UA455 AUS-SFO Pilot Removed After Rant About Divorce & Election 11 Feb 2017
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: BA Gold, AA PLT PRO, AGR, Strawberry (Nordic Choice), Marriott Bonvoy
Posts: 4,248
UA455 AUS-SFO Pilot Removed After Rant About Divorce & Election 11 Feb 2017
Was anyone from FT on this flight? Seems like a remarkable incident:
A Pilot Was Removed From Her Flight After Going On A Bizarre Rant About Trump And Clinton
A Pilot Was Removed From Her Flight After Going On A Bizarre Rant About Trump And Clinton
A pilot was removed from a United Airlines flight Saturday after she used the plane’s intercom system to go on a bizarre rant ranging from her divorce to thoughts on President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Feb 11, 2017 at 9:37 pm Reason: repaired link; added some content per FT rules
#2
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: SFO South Bay
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 3,052
I feel bad for the pilot, but glad she was not allowed to fly. We are all just human and have our bad days....
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Basel
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,923
Darn, wish the YouTube passenger had not made the video private...
#4
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: OMA
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 75
How did the gate agent even allow a manifested, working crew member through the jetbridge door in street clothes? Pretty sure every airline has a uniform requirement.
#5
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,122
Yes! This is the most bizarre part for me. How did she even pass the preflight briefing with her fellow crew members if she was not in uniform? All other crew members were O.K. with her flying the plane without a uniform (not to mention that she was not in a stable mood)?
#6
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: DSM, BKK or anywhere with an airport
Programs: UA 2P, HH Gold
Posts: 1,018
It's hard to watch someone destroy their career in a couple of minutes....
#7
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Independent! But mostly BKK, BCN, SFO, PDX, SEA...
Programs: Lawl COVID
Posts: 1,060
#CasualFriendly!
#8
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Shared Troll
Programs: The Marina. Comic Relief. UA 1K and 1MM. MacBook Pro.
Posts: 1,913
Indeed
#9
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Redwood City, CA USA (SFO/SJC)
Programs: 1K 2010, 1P in 2011, Plat for 2012,13,14,15 & 2016. Gold in 17 & 18, Plat since
Posts: 8,826
That's a really sad meltdown.
As for uniform requirements, I don't think anyone was prepared for something like this. It just caught them all off-guard. But "all" is a whole lot of people to be caught off-guard, which is a bit scary. Something of a security risk there I'd think.
As for uniform requirements, I don't think anyone was prepared for something like this. It just caught them all off-guard. But "all" is a whole lot of people to be caught off-guard, which is a bit scary. Something of a security risk there I'd think.
#10
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
Couldn't she have been wearing her uniform over her clothes, but taken off the uniform after boarding?
I'd disagree with Mike Jacoubowsky re: "security risk." Professionalism risk, sure, but pilots don't undergo security screening no matter what they wear.
I'd disagree with Mike Jacoubowsky re: "security risk." Professionalism risk, sure, but pilots don't undergo security screening no matter what they wear.
#11
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SFO
Programs: UA MMGold, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat
Posts: 1,263
This made the top news on the local Channel 5 news at 11:00PM.
Sad to hear that passengers stated they felt they are unsafe under the care of the pilot...
Sad to hear that passengers stated they felt they are unsafe under the care of the pilot...
#12
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Redwood City, CA USA (SFO/SJC)
Programs: 1K 2010, 1P in 2011, Plat for 2012,13,14,15 & 2016. Gold in 17 & 18, Plat since
Posts: 8,826
OK, but you're saying perhaps she took the uniform off. Maybe. Obviously there are people who know if that's true or not. But once she was in civilian garb and using the PA... well right, who's going to stop her at that point? You're just going to be watching to see how it plays out, not wanting to aggravate someone who might be in a bad way. Then again, as a passenger, you're drilled with see something, say something. Not for crew?
As I said before, you have to feel really bad for her.
Not sure if you're saying you would have been OK with it or that it's sad for passengers to be put in that situation?
Last edited by Mike Jacoubowsky; Feb 12, 2017 at 12:30 am
#13
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Rowley, MA / Edgartown, MA / Christiansted, St. Croix (USVI)
Programs: UA LT GS/4.96MM, Marriott LT Titanium, IHG Platinum, Global Entry, TSA Pre✓, Korea SeS, APEC
Posts: 579
I just saw this story and here are my thoughts. A pilot holds a special position of trust to all passengers, especially folks who are afraid of flying, and yes they exist even today. If a pilot varies from the expected norm of attire or professional confidence passengers are going to get very nervous very quickly. There is a hyper sensitivity in this era of social media as we're bombarded daily with stories of seemingly typical people doing horrible things. So when a pilot starts going off script, yes, passengers get frightened quickly. If ever there were a job where zero tolerance is justified it's an airplane pilot. I have zero willingness to ride in back with someone less than perfect sitting up front.
#14
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,058