Copilot peeing in public cancels JAL flight from Honolulu

by Scott Carmichael on

Of all the reasons to have your flight canceled, I’m pretty sure this one is high on the “no frikkin way!” list.

The copilot of JAL flight 75 from Honolulu to Narita was arrested by local police for urinating in a park. The copilot had consumed a bottle of wine and 5 bottles of beer, when the urge “to go” was clearly greater than the urge to find an appropriate place to relive himself.

When a police officer saw him, the copilot was arrested and delivered to the police station. He was then detained for two nights before being released after paying a $25 fine.

JAL issued a statement declaring that they “deeply apologize for causing inconvenience to the passengers”.

My main concern is why a copilot is consuming so much alcohol. The only upside is that he was arrested on Tuesday, and his flight was not scheduled to depart till Thursday, leaving him plenty of time to get the alcohol out of his system.

You can see the actual flight status, and its cancellation over at Flightstats.com. The passengers had to be rebooked on other flights. If I were a passenger on this plane, I’d be mighty pissed (pardon the pun). I’ve heard a lot of reasons for a cancellation or delay, but a urinating copilot is a first.

Flight attendant arrested for touchy situation

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The next time you complain about the service from flight attendants, consider the opposite extreme. Jaime Daria Samia, an attendant on United Airlines, was arrested in Chicago after (allegedly) he allegedly rubbed the hand and arm of a 16-year-old passenger … and kicked in a few inappropriate comments to make the situation worse.

The boy’s father reportedly told police that this behavior persisted through the entire four-hour flight, even after the minor told Samia to stop. For not recognizing boundaries – or simply listening to the alleged victim – the 57-year-old FA will have to appear in Cook County Criminal Court on August 11, 2009 on a misdemeanor battery charge. He was released on $100 bond and is being “held out of service” pending the results of the investigation.

Naked guy forces Albuquerque landing

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Keith Wright, a New Yorker (damn!) felt restricted by more than just cramped airline seating today. On a flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles, he ditched his clothing and did not respond (vocally, at least) to flight attendant requests to put them back on. The mile-high nudist also wouldn’t accept the cover of a blanket.

As a result of Wright’s defiance, the US Airways flight was diverted to Albuquerque, where the passenger was met by federal authorities. According to the FBI, he’s now in federal custody, with a charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants. Once Wright got off (the plane), the flight continued to its planned destination.

Every story has a moral: you’ll have no problem getting a blanket from a flight attendant if you strip.

Itching to learn more about high-altitude nekkidness? Click here to get the bare truth.

United Airlines computer problem delays O’Hare flights

by Scott Carmichael on

United Airlines is currently experiencing some major delays and cancellations at Chicago O’Hare.

The computer systems responsible for checking you in, are down and passengers have to be manually processed the old fashioned way.

Most delays are between 2 to 3 hours, but many flights are also being canceled because of the glitch.

United has issued a travel waiver for tickets issued for travel today, though I’m pretty sure that won’t be much help to people who had planned to get away for the holiday weekend. Finding an alternative flight may prove to be near impossible.

United Airlines is advising passengers to check their flight status at United.com before leaving for the airport, and if you are heading to O’Hare for a United flight, I recommend preparing for a long wait.

European Union proposes global airline black list after Yemen crash

by Scott Carmichael on

For several years, the European Union has been maintaining an airline black list. The list contains the bottom of the barrel in the aviation world. On it, you won’t find any of the big global carriers, but it is very well represented by countries like Kazakhstan, Angola and the Democratic republic of Congo.

As it turns out, the airline involved in the most recent crash had once been on the black list for incomplete reporting on its fleet inspections.

That crash has now prompted the E.U. transport commissioner, Antonio Tajani to propose turning the the European black list in to a global black list.

As much as I like the idea of sharing this kind of information and turning it into a global list, I’m not sure it will actually make any difference – for a global black list to work, every country in the world will have to participate. Thing is, the kind of country that does not take aviation safety that seriously, is not going to be the kind of country that signs up for the black list, only to ground its own national carrier(s).

A global black list of carriers won’t do anything to prevent any of the recent air disasters we’ve seen – Air France would certainly not deserve a spot on the list, nor would Continental/Air Colgan (involved in the Buffalo crash back in February).

Many of these rickety airlines fly within their own country, or to neighboring countries with similar lax oversight. For a global aviation black list to work, countries should help each other, not simply tell them that they are not welcome to land at their airports. I’m pretty sure that “Sky Gate International” from the Kyrgyz Republic won’t give a damn if the USA tells them to stay away from any of their airports.

The only other option is to increase passenger awareness and get the list promoted, to help people make an informed decision about whether or not to travel with an unsafe carrier. But if that airline is their only option, I’m guessing they’ll take the risk.
The top countries by number of their airlines included in the list:

  1. Democratic Republic of Congo (57 airlines!)
  2. Republic of Indonesia (51 airlines)
  3. Republic of Angola (18 airlines)
  4. Kyrgyz Republic (17 airlines)
  5. Equatorial Guinea (9 airlines)
  6. Sierra Leone (8 airlines)
  7. Republic of Benin (8 airlines)
  8. Swaziland (7 airlines)
  9. Republic of Gabon (7 airlines)
  10. Republic of Kazakhstan (7 airlines)

Some noteworthy airlines (mainly because of their silly sounding names):

  1. Helimalongo – Republic of Angola
  2. Alafia Jet – Republic of Benin
  3. Golden Rules Airlines – Kyrgyz Republic
  4. Motor Sikh – Ukraine
  5. Dames – Kyrgyz Republic

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