Tag Archives for pilot.
American Airlines pilot Jeff Fell made a tear-jerker of an announcement to the cabin of his last flight, from Charlotte to Chicago O’Hare. A pilot’s last flight is very special, and can be accompanied by family and friends and will often receive a water cannon salute. “If I get a little emotional, please forgive me for that.”
He’d gotten together with friends to celebrate his friend who had died, and he mixed mushrooms and alcohol – and days later thought he was dreaming and couldn’t wake up. All he was trying to do was wake up and that’s why he tried to kill the engines, and also tried to open the plane’s emergency exit once taken to the back. He even says that the grabbed a coffee pot from the galley and drank it straight to wake himself up.
While being held by police at the airport he took off all of his clothes, he urinated on himself, and he tried cuffing the carrot… all to ‘wake up.’ When he was given a phone to call an attorney, he instead rang his wife and sang It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boyz II Men.
An American Airlines passenger was upgraded to first class along with his girlfriend, but she was subsequently moved to economy due to a supposedly broken seat, which was then occupied by a pilot. This incident raises questions about the airline’s priorities and policies, especially in light of a new contract allowing pilots first-class seats when deadheading.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Delta Air Lines co-pilot, Jonathan Dunn, part of the Federal Flight Deck Officer program, pulled a gun on his flight’s captain, threatening him multiple times against diverting the plane for a passenger with a medical emergency.
An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot, riding the cockpit’s jump seat, attempted to shut off the engines mid-flight from Seattle Paine Field to San Francisco. The ensuing cockpit altercation, lasting around 90 seconds, are laid out in the criminal complaint against the jump seat rider. Here’s what happened during those crucial moments, and then once he was sent to the back of the plane.
The answer to what transpired actually comes from an internal American Airlines communication about the incident, where the airline explains that “44 year old Joseph Emerson tried “to disable the aircraft engines while at cruise altitude by deploying the engine fire suppressions system.”
Sunday evenings Alaska Airlines flight 2059, a Horizon Air flight from Seattle’s Paine Field to San Francisco, diverted to Portland. It appears that a pilot was jumpseating and “tried to shut the engines down and crash the airplane.”
According to Alaska Airlines, “no weapons were involved, and the crew was able to secure the cabin without incident.”
Air Canada has suspended a pilot who went on a social media posting rampage against Israel and Jews. The pilot posted to his since-deleted Instagram account in uniform draped in a Palestinian flag and stating, Israel – Hitler is proud of you – terrorist state,” “F- you Israel. Burn in hell” and “Keep the world clean” as a caption to eliminating an Israeli flag.
A co-pilot snorted coke off of a woman’s breasts the night before a Johannesburg – London flight last month and put details of a substance-fueled orgy in writing in a series of texts to a flight attendant before trying to work the trip home. She reported it and the flight was cancelled. He was drug tested on arrival back in London and fired.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
