http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/07/swearing.pilot/
Flight canceled after pilot curses at passengers
POSTED: 10:57 a.m. EDT, April 7, 2007
(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,
first-class 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. Gregor said he did not
know the reasons behind that decision and CNN was unable to
immediately contact the police officers involved.
The FAA officials called Northwest Airlines headquarters and were
instructed by the chief pilot for the company to remove the pilot from
the aircraft. The chief pilot also requested that the pilot be flown
to Detroit for further questioning, Gregor said.
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.
The airline said "a review of the matter" was being conducted and the
decision to cancel the flight was made "due to reports of
inappropriate language by a crew member."
Mike Fergus, an FAA spokesman, said the FAA's flight standards
investigation unit was looking into the incident. According to Fergus,
the FAA has the authority to send a "letter of admonition" to the
pilot or, in the most extreme cases, revoke a pilot's FAA certificate,
which would ground the pilot.
"I had to call and cancel two family dinners and we're stuck here an
extra night," a passenger said. "We've been at the airport for six
hours waiting -- it's chaos. It's Easter weekend...we want to be
home." |