Video has surfaced appearing to show an American Airlines flight where a pilot made an announcement prior to passengers deplaning where he shared his sins as he found Christ. It appears the incident took place prior to the airline stopping publication of its inflight magazine a little over a month ago.
In the man’s testimony he offers details on his childhood and his journey away from pornography and promiscuous sex. He tells a story about being raped as a child, becoming a sex and pornography addict, and having suicidal thoughts. He says he started working as a gate agent before training to become a pilot and working at a regional airline. He says he’s been married for 5 years but cheating on his wife with men.
Live and Let’s Fly wonders if “this whole video is fabricated?” though several commenters on Reddit chime in to confirm the story.
The original Reddit poster who shared the video “said that they had just pulled up to the gate” and the “first officer [who was] deadheading” had to “give this little spiel before he would allow the passengers to deplane.”
I have a hard time believing that the captain and first officer would allow this other pilot, if this description is accurate, to make this announcement. The whole scene is frankly too unbelievable to be real.
Reuters correspondent Jamie Freed puts what we’re all thinking thusly,
Wow, I have sat near the galley on US flights and overheard flight attendants gossiping about who is sleeping with what pilot but this is insane!
— Jamie Freed (@Jamie_Freed) August 5, 2021
(HT: Live and Let’s Fly)
This is…odd? I’m not really sure wtf is going on.
He might not be terminated but he will surely be counseled. While it might be cathartic for the first officer, he now embroils his company in his personal matters. Corporations are fanatics about their branding, and well should be. My airline has strict dress codes for the pilots and flight attendants when in public and wearing any identifiable part of the uniform. Thus, when this “born again”, whatever his religion, decided to wear his uniform and confess to the COMPANY’S customers, he violated his employer and the customers that pay his salary. Good for the soul but very poor judgement for his employer.
Everything I’ve seen indicates it was a regional FO riding as a passenger that asked the FA’s to make an announcement. Weird still. No way that was working crew. I fly for American and if the other pilot ever did anything like that (and all my colleagues agree) I would immediately pack my stuff and say “I’m out.”
Very, very sad to hear his story but if he thinks that a planeload of captive passengers that didn’t ask to be part of his personal support group is an appropriate forum to air it all, he has probably made one of the most career-limiting if not ending decisions.
I wish him the best in his recovery which must include understanding appropriate boundaries
Wow…..just what a plane full of people need to hear. This dellusional guy’s screwed up life story and how he has recently decided to join a cult that tells him that he and everyone else have no control over their lives and that if they die there is an imaginary place where everyone will live happily ever after. He should be banned from flying period, no less piloting the damn plane.
Nothing like wrecking the public image and perception of what was once a highly respected,
professional, glamorized and admired image of airline pilots. Understand pilots are people
too, but this does a great disservice to pilots in general. What has happened to pilots in the last
few years? This is not the first incident involving airline pilots either on or off duty. Seems like
the high standards are slowly going down the tubes, much as they are in everything else in American society. If this continues, and if these guys don’t get their acts together, soon we will
have zombies flying the airplanes. Flying is a discipline that requires not only exactness in function,
but also carries with it a very important public image of trust, confidence, maturity, authority,
common sense and good judgement on the part of those pilots. We trust them to be good, moral,
skilled professional people and we trust our safety and lives to them for the duration of our flights.
We do not expect freaks, morons, or psychos to be operating our airplanes. Is there no “code of conduct” among these guys anymore????
What it boils down to is, to many if the pilot just ‘came out’ or mocked a Christian lifestyle and said he had found peace in some alternative lifestyle many people would have clapped and hooted and hollered. However, in this strange age where certain boundaries are non existent, this is no surprise. You’d never hear a story like this on SNL or The View or any morning TV show, other than maybe Fox & Friends….while I do feel this venue normally is not the right one for personal stories, I’ve sat through many others make odd announcements from airplane speakers and some I didn’t agree with while passengers surrounding me applauded….honestly I didn’t care because hearing someone else speak is not a violation of my rights and if someone is brave enough to do so, why not give them that courtesy as a fellow human being even if you don’t agree? I find that people today are fine with strange outbursts in places that should normally be quiet like planes and restaurants so long as they agree with what is said….but if they don’t agree the issue becomes a big deal…that is not the way it works…if it’s Ok to boldly announce an alternative lifestyle or cheer legislation that supports one side of a debate it is ok to celebrate a man’s victory over sin and his life’s transformation as a result. I say God Bless Him!
