Drunk pilot found naked, lost in woods
Well I guess we know why Kent hasn't been posting for a few days.Police found a Pinnacle Airlines pilot lost in the Pennsylvanian woods last night, out on a drinking binge with a flight attendant and running around naked.
Apparently they had been at dinner together and decided to "go do it in the woods" on the way back to their motel. Somehow, they got separated and the flight attendant found her way into the fire chief's vehicle which was parked at his house, making enough noise to rouse the officer and for him to make an inquiry.
Meanwhile, the pilot managed to find a local woman and ask her for a pair of shorts, since he apparently left his in the woods. She promptly called 911 and the police and a helicopter soon found the pilot hiding behind a shed wearing only a wristwatch and a pair of sandals.
The pilot's arraignment includes charges of indecent exposure, open lewdness, public drunkenness, loitering and prowling at night and disorderly conduct.
Pinnacle Airlines is owned by Northwest, the airline that incidentally happens to own Compass Airlines. You may recall that a Compass flight attendant intentionally started his aircraft on fire last week because he didn't want to fly on a particular route.
I realize that morale is low with the merger and all, but what is going on with this airline?
He's not the only nude, wild traveler:
Cockpit Chronicles: Paris - A trip with too much adventure
Enter to win a free Tom Tom ONE GPS unit!
Gadling flies Open Skies
Talking travel with jetlag guru Ted Ray (plus anti-jetlag formula giveaway)
Big in Africa: Bizarre foods from across the continent
_thumbnail.jpg "Soulard Mardi Gras: St. Louis, Missouri")
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
May 20th 2008 @ 4:07PM
Mikael said...
To be fair though, this doesn't really have to do with him as a pilot or the airline. It's just a guy that got drunk and did silly things when he had some time off. Who hasn't done that?
Also, the article states that he was supposed to fly out at 7:30 the next morning, however what he did is not illegal from the FAA's point of view, as long as he sobered up by then. Fairly irresponsible though...
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May 20th 2008 @ 9:17PM
j candlish said...
Yes it is illegal. FAR's say 8 hours from bottle to throttle.
May 20th 2008 @ 10:17PM
Stef said...
clearly you are not current on the FAR rules, 8 hours between bottle to throttle, you might want to get your facts straight
May 20th 2008 @ 8:39PM
Angiebaby said...
A drunken, naked fool could stumble out from behind my shed, disoriented and lost as a goose, hair full of sticks and mud, with scratches on his knees, claiming to be a airline pilot. What would I do? Without a smidgen of surprise or doubt whatsoever, I would simply ask which airline.
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May 21st 2008 @ 1:55AM
lisa said...
Thank you so much for a good laugh! You have a wonderful sense of humor.
May 21st 2008 @ 5:12AM
Tim said...
That really really made me laugh, like a tearing up laughing so hard your abs hurt laugh because before I even finshed reading your post, I though well I think i would give him clothes without a question asked, yours was awesome right on!
May 21st 2008 @ 5:26AM
gator said...
Thanks for the laugh also Angie. That started my day out right. I'm a flight instructor and heading out to meet my student...
May 21st 2008 @ 10:57AM
Angiebaby said...
Hope the laughs lifted your spirits. It's true... slightly offbeat minds think alike!
May 26th 2008 @ 2:21PM
sexy sidra said...
lol
May 20th 2008 @ 9:03PM
Web said...
Remember the Southwest pilots flying nude, and getting caught. Google it if you don't recall. Piolets are not sane people to begin with, flying pressurized aluminum cans.
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May 20th 2008 @ 9:06PM
BRUCE said...
I'M SO GLAD I GOT OUT OF THE AIRPLANE DRIVING BUSINESS. THE SKIES AREN'T SAFE, AND NOW THE BAR'S AREN'T EITHER.
