Flight canceled after pilot curses at passengers

[kurth]

Flight canceled after pilot curses at passengers

(CNN) -- Northwest Airlines canceled a flight with 180 passengers aboard after the pilot began cursing at passengers while the plane was being prepared for takeoff in Las Vegas on Friday, airline officials and witnesses said. The cancellation disrupted Easter travel plans for many of the passengers.

From the moment the captain stepped aboard Flight 1190 to Detroit, passengers reported hearing him use "animated" language while talking on his cell phone, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor told CNN. "He was having a fit, swearing up a storm," a passenger on the flight said. "He was saying 'F this' and 'F that.'"

When confronted about it by passengers, the pilot became "obscene" and began cursing at the customers, she said. "He made a big disturbance." The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and the local FAA flight standards office were notified, Gregor said. Police arrived on the scene, pulled the pilot aside and interviewed him.

He was not administered a field sobriety test. CNN was unable to immediately contact the police officers involved. The FAA officials called Northwest Airlines headquarters. The airline decided to remove the pilot from the aircraft and fly him to Detroit for further questioning...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/07/swearing.pilot

[Skittles]

1. I'm known to blow off steam and cuss a bit *heh*

but I would be concerned about a pilot I perceived to be in need of anger management :O

[cboy4]

2. Frankly, I wouldn't have cared less. So he was having a bad day, big deal.

However, I can understand why some passengers would be upset.

Keep in mind there are two pilots in the flight deck. Not just him.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

3. Pretty crappy remediation for the passengers...

"Northwest Airlines then canceled the flight, apologized for the delay and offered hotel accommodations and penalty-free re-booking on the next available flight out of Las Vegas, a spokesman for the airline said."

I would hope they offer a voucher for $200 as well as "penalty-free re-booking".

"penalty-free re-booking" -- how benevolent of them for causing the flight to be canceled.

[Hekate]

4. You expect a pilot to be in complete control of his/her temper at all times...

This would be a scary experience -- the profanity is a minor issue compared to the display of uncontrolled anger. I don't want my pilot having a tantrum at 35,000 feet, thank you. The airline did right to pull him asap.

Hekate

[Double T]

5. Certainly don't need pilots with 'sky rage' flying passengers around........

maybe he had a fight with his wife?....girlfriend?.....BOTH?

[spoony]

6. Airline travel must be the worst service industry in the entire country

I know that in my experience I've never encountered worse service nor more arrogance and 'you-should-be-thanking-us-for-treating-you-like-shit' attitude. Then there's the other passengers, half of whom get drunk from either boredom or nerves, making the entire thing a horrible mess.

[regnaD kciN]

7. Odd in several respects...

First off, I may not travel all that much, but this is the first time I've heard of a captain using a cellphone on board his aircraft, even if they were still on the ground.

Second, the notion that he was doing so where the passengers could overhear his conversation is even stranger. (At least he didn't start speaking Arabic in mid-conversation. :evilgrin: )

Third, that passengers would choose to "confront" the captain about the language he was using during the call. I'm not saying they were wrong to do so, but I can't imagine walking up to a pilot while he's talking on the phone, and telling them "I'm sorry, but could you tone down your language?"

In general, this whole story seems to rate a big :wtf: .

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. Was this angry dope carrying a gun?

I would hope not.

[Wilber_Stool]

9. Yeah, soon we'll start seeing pilots from

India and China in the cockpit and they'll swear in Hindi and Mandarin and we won't have to be offended. That'll teach those pilots to get stressed over things like 50% pay cuts and loss of health insurance and more time in the cockpit job security.