He is quoting Scriptures admonition to “ confess your sins one to another, and so fulfil the law of Christ’. I’m certain Christ means privately.
I hope American Airlines give him a second chance, based on his flying abilities and also provide him counselling. I feel empathy for him and wish him well.
Mark Rascio you need help.
It was a 25 year old kid that worked for a regional airline, not an American Airlines pilot. The pilots that were working this flight were incredibly angry that this happened, and very embarrassed. He has since been terminated. But, the good news is that he will likely be hired by Spirit or Allegiant any day now. Every regional pilot that I have known that get fired end up at Spirit.
@Pilot Guy – He was an AAL pilot, but not mainline, it turns out he was with Envoy and did this while riding mainline
Yes, this is inappropriate. But so are the airline staff who make BLM or LGBT comments over PA systems. How would American handle this if it had been a black employee or woke white employee making a BLM statement?
Airline pilots, whether major or regional have always been somewhat of an “exalted”
group of folks. In uniform, they present a fully professional image to the flying public.
At least, that is the way it used to be among passengers. Pilots were admired, respected,
and were often glorified. What happened? Either there is a problem psycologically with some
of these guys that is being missed in the hiring process, or the standards of conduct are being
grossly ignored by management. Which is it? What’s the fix in order to restore respect for
pilots and weed out the zombies and freaks that seem to be filling some of these cockpits?
Should have made him walk instead of fly, or if in flight, toss him out without a parachute!
Toss this garbage overboard….and put him on a no-fly list along with all the other trouble
makers out there who cause problems.
As a pilot, “he should have known better”…..poor judgement and no common sense. No
consideration for others either (passengers or fellow flight crew, or the airline itself).
Instead of Porn again he’s born again!…..Kind of sad how far much of the Christian Church has devolved away from Christ’s progressive and very liberal teachings to now seemingly promoting some very sanctimonious and frankly weird public behavior. Under the influence of Trump many far right church’s have redefined the Golden Rule to mean gold rules, they spout hatred of Democrats, gays, different spiritual beliefs etc. They are “pro life” as long as they can have a gun. Has there ever been a President that embodies the anti Christ more then Trump? I don’t think so.
This poor guy needs help and should not be in the cockpit if he has talked about suicidal thoughts, …..and he is still gay and should come to terms with that and not hang out with people that vilify that.
I heartily disagree 100% with the “empathy” suggestion.
This guy should never fly again commercially or be placed in any venue that is public,
especially where the public is a captive audience. Not only did he disrespect himself,
but he cast dispersions upon the rest of the crew on that flight and pilots in general,
particularly American Airlines.
Whatever pilots say and do often has a lasting effect in passengers institutional memory.
They never forget their flying experiences.
In retrospect, while Trump was no angel, he was much better that the clown we have
running the country today…..
As for the Golden Rule, you are correct in your assumptions that its definition has changed.
The new Golden Rules goes something like this:
1. “He who has the gold, makes the rules”
2. If in doubt, refer to rule 1 above.
Well David, you certainly have made my point with your 100% against extending help to someone who needs it and admitting the sad state of affairs in our country that thinks Trumps narcissism and money is more important then integrity as a good thing.
The right wing just loves to hate don’t they.
You could do well with a little retrospection and counseling yourself.
Hi John:
Some people are just beyond rational “help” as you put it. They need to be “shown” what
is right and what is wrong. This guy is a product of poor upbringing and no discipline
when he was younger. He was not “raised” but instead, appears to have grown up “wild”
and “untamed” to pull a stunt like that. Too much “momism”. What you suggest is a slap
on the wrist type of approach. I suggest much more stringent action to make a believer
out of him and others like him. Society today is full of nut jobs. If unchecked, this societal
ill will just get worse with time as more and more people try it and expect to get away with it.
I’m 73 years old. I’ve seen it all and I know what works — and what doesn’t. It’s time to kick ass
and take names, and if you have to step on a few heads and crush a few skulls every now
and then in order to make a point, then so be it. I am glad I lived when I did and in a time
when people were still “normal” and this nonsense was just not tolerated anywhere in public,
on the airplanes, or in the work place.
