Flight Training - November/December 2022 - 50

SWITCH
AND
SAVE
1%
Cash Back1
on Every
Other Purchase
CASH BACK1
APPLIED AS STATEMENT CREDIT.
QUARTERLY BONUS POINT CAP OF 2,500 POINTS*
Switch today to the AOPA
World Mastercard®, and stop
paying too much on your
aviation purchases.
Visit
AOPA.org/creditcard
to learn more
We talked it over with our dispatcher,
too, who provided suggestions of where
to divert to minimize the inconvenience
to our passengers. In the meantime, flight
attendants began telling the complaining
passengers that we were considering
diverting to unload the family. The
complainers suddenly stopped complaining
when the threat of a diversion
was floated. And once the flight attendants
relented the mask warnings, the
unmasked teen relaxed and fell asleep.
We all elected to continue to the destination
and have a company representative
meet the family on arrival. Sorry, news
reporters-no story.
In the past decade or so, airlines have
been trying to keep pilots from getting
involved in cabin drama. If a captain
gets involved in a heated argument or
altercation prior to flight, it can have
serious safety implications. Tempers get
hot, inappropriate things can be said, or
worse-things might even get physical.
What happens when the pilot returns to
the cockpit? He or she will likely be very
distracted from the job, possibly replaying
the whole event over and over in their
head or engaging their first officer in a
discussion completely unrelated to the job.
Not good.
For this reason, airlines began using
*Certain points and purchase restrictions apply; see full Rewards
Terms and Conditions for full details at AOPA.org/creditcard
editcard.
1 Rewards points can be redeemed for Cash Back or other items provided
through AOPA Pilot Rewards. A Cash Back redemption is applied
as a statement credit. The statement credit will reduce your balance
but you are still required to make at least your minimum payment. A
minimum of 2,500 points is needed to redeem for Cash Back. Values
for non-cash back redemption items such as merchandise, gift cards
and travel may vary.
complaint resolution staff to deal with
problem passengers and keep crewmembers,
especially pilots, from getting
involved. I think it's a great idea, and
for most cabin problems it works well.
Sometimes, however, we pilots get dragged
into the drama. This happened on a recent
delayed flight when cascading issues led
50 FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022
to a lengthy delay. One passenger came to
vent her frustration in the forward galley
just outside my open office door.
The passenger was obviously intoxicated
and reportedly boarded the jet with
a cup of wine. Somehow the gate agent
missed it, but one of our flight attendants
snatched the cup and warned her that outside
alcohol is off-limits on board any U.S.
airliner. To say she didn't endear herself to
our flight attendants was an understatement.
And when she came to the front
galley to confront our lead flight attendant
while blocking the access of the cleaners
we so desperately were waiting on, things
got heated. When the passenger started
loudly hurling profanity with abandon, I'd
had enough and got out of my seat. I told
her that language needed to stop and that
if she didn't sit down immediately, she was
not going to Memphis.
Thankfully, she complied and sat down.
The gate agent escorted her to her seat
and followed up with his own written and
verbal warnings. The lead flight attendant
was a bit amped, and we discussed removing
the passenger. Ultimately, we decided
to let her stay on based on the report from
the gate agent. Thankfully, the flight was a
nonevent except for being two hours late.
I admonished myself for getting
involved, but when it was happening right
outside my door instead of in row 37, I felt
compelled to act. When I returned to the
cockpit, I forced myself not to dwell on the
situation. Had it been more serious, that
may not have been the case. FT
PETER A. BEDELL is a pilot for a major airline and
is co-owner of a Cessna 172 and Beechcraft Baron.
ALEX WILLIAMSON
http://www.AOPA.org/creditcard http://www.AOPA.org/creditcard
Flight Training - November/December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - November/December 2022
