It is normally a moment of cheery reassurance when an airline pilot greets passengers during preparations for take-off. But Alexander Cheplevsky sparked panic on flight Aeroflot 315 when he began to speak.
His slurred and garbled comments ahead of a flight from Moscow to New York convinced passengers that he was drunk. When he apparently switched from Russian into unintelligible English, fear turned to revolt.
Flight attendants initially ignored passengers' complaints and threatened to expel them from the Boeing 767 jet unless they stopped "making trouble".
His slurred and garbled comments ahead of a flight from Moscow to New York convinced passengers that he was drunk. When he apparently switched from Russian into unintelligible English, fear turned to revolt.
Flight attendants initially ignored passengers' complaints and threatened to expel them from the Boeing 767 jet unless they stopped "making trouble".
As the rebellion spread, Aeroflot representatives boarded the aircraft to try to calm down the 300 passengers.
One sought to reassure them by announcing that it was "not such a big deal" if the pilot was drunk because the aircraft practically flew itself.
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Mr Cheplevsky did little to ease passengers' fears by refusing to leave the cockpit to show that he was sober. When he was finally persuaded to face them, witnesses said that he appeared unsteady on his feet and had bloodshot eyes.
"At first, he was looking at us like we were crazy. Then, when we wouldn't back down, he said 'I'll sit here quietly in a corner. We have three more pilots. I won't even touch the controls, I promise'."
Aeroflot's bad day got worse when it emerged that the socialite and television host Ksenia Sobchak was on board. Ms Sobchak, one of Russia's best-known personalities, demanded that all four pilots be replaced.
The pilot told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that he had been celebrating his 54th birthday with friends the night before the flight on December 28, but insisted that he not been drinking.
Probabil ca inainte de urcarea in avion, ... scena arata cam asa:
One sought to reassure them by announcing that it was "not such a big deal" if the pilot was drunk because the aircraft practically flew itself.
Read More...
Mr Cheplevsky did little to ease passengers' fears by refusing to leave the cockpit to show that he was sober. When he was finally persuaded to face them, witnesses said that he appeared unsteady on his feet and had bloodshot eyes.
"At first, he was looking at us like we were crazy. Then, when we wouldn't back down, he said 'I'll sit here quietly in a corner. We have three more pilots. I won't even touch the controls, I promise'."
Aeroflot's bad day got worse when it emerged that the socialite and television host Ksenia Sobchak was on board. Ms Sobchak, one of Russia's best-known personalities, demanded that all four pilots be replaced.
The pilot told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that he had been celebrating his 54th birthday with friends the night before the flight on December 28, but insisted that he not been drinking.
Probabil ca inainte de urcarea in avion, ... scena arata cam asa:
Despre alte incidente cu "Drunk Pilots"... Read More...
* Aeroflot is already reeling from a crash last September of an internal flight run by its subsidiary airline, Aeroflot-Nord. All 88 people on board were killed when the plane burst into flames while making a second attempt to land in bad weather conditions. A report released this week said alcohol was found in the muscle tissue of the pilot Rodion Medvedev. Recordings reveal that Mr Medvedev, who was due to land the plane, handed over the controls to his co-pilot, saying: "You see yourself that I can't."
* In December 2003, Virgin Atlantic pilot Richard Harwell tried to fly between Washington DC and London while drunk. The 55-year-old American was arrested shortly before he was due to leave Dulles airport after a security officer smelled alcohol on his breath. He was sentenced to 60 days in prison.
* In December 2004 Finnish pilot Heikki Tallila, 51, was jailed for six months after falling failing a breath test. The day before he was due to fly his Finnair jet out of Manchester with 225 passengers on board, Tallila drank six glasses of wine and a beer.
3 comments:
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Povesti de groaza!
Eu cel mai sigur ma simt pe El-Al. Majoritatea zborurilor le fac cu compania noastra.
Am zburat o data cu o companie turceasca din Lod spre Antalya. Avionul s-a ridicat frumos deasupra Tel-Avivului cand deodata a avut o cadere de cateva zeci de metri. Foarte neplacut. Tot avionul a urlat de groaza.
La intoarcere am zburat tot cu un avion turcesc. Asta nu avea air-condition.
Pe mine m-a amuzat faza cu pilotul Aeroflot.
Funcţionarii: nu e beat, acesta este "naturel" -ul lui. Probabil că fără o doză de vodcă nu putea să zboare. Sigur ca dacă eram acolo m-aş fi amuzat mai puţin.
Roy, tu ai zburat cu un charter turcesc. Eu am zburat cu Turkish Airlines la Istanbul şi înapoi,in Decembrie trecut. A fost foarte bine, o rutină lină fără evenimente, aşa cum trebuie.
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