Angry pilot drops his pants – asks checkpoint staff to “search this”

by Scott Carmichael on

Get this – a pilot for Swiss International Airways decided that enough was enough at the London City Airport security checkpoint.

Instead of complying with all staff instructions, he dropped his pants and underwear, completely exposing himself, and asked whether they wanted to “search this”.

I’m not sure what part of being asked to take off his belt and shoes prompted the outburst, but a source is on record saying nobody understood why the pilot lost his cool and that he might have been “having a bad day”.

His antics meant 37 passengers were delayed for 2 hours while government staff investigated the matter.

It could have been worse though, the incident happened at the staff-only checkpoint, so no passengers had to come face to face with the half naked pilot. Of course, if this happened in the US, they probably would have emptied the terminal for fear of a terrorist penis attack.

(Via: The Sun)

What did these women do that had people boiling?

Click the image to read the bizarre stories …

Eateries near an airport

by Jamie Rhein on

We’ve covered the best places to eat inside certain airports, and have given a big nod to the In-N-Out Burger just a mile from LAX Airport in Los Angeles, but here are other dining options in case you have a layover and want to find food that’s worth a bit of effort to get to.

In this Washington Post article, Joe Brancatelli gives a rundown of major airports in the U.S. and where he heads to eat if he has some time. In-N-Out Burger is one of his suggestions.

Here are the first 10 of his other suggestions, along with their distance from the airport. If you’re flying out of one of these cities, I’d also consider these as ideas for where to eat before you head off on an airplane. There’s nothing like a good meal to help face the uncertainties of air travel. Eating close to the airport helps food digest instead of attempting a mad dash across a city to catch a plane.

  • Atlanta—The Brake Pad. This is a converted gas station that serves up “pub grub.” It’s four miles from the airport.
  • Chicago— Here are two suggestions for Chicago-style pizza that are not at O’Hare airport. The Rosemont branch of Giordano’s is four miles from the airport and the Park Ridge branch of Lou Malnati’s is seven miles. If you’re heading to or away from Midway, try Giordano’s on South Cicero. It borders the airport. About five miles away is Lou Malnati’s on West Ogden.
  • Charlotte–Eight miles from the Charlotte/Douglas Airport is Villa Antonio on Southern Blvd. where you can find a pork sandwich, Italian style.
  • Dallas/Ft. Worth–Brancatelli suggests taking at 10 mile drive for the Mexican food at Via Real in Las Colinas.
  • Denver–I concur with Brancatelli about this airport. There is not much close by. He did find Blue Bay Asian Café and recommends the Thai food and the dumplings.
  • Detroit–To find good food here, you don’t need to go any further than the Westin hotel that’s connected to the McNamara terminal at the airport. Dema’s serves decent food any time of day.
  • Honolulou–If you can call ahead, try Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar. It’s only a mile from the airport’s runways. I’d say you can walk, but it might be further than it sounds.
  • Houston— Chez Nous is in a converted Pennecostal church and dishes out French food worth the seven mile drive from Bush Intercontinental Airport.
  • Los Angeles–Along with the In-n-Out Burger, Brancatelli suggests Mariposas at the Hacienda Hotel for Mexican dishes and breakfast. It’s only two miles from LAX.
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul–Café Levain, about eight miles from the airport only serves dinner.

For Brancatelli’s suggestions for New York/Newark, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and San Francisco, click here. [The photo is from Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar.]

“Pipe Bomb” sticker causes airport chaos

by Jamie Rhein on

Here’s one more “This Bike is a Pipe Bomb” sticker story. This time, instead of closing down Ohio University which is what happened in 2006 when a bike with the sticker on it created a hoopla until the authorities found out that the bike was just a bike, the airport in Memphis, Tennessee became a clogged up mess.

Yesterday the bicycle with the sticker on it was found chained outside of Terminal C which set off a bomb scare. Terminal C and the passenger drop-off area around the bicycle was cleared until a K-9 dog confirmed that the bicycle was just a bicycle. Clearing the terminal and the passenger drop-off area created quite the scene as cars clogged the road and passengers got out of cars to try to hoof it to the airport to catch a flight. Some of the flights were delayed.

According to the news clip on the MY Fox Memphis Web site, the person who owned the bicycle was taken into custody for questioning and was released.

The response of the airport police was the same as the response of the Ohio University police when they found out that “This Bike is a Pipe Bomb” is the name of a Florida punk band and that the stickers on bicycles are not uncommon. Better safe than sorry.

[Photo: Jeff Moser / Bike Carson]

Yikes! That’s a scary thing to find in an airport. Click the images below to learn about some scary things found on planes —


Annoyed passenger goes head first in the X-Ray machine

by Scott Carmichael on

Here is one you don’t see every day. Apparently, this passenger was not in the mood to empty his pockets and remove all his metal objects, so he jumped head first into the X-Ray machine.

Sadly, as with many of these video clips I can’t help feel that it’s a hoax. Why else would there be someone standing at the other end of the checkpoint with a camera? Plus, it’s not like they grabbed the footage off a security camera, as you can clearly tell its someone with a handheld camera.

Either way, the clip made me chuckle, and it certainly is a creative way to get around the annoying beep from the metal detector. Of course, just in case any of you are considering doing this next time you pass through the airport – don’t. The X-Ray machine delivers a pretty hefty dose of radiation, and is designed for luggage, not bored passengers.

(Via Liveleak, thanks Robert!)

Smaller planes are a growing trend. How safe is that for passengers?

by Jamie Rhein on

With the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 comes questions. Along with the question about whether the plane had gathered enough ice to make it crash is the question– how safe are smaller jets and turboprops? Because flight demand is down, airlines have switched out some of their larger jets for smaller ones. Those, along with turboprop planes, are often used to connect people to smaller regional airports.

In this New York Times article, the issues surrounding smaller jets and prop planes are examined. Because of the increase of their use–regional aircraft use is up 40% since 2003–looking at their safety records is important.

Here are the positives:

  • Pilots of smaller planes receive as rigorous training as those who pilot larger jets
  • Many smaller planes are new and have the latest equipment.
  • Regional airports and larger airlines have the same safety standards.

Here are the negatives:

  • Since 2000, there have been eight crashes at regional airports. (However, think about the number of traffic accidents you hear about where you live.)
  • Airplanes flying into regional airports often are flown by pilots with less experience.

Another negative about the smaller airplanes is one my mother experienced on her last flight from Columbus to LaGuardia. Because she was on a small plane, she had to carry her carry-on luggage up and down the stairs, and walk outside in order to get into and out of the airport, something that is hard for her to do when it’s cold. Luckily, one of the flight attendant’s helped her.

This photo by jsbarrie is of a prop plane going from Flores to Guatemala City. According to the description, there were boxes of baby chicks among the cargo.