Pilot’s Erratic Behavior Forces Flight to be Diverted

I don't get stopped by cops anymore. The long gray beard and the hat I usually wear have a governing effect on the engine, it seems, and I become the old fart puttering along in the right lane that I used to swear at under my breath.

My usual reply when I used to be stopped for speeding or what-have-you (which actually hasn't happened in many years) worked pretty well, though. When the officer asked, "Do you know why I stopped you?" I would reply with the straightest of faces, "No, sir, I don't. I was kind of hoping that you would." I got some odd looks and a few warnings, but only once was ticketed.

I pled that one down to a parking ticket with the help of a detective friend of mine. It was originally for running a stop sign that I honestly didn't notice because a truck was parked in the way. My detective friend took me down to the "police liaison" office down at the traffic court where I got the ticket, and it was reduced to a parking ticket carrying a fine but no points. It helped that I had a clean driving record, I think, because the prosecutor did check that before he nodded to the reduction.

Nowadays, I don't get stopped anymore. In fact, I'm on a first-name basis with every officer on my town's police department. Both of them.

-Rich
 
Henning said:
Actually, I really hope they botch this and maliciously prosecute an ill man who in the end is found to have an undiagnosed medical condition. It will finally be an effective display of the security theater that is being perpetrated and the very level of fear mongering that is being pushed on us.
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They'll just declare it as "classified" or "SSI" and it'll be buried.
 
denverpilot said:
That's my point. The sheeple won't care.

As far as "What happened?", that's pretty obvious. Just ask one of the Walton kids why they sold out their dad's values and dreams. Or the bankers why they made millions of bad loans to poor people to line their pockets.

Because they could. That's their only moral compass.
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That's really the long and short of it isn't it. Sad too and it shows that genetics and environmental training cannot predict a positive result. I met the old man one day in Harrison Ar when I fueled him and he was kind enough to spend a fair bit of time talking to me. He seemed like a genuinely good man and a sharp businessman with a great sense of humor and smile. He loved flying to.He't orbit an area he wanted to put a store for hours watching traffic flow to figure out what land he wanted. A good pilot always has a good justification for burning gas.;)

To bad the kids went rotten. I've run boats for some of the original employees who are basically hayseed millionaires who won the Wally World Stock Lottery. Can you imagine going from saying "Welcome to Wal Mart" to hearing "Welcome aboard your yacht."? LOL, FMD.
 
Back on topic: Prosecutors request psychiatric evaluation to determine whether he's competent to stand trial. link

Wonder if he's going to end up like Hinkley.
 
? Shooting the POTUS to impress Jodie Foster? Although if it got me in her pants I'd consider taking the shot...:rofl:;)
 
I think it was obvious he suffered from a case of career limiting insanity.
 
This case did not even go to trial, no pretrial preparations, hence no meaningful time lost. Everyone was waiting for that psychological evaluation. Had to be done.
 
weilke said:
Good news: No criminal responsibility.
Bad news: Unexplained mental status change, no medical until he can prove that he is not nuts.

Sad.

What a waste of time by the US attorney.
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I kinda doubt he'll be getting a medical any time soon... Yes, it is sad, and it also is a bit humbling. One day you're normal (by all appearances, at least), and the next day you're a raving lunatic -- and no one knows why.

Very sad indeed.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
I kinda doubt he'll be getting a medical any time soon... Yes, it is sad, and it also is a bit humbling. One day you're normal (by all appearances, at least), and the next day you're a raving lunatic -- and no one knows why.

Very sad indeed.

-Rich
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Outside of the 18-25 year old window, that is extremely rare.
 
RJM62 said:
I kinda doubt he'll be getting a medical any time soon... Yes, it is sad, and it also is a bit humbling. One day you're normal (by all appearances, at least), and the next day you're a raving lunatic -- and no one knows why.

Very sad indeed.

-Rich
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Look at twenty percent of the posters here....
 
RJM62 said:
I kinda doubt he'll be getting a medical any time soon... Yes, it is sad, and it also is a bit humbling. One day you're normal (by all appearances, at least), and the next day you're a raving lunatic -- and no one knows why.

Very sad indeed.

-Rich
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Who cares about a medical and flying if you were in this guys shoes. Just getting out of lockup and regaining your health would be priority one. He may have a future as a ground instructor. I can't see anyone ever hiring him to fly again even if he could hold a medical.
 
olasek said:
Clearly he doesn't intend to earn his living this way - he is suing JetBlue for $15 mln!!

http://nypost.com/2015/03/27/jetblue-pilot-who-had-midair-meltdown-sues-airline/
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I'm generally not a big fan of negligence lawsuits, but I think he has a point here - if you were normal every day of your career, and suddenly showed up about as bonkers as possible, and no one did anything, I'd say they failed to protect the passengers and really did ruin his career by allowing him to continue in that state.
 
SkyHog said:
I'm generally not a big fan of negligence lawsuits, but I think he has a point here - if you were normal every day of your career, and suddenly showed up about as bonkers as possible, and no one did anything, I'd say they failed to protect the passengers and really did ruin his career by allowing him to continue in that state.
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The Captain is a GROWN up, responsible person...

He ALONE should have called in sick.... After all, his rank was of a Captain,and he more then anyone should know better...:mad::mad:
 
N801BH said:
The Captain is a GROWN up, responsible person...

He ALONE should have called in sick.... After all, his rank was of a Captain,and he more then anyone should know better...:mad::mad:
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The problem with mental illness is the person probably can't see the symptoms themselves...
 
Clark1961 said:
The problem with mental illness is the person probably can't see the symptoms themselves...
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..

Agreed, to a point... If this was a one time event or a sudden, onset then the airline dispatcher, gate agent ,co pilot or any other person should have a little talk with the Captain during the preflight briefing.....

If it was a lingering mental illness and he gets a 1st class every 6 months then the doc needs a come to jesus talking to....

And if it turns out during an investigation the Captain knew he had issues and purposely hide /masked the symptoms then he needs some jail time...:mad2:
 
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olasek said:
I don't think his copilot or anybody else saw him 'bonkers' that day before the said incident.
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The FO obviously noticed something wasn't right that day and took action.

It would be interesting to know what kind of behavior the German Wings FO exhibited before the Captain left the cockpit.
 
from the article:

An FBI agent’s reconstruction of that day said Osbon “did not exhibit any bizarre behavior” after arriving late for the 6:55 a.m. takeoff. It wasn’t until the plane was in the air that Osbon started to lose it, according to the agent’s affidavit.
 
olasek said:
from the article:

An FBI agent’s reconstruction of that day said Osbon “did not exhibit any bizarre behavior” after arriving late for the 6:55 a.m. takeoff. It wasn’t until the plane was in the air that Osbon started to lose it, according to the agent’s affidavit.
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Makes sense. Wasn't sure if you were assuming.
 
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