Don't Fly Angry

There are lots of new rules coming out across the country, in various cities and other jurisdictions regarding the use of cell phones. One of the reasons behind it is that people are becoming so engrossed in their conversations that they're not paying attention to anything else they're doing. That has led to calls for hands free headsets or ordinances ordering people to the side of the road when having conversations. Still, one thing that has always been promoted is that one should never get behind the wheel of a car when angry. I guess a corollary to that would be that one should never fly angry either. It's not only bad to be up in the air with a bad frame of mind, it's worse for the passengers in back who are wondering if the person flying the plane will take them to some other location just out of spite.

On a recent Northwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit, the pilot of the flight was seen standing outside the gate to the plane having a very heated discussion with someone on a cell phone. The conversation became so heated that the pilot began screaming obscenities and cursed at a passenger who came to him at one point as well. Upon boarding the flight, the pilot continued his phone conversation and then locked himself into the forward lavatory near the boarding door to continue his conversation in 'private'. I guess what the pilot forgot was that lavatory on an airplane offers about as much privacy as a couple of sheets of paper. Anyone who has sat on a long haul flight near a lavatory will tell you the number of times they were awakened either by the toilet being flushed, the sink being run (hopefully) and the struggle to open the plastic doors. That being said, what was the pilot thinking by entering the lavatory to continue yelling at the other person on his cell phone.

I'm sure that whatever the reason, there was some purpose behind his wanting to finish the conversation but it was enough of a problem for the airline to take the decision to cancel the flight. I for one believe that this was the right decision to make. It may have been an inconvenience to the passengers but you'd rather have a pilot who is in a good frame of mind rather than one who is on edge and upset. It's not very different from having a pilot trying to fly after having one drink too many. It causes impairment and it can be a dangerous thing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is working with Northwest to figure out how to deal with the situation now that it has happened and determine what measures need to be taken to prevent this from happening again.

I'm sure there will be new regulations for pilots that will seem utterly ridiculous in the long run. The currently have restrictions on their intake of alcohol about 24 hours before a flight, now this may also be widened to include heated cell phone conversations. It's going to be like astronauts being herded into isolation prior to a space mission. With all else they have to deal with in their jobs these days, it seems like just one more added burden. In this case, the cause for any new regulations is certainly justified. I mean the Captain of an airline is the absolute authority just as a sea captain is. No matter who is on board the plane, the Captain of the plane is in ultimate authority. However, when the Captain of the plane is under stress and not behaving competently it's time to take action akin to "The Caine Mutiny" and ensure that the saftey of the passengers and crew is kept at the forefront. I daresay that pilots are going to have to do a lot more saving face with passengers on Northwest but hopefully it is all for the better.