February 13, 2017
THE FLIGHT 455 ELECTION:
A United pilot ranted about Trump, Clinton and divorce. Her passengers fled. (Avi Selk, February 12, 2017, Washington Post)
Dozens of passengers fled a plane and police removed their United Airlines pilot after she gave a long, bizarre speech before takeoff on Saturday. [...]The pilot touched on recent politics."She's like 'I don't care if you voted for Trump or Clinton. They're both [expletive]," Reiss wrote.When she changed the subject to the plane's imminent takeoff, Reiss began to shake, and another passenger began videotaping the drama."So I'll stop, and we'll fly the airplane," the pilot said in the video, which has since been removed from YouTube. "Don't worry. I'm going to let my co-pilot fly it. He's a man."Reiss was the first to evacuate. He got out of his seat, collected his bag and asked the flight crew to let him off."Okay, if you don't feel safe, get off the airplane, but otherwise we can go," the pilot said, still sounding cheerful in the video as the first of her passengers began to revolt.
Unfortunately, we don't have the option of getting off the plane just because our pilot is unstable.
Posted by Orrin Judd at February 13, 2017 7:55 AM