Well David, I really don’t know what this guys background is to argue that point but think “crushing the skull” of everyone that needs help is pretty harsh. Main thing is I think we do have enough
info here to agree that he should not be siting in the cockpit of a commercial airliner.
We can agree that there is a lot of nut cases in this country…we all saw that on Jan 6th!
Peggy McKeon YOU are the one who needs help! Mark comments are spot on!
@David
Yep,
Your rule No. 1 “He who has the gold makes the rules.” That would be the rich man Chump.
Rule No. 2 If in doubt, refer to Rule No. 1 above. Yep, that would be Chump again.
Yeah, Chump did so much for this country as in helping anyone who donated to him
or said good things about him. Yep, such a great man who lives by his own set of “Golden Rules.”
Chumps entire administration was a comedy of errors!!!!!!
David your comments are reprehensible!! No other word for it.
You are quick to condemn Trump, AND me. Don’t blame me. I didn’t vote for him and
was never a Trumpster…..didn’t vote for Biden either.
Presumably, you are a Biden guy. Good for you….
What about the Biden mess? All the illegals and migrants? The runway Covid?
The eventual return of masks everywhere? Covid passports? Runaway spending?
Biased news reporting. Censorship, and all the heavy Govt Socialist, Communist control over everything.
Biden said he was going to “Transform America”, and he is doing it. Unfortunately,
not the America we know or knew.
If you relook history, Adolph Hitler said the same thing in 1939 to the German people.
He said: “In 10 years you will not recognize Germany”. He was right. He was able to
deliver on that promise in 1945 — when Germany lay in ruins after the war. We are
likely headed down the same path with the current regime. Unfortunately, most people
today are too stupid to know or want to research their own or the worlds history, so they are
bound to have to repeat it during their lifetimes.
Are you fuckin’ liberals blind, deaf and dumb or just plain stupid??? Can’t you see what
is happening to the US, or do just not care?
David I am a conservative and did not vote for Biden. Your comments however were hateful and in no way will bring people from the other side over to the conservative realm.
Imagine, if you will, being forced to stay on the plane, and listen to someone who wanted to share their experience in converting to Islam, and that you need to find a path to Muhammed and truth.
Suddenly, his spiel doesn’t seem quite right.
A corporation is no place for one to express their personal beliefs, especially beliefs in imaginary beings that control all aspects of human life.
Yank his license, send him to therapy. Don’t let him control the destiny of hundreds of “souls”.
John:
At least we agree on something. The idea of stepping on heads and crushing a few skulls
was a metaphor from when I was a First Sergeant in the US Army — seriously, you had to
crack a few heads from the younger misfit troops in order to get their undivided attention.
Once that was done, you chewed around their ass until the hole fell out on the floor and
begged for mercy. That method worked and once done, we never had any more problems.
That is the authority figure which is absent everywhere today. Those in authority are afraid
to exercise their authority for fear or reprisal, termination, law suits or whatever. We have
become soft and too easy going, and are more content to just look away when someone
causes a problem.
Point is, the misfits in society today have neither respect for rules or laws, nor fear of punishment
for what they have done. They have the upper hand now. They get away with everything these days, so the problems persist, and in the end, the problems become bigger and bigger until things get out of control or the legal system either just quits, shuts down, or looks the other way. That’s a problem in the making.
Last week there was the story of the captain who proclaimed himself to be “god” on the airplane.
I agreed with him. He did in fact exercise his authority using similar metaphors. But…he got his
point across and there were NO problems once he did his thing. We need more like that in order
to quell some of this nonsense that is raging everywhere, especially on airliners.
As for the “porn again” pilot — he has a problem of his own. I do agree that he should not be in
an airplane cockpit carrying passengers. It makes me think he may have other issues besides
what he was talking about, similiar to the German pilot (German Wings) who purposely crashed his plane full of people into the French Alps. He was a nut case too. Porn again guy has an issue somewhere, but yet “unseen”….. until something really serious occurs. By then, it is too late.
Cmorgan:
Not an issue with me. Think what you will. I am old school, no bullshit, no nonsense, and I have
no use for cry babies or wimps. Either lead, follow or get out of the way. Grow a back bone!
Follow the rules, behave, be kind to others, stay cheerful, have a positive attitude, do your job and everyone goes home happy. In the end, you may become healthy, wealthy and wise with time.
I’m not going to belabor this point with you any further. I don’t care what you think or
what you do. That’s your business. I am not trying to win you or anyone else over to a
more conservative side; I don’t play that game either, as I am not remotely interested in
any of that.
