Tallulah

I would be absolutely FURIOUS, and would demand compensation, if my plane was delayed for two hours because the pilot had a hissy fit at someone asking if he had been drinking. By all accounts this man was calm, wasn't drunk and wasn't showing signs of violence - so what was the issue? And why on earth did it take two hours - wouldn't a straightforward breathalyser test have been enough?

Northshore, I'm with you on this one. Stupid and hysterical over-reaction.

Cato

This story sounds a bit fishy. I don't follow the logic for why the passenger was removed from the flight. Nothing was said about the man being drunk, violent or verbally abusive. Did he have garlic breathe or was so ugly as to cause eye strain?

And why would the passengers cheer the Captain? How would they know what the passenger asked the Captain?

I think Tony needs another brand of after-shave and the poor passenger needs a good lawyer.

Sue_xx_yy

I'd agree to the hysterical over-reaction diagnosis if the passenger had asked (quietly) to have a third party official interview Tony and decide if further action was warranted. (I say third party on the assumption that the crew might feel reluctant to interview a superior officer themselves.) Again, it's not having the pilot checked out for sobriety that is the problem, since of course one can't let a pilot have final authority if the matter under review is whether he is sober, and hence competent, to administer final authority.

So again, the problem is not the raising of safety concerns by a passenger, but a passenger undertaking - facetiously or otherwise - to adjudicate these matters him or herself, as opposed to limiting themselves to the reporting of same. How safe would I feel if average Joe starts considering himself an authority? Not at all.

However, those who are concerned about this can always contact their regular airline and make inquiries and suggestions. My guess is that airlines are willing to listen, since it's not like delays like this don't cost them money. Aircraft are huge capital investments, and time out of service is time lost to generating revenue.

Scarlett

Cato
<i>&quot;Did he have garlic breathe or was so ugly as to cause eye strain?</i>
LOL

Cato

Scarlett, he was so darn ugly, he would
give Freddy Kreuger nightmares.

monicapileggi

&quot;Nothing was said about the man being drunk, violent or verbally abusive.&quot;

Tony didn't give all details in his preivous message, so you are responding based on your assumptions. The guy was in fact loud and abusive to the point that others could hear him in the plane. Again, he made the right decision. End of this subject for us.

Monica

Raghnall

In other situations this may be a non-issue. During a flight the Captain is responsible for everyone on the plane. I'm sure that Capt. Tony didn't have a phsychoanalyst available to tell him if the man was a jerk, someone with an ill-timed sense of humor or a real troublemaker. Capt Tony also has a responsibility to the passengers, his company and himself. To have done nothing would be inviting trouble. I feel that Capt Tony did the absolutely correct thing.
DKay also has a lot of responsibilty. I don't think being a FA is easy and from what I understand it's also not very high on the pay scales. DKay should not have to bear the brunt of anyone's bad behavior or inappropriate sense of humor.
A troublesome passenger can be a pain for everyone. This includes the FAs, the GAs and other passengers.
Raghnall (77 flights in 2005)

Scarlett

LOL Cato,
Then it is a good thing he was tossed off the plane!. We have to keep our standards!

NorthShore

Monica, look up the word assumption.

It was a FACT that you did not say anything about him being loud and abusive until your last post. If you had said so at the beginning, then of course, everyone would have agreed with him being removed. Are you making this up as you go along?

Little details are very important when you are up at 35,000 feet.

Viajero2

Are we missing something here? When and how was it established that the passenger was &quot;a fool&quot;? By the synopisis of the story, it seems the pilot didn't even discussed the passenger's concerns with the passenger, if anything for Lessons Learned (was there an understandable reason why the passenger got this impression?). If a pilot is greeting me (his/her passenger) and I notice/have reasons to question his/her current state of health/mind, then I SHOULD, I MUST, I HAVE TO say something. The best way to do it is to ask him/her directly and give the chance to discuss. If he/she had been sweating profusely or showing signs of dizziness, etc...I would be wrong to just sit and hope that everything was OK. While I wholeheartedly agree with the pilot's course of action of voluntarily taking the medical test, I completely disagree with his action of having the passenger removed, and let me add, that if a pilot is greeting me and I have reasons to believe he/she is not in the right state to fly the plane I WILL question him/her.

monicapileggi

When I originally wrote this, I wrote it from memory (I was at work so I didn't have Tony around to ask for the details). With some of the comments here, I have been able to get clarification from Tony. None of this was made up. Anyone that knows me, and I've been posting here since 1996), knows I wouldn't make this up.

