hallucinating, prompting the Doctor to demand to see the Controller in person. The Pilot made the request and they witnessed the Controller being attacked by Macra. The Pilot ordered the Doctor, Polly and Jamie sent to the pits anyway, telling Ben to keep an eye on them, and was then instructed by Control to forget what he had seen.

The Pilot was angry when he visited the pit office to find the Doctor had used the instruments to work out how the colony's gas flow operated. When Ben reported that Jamie had escaped down the old shaft, the Pilot asked permission from Control to send guards after it but was denied and instead instructed to tell Officia to pump gas down the shaft, intended to revive the Macra there. When the Doctor took charge of the pit head and redirected the gas flow, the Pilot sent guards to stop him.

After Jamie was recaptured, Ola criticised the Pilot's handling of the situation, accusing him of lacking discipline and authority. The Doctor and Polly arrived and the Doctor asked the Pilot to accompany him into forbidden territory. Control ordered all colonists back to work and instructed the strangers be placed under arrest but the Pilot refused to obey and accompanied the Doctor, even after hearing Control relieve him of authority and order his arrest. There, he discovered that Control was a Macra.

The Pilot returned to the colony, intending to take charge and defy Control, but Ola had him placed under arrest along with the Doctor, Polly and Jamie and imprisoned in the pipe room. The Macra then began to fill the room with gas, intending to brainwash them. They were saved by Ben, who followed the Doctor's instructions and redirected the gas flow, causing an explosion that killed the Macra. Grateful for the travellers' help, the Pilot announced that a "strangers' trophy" would be awarded each year in memory of them.