You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
-Short Attention Span Theater-
Flight attendant helps land jetliner
2008-11-20
Hey! I seen this movie!
SHANNON, Ireland, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A flight attendant aboard an Air Canada passenger jet helped land the aircraft in Ireland after its co-pilot suffered a mental breakdown, officials said. Irish aviation reports revealed the January incident, which necessitated an emergency landing at Shannon Airport, the British tabloid the Daily Mail reported Wednesday.

Witnesses told investigators the co-pilot aboard the Toronto-to-London flight, which was carrying 146 passengers, began rambling incoherently and eventually became belligerent and uncooperative. His erratic behavior forced the pilot to enlist the help of the flight crew to remove him from the cockpit and restrain him in a passenger seat.

The pilot then asked those aboard the Boeing 767 if anyone had any piloting experience, and a flight attendant with a commercial pilot's license was tapped to help land the jetliner at Shannon, the newspaper said.

Irish officials praised the flight attendant and the rest of the crew for maintaining their calm. Officials indicated the co-pilot was admitted to the acute psychiatric unit of Ennis Regional Hospital in County Claire for 11 days, the Daily Mail said.
Posted by:Steve White

#10  I could be wrong but commercial pilot license means you can fly 747s but only as long as they are loaded with cargo not passengers.

In oral circumsatnces you also need to be qualified for that specific plane.

Also notice that in this particular case there was a qualified pilot doing the landing so the attendant only needed to act like Pilot not in Function (ie communicate the radio, read the check list and similar tasks.
Posted by: JFM   2008-11-20 17:05  

#9  Yes, and don't call me shirley.
Posted by: newc   2008-11-20 15:14  

#8  Probably wanted to be a pilot, and qualified as such, but with the cutbacks there were no positions available. So she gets to serve lunch (they still do that?) until things turn around for the industry. She may retire first.
Posted by: KBK   2008-11-20 12:32  

#7  The pilot then asked those aboard the Boeing 767 if anyone had any piloting experience

Um, yeah, that reminds me of another scene in Airplane.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2008-11-20 11:59  

#6  While having a commercial pilot's license means the Flight Attendant wasn't quite so inexperienced as you'd think, it's still quite good for them to step up to the plate when needed.
Posted by: Silentbrick   2008-11-20 11:37  

#5  Surely it wasn't SJS...
Posted by: swksvolFF   2008-11-20 11:23  

#4  Co-Pilot had a stroke?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles   2008-11-20 10:31  

#3  Does anyone on board speak Obamaese?
Posted by: Besoeker   2008-11-20 08:20  

#2  I'm tempted to ask if they interrupted his prayer session, but I won't.
Posted by: gorb   2008-11-20 01:12  

#1  If he gets some off campus privileges, he should go down to Miltown Malbay. Great pubs. Or maybe Doolin.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2008-11-20 01:12  

00:00