Monica

Cato

It has been my experience that it is very hard for a spouse to totally objective when the actions of the other spouse are held up for public inspection.

It is only naturally for them to be a bit defensive and protective, and this is as it should be.

Always good when &quot;the rest of the story&quot; comes out sooner and not later.

AnthonyGA

So a passenger with a suspicious should remain silent and die with the other passengers when the drunken pilot of the plane crashes it? I don't think so.

The passenger may have been loud in order to make sure that some sort of action was taken to verify the sobriety of the pilot. Certainly I'd be very vocal if I were asking the question; it would not be a top-secret inquiry, but a matter concerning everyone on board.

I've heard that pilots tend to have egos higher than their cruising altitudes (which is why they insist on receiving far more than they are worth at the height of their careers), and this seems to support that rumor.

nytraveler

If you have any sense at all the way to approach a concern you may have about the sobriety of a pilot is not to stand shouting in the middle of the plane. This merely makes you look ridiculous - and brings into doubt your own sobriety - or sanity.

The proper course of action is to speak to the gate attendant - who would take any such question very seriously and act on it - unless of course, you're the one who is drunk or otherwise mentally incapacitated.

(Ever see Airline??? The incidence of drunken/unruly passengers seems to be truly staggering - perhaps a combo of drugs and booze to counteract fear of flying.)

AnthonyGA

The crucial difference, however, is that passengers don't fly the plane. Have you ever seen <i>The Pilot</i>?

LoveItaly

Since Tony passed all the alcohol and whatever other tests were given to him obviously there was not a problem.

What problem did the passenger have?

We all have our own ideas and opinions but from what I have read I truly feel this passenger had some kind of a problem. Again, the pilot is in control of his aircraft, is he not? If one doesn't like that than one should find some other form of transportation.

DKay

A thank you to Raghnall for your and all other supporters. As for you Northshore I expect you like to rally up things a bit. First of all I am a pleasure to work with and the reason I do this job is because I enjoy it. I have been a FA for 11 years and my father was a pilot. The pilots I work with daily are professionals and take their jobs very serious. Different FAs handle things differently just as in other profession and no I don't make very much money. I like what I do. If I have to reseat a passenger because he is bothering another for various reasons I will do it. I will handle it in a manner as not to bother or upset other passengers. You all must understand that since 9/11 we now have new concerns. Why is someone trying to distract us or draw attention to himself or the crew? No, we don't want you to sit down and shut up,we want your flight to be a pleasant one. We as flight crews have to be aware of all things big and small on our planes. We may have several FBI agents on the aircraft,or Law enforcement traveling with prisoners. We have to be concerned to not to draw attention to them. What if that drunk was sitting next to the agent? The agent will ask me reseat the passenger, it may upset the passenger, but I can't always explain to you or give you the details. When you want to move to another seat and I say no,the passenger usually get angry and will be very rude and question me, but remember there is always a reason and its not my whim. We try not to draw attention to the different types of passenger we have. As a rule on any given day I will have someone traveling who has lost a love one and is flying to get to them and they just need a little peace, or a mother with child traveling for a life saving surgery. You as passengers don't know that, theres no reason for you too. Last week I had a mother that just lost her daughter and all of her grandchildren in an auto accident. Our flight crew on a daily basis will have kidneys,eyes or a liver in the flight deck going to save someones life. We are trying to help these people as well all other passengers,and on most days I deal with passengers who are very rude. A rude passengers doesn't bother me, I understand how the general public can be, but what does bothers me is the public not understanding we are not on a bus that you can stop and get off. Flying on an airplane is serious business and not to be made light of. Tony understands that, thats why he nip it in the bud by taking the test. I would have done the same. It's me, my job and the passengers safety. Comments, rather they are off the cuff or not are taken to be serious,and yes we do use common since,we can't afford to make half cock judgements, I take the terrorist very serious and you should too. We have to think about being 40 thousand feet in the air with 200 + passengers depending on us. So it's like anything else, until you have walked a mile in a mans shoes you really don't know the whole story. I'm ending my part of this conversation as I have a pleasant peaceful trip to plan for my vacation.