I am three times retired, have lived a good life and am generally happy and upbeat. I fly airplanes
mostly for fun as time permits (Part 61/68) and teach Ground School. I am a combat vet with five (5) different combat assignments to my credit (Airborne, Vietnam 2 X, Grenada ’83, Panama ’88 and Desert Storm ’90, so I have been around the block a few times. I have been hardened over time, I’ll admit that, but being so, has made me successful because I set a high standard for myself and others and am well disciplined, detail oriented, and thorough in everything I do. No short cuts, and no slack.
Zebraitis:
Good point. It is one of the very reasons why I do not, and refuse to fly ever again on any
commercial airliners anywhere.
While I love flying, flying today on an airliner is nothing like flying when I was much younger
and when flying was pleasurable and folks dressed up, and were well behaved, courteous,
etc. No fights, no riots, no cancelled flights (which seems to be the rule these days with almost
chronic regularity). My best flight that I can recall was in the 1950s on a TWA Super G
Constellation. 50 passengers, tables between seat pairs, and seats facing each other – no overcrowding and no overbooked flights. Fly was fun and something to be looked forward to.
Kids often got to visit the cockpit during the flight (try that today! Never happen). Compare that
to today where most US domestic airliners are now mostly flying cattle cars or in some cases,
flying pig palaces. It is truly a mess. I hear it all the time from my pilot friends (some are airline
pilots).
David you and I will have to agree to disagree. Thanks for you’re service. I sadly (regret that now) did not sign up. My dad was a Lt. Colonel munitions and tanks. My brother was in Nam. I am the youngest. I agree with toughness however I am not willing to throw this pilot ( most likely a vet) into the same category as the nut cases who rioted looted and burned our cities and the nut jobs who invaded the capitol and assaulted LE.
He can save himself a lot of grief if he will just accept the fact he is gay. Trying to hide will hurt a lot of other people in his life. He can repent all he wants but eventually he will be in bed with another man.
David, you are the poster child for the phrase “progress comes one funeral at a time.”
An admittedly awful thing to say. And yet…
@ David
Reading the sh*t you write, is like reading turds in a toilet bowl! Just plain crazy! A View From the Wing is now another form of extremism. The whack jobs in America!
Those of you who yearn for the time of regulation , when people dressed up and then smoked for an entire 10 hour flight
If I take a flight, I’m not interested in hearing about gay sex or porn addiction. There is a time and place for everything. Certainly, it is ridiculous passengers and staff have to see BLM pins and gay pride pins without whites and Christians and straights being afforded the opportunity to wear White Pride pins, straight pride pins, and christian pride pins. If I see someone who gives off Christian or conservative vibes, my heart is filled with love and joy. However, I don’t want to hear unprompted testimony or speeches on anything (race/religion/economics). I just want a peaceful flight. That’s why lgbt and anti white diversity propaganda has no place in a public business. Sure, if we all had our own airlines/businesses/schools/neighborhoods we’d all happier and could be around our own.
@Cmorgan
There is no bringing people from the other side over. They hate us. 87% of blacks vote leftist because leftist policies that harm whites and destroy freedom are helpful to blacks. We need to admit that talking gets us nowhere and we better use our own numbers and embolden ourselves. We have the numbers to be a formidable force if only we stopped elevating fake conservatives who tell us to stand back, do nothing, shuck and jive, and compromise. Being “reasonable”, “civil”, “nice”, and following leftist law and order has not gotten us anywhere good for the last 90 years. It’s been downhill.
@ Jackson WATERFORBRAINS . GET HELP !
@john
The people we saw on Jan 6th were Patriots.
An airline captain is pilot in command of an aircraft. He is (supposed to be, anyway) the final authority in safely and professionally concluding any given flight as he is ultimately responsible. A first officer should be a captain in training.
Unfortunately, flight crews have become a sort of afterthought as management and other work groups see them as glorified uber drivers whose job is to merely comply with “policy.”
Even ATC has gotten into the act now that they can see weather…shut up and comply with your clearance to facilitate our traffic flow.
Train to proficiency has become train on the cheap. The half day psychological testing of interviewees is history.
Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. If you want a professional pilot corps, you can create one. If you want pilots who, to paraphrase Rockafeller, work and don’t think you can get that too.