ENJOY YOUR 400 HOUR AIRLINE PILOT. THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES WHO WANT TO FLY. LOSERS...EVERY ONE OF THEM. WHERE'S ALPA??? REDUCE YOUR PAY & BENEFITS, TAKE AWAY YOUR PENSION.....IT'S FLYING FOR FREE. HOW STUPID CAN YOU PEOPLE BE?
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May 20th 2008 @ 9:16PM
j candlish said...
Here's another flop that didn't get hired by the airlines. No pilots with 400 hours either. Don't listen to this slob, he doesn't know dodo from candy.
May 21st 2008 @ 3:36AM
bubba said...
Pinnacle has been advertising recently in air jobs digest that they will take pilots with as little as 300 hours. This is in contrast to most other regional airlines, that ask for a minimum of 1000 hours. The regional airlines starting pay is about $20,000 per year, for a job that requires almost $100,000 in flight training. When it comes to personnel, you get what you pay for. Until airlines raise ticket prices to something reasonable to pay for high fuel and better pilots, all the best pilot will continue to go to corporate aviation, and the airlines will continue to get the bottom of the barrel, which is what's happening these days. Airline flying is not as safe as it used to be.
May 21st 2008 @ 10:52AM
Andrew said...
alright bruce, first of all bro u obviously have some built up aggression toward pilots.....what, were you touched as a young child in the flight deck? Its the best job you can possibly have no matter what the pay....you travel all over the place for free, the only line you have to use in any bar is your a pilot (and its that easy), you never go home with your work EVER! And the autopilot flies 2/3 of the flight anyway....so really you do a whole lot of nothing....so as for you bruce, I think u need to take a long hard look at yourself! YOUR AN ANGRY PERSON
May 21st 2008 @ 9:49PM
BeerKg said...
Well bruce the only pilots I know that are that bitter towards everyone are the CAL guys who crossed the line...hmmm...you're about in that time frame...easier way to get a job than the 400 hour guys route. Since we are all losers lets all quit so Bruce can go back to work. You must have been a ray of sunshine for your FO's on a multi day trip.
May 20th 2008 @ 9:06PM
Kent Wien said...
Funny, Grant.
Nah, I've been working so much lately, there' hasn't been much time for fun, that's for sure.
But you'd never know it from my latest Cockpit Chronicles post "Bombed in Paris." At least there wasn't any alcohol involved. Heck, it's too expensive to drink in Paris!
Kent
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May 20th 2008 @ 9:18PM
David T. Jump said...
Looks like somebody got lucky that night! I wonder what the Chief Pilot told him?
FAA required 8 hours between bottle and throttle. I doubt if he would have been fit to fly by 7:30AM. I would imagine that 12 hours between bottle and throttle would be a safer bet - that's what I use, but I'm a private pilot.
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May 20th 2008 @ 9:24PM
David T. Jump said...
The FARS require 8 hours between bottle and throttle, and I hear that some carriers are requiring 12 hours. Too many pilots showing up for flights with a buzz on.
I use 12 hours but, I'm a private pilot - means that I pay to fly instead of being paid to fly.
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May 20th 2008 @ 9:29PM
BRUCE said...
j candlish said...
ANOTHER DIP STICK WANNA BE. OK JACKASS, CHECK MY PROFILE UNDER 'BFORR' AT AOL.
AFTER FLYING FOR 30+ YEARS, I RETIRED FROM THE AIRLINES AT 54, (11 YEARS BEFORE MANDATORY RETIREMENT) LIVE IN HAWAII, ON THE GOLF COURSE, OVER LOOKING DIAMOND HEAD. TELL ME ALL ABOUT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ZIP, NADA, ZERO....JUST LIKE YOU.
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May 20th 2008 @ 9:30PM
BRUCE said...
FOR ALL OF YOU KNOW IT ALL'S..... WRONG!!! IT'S NOT 8 HOURS FROM BOTTLE TO THROTTLE. IT HAS TO DO WITH THE ALCOHOL IN YOUR SYSTEM. A BLOOD TEST OR BREATHLIZER IS NEEDED.
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