← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Ragnar
Thread ID: 12256 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2004-02-10
2004-02-10 23:17 | User Profile
Oddest airline story of the week. And they've been having lots of odd weeks.
[B]Christian question alarms flight[/B]
[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3472265.stm[/url]
An American Airlines pilot terrified passengers when he asked Christians to identify themselves and allegedly went on to call non-Christians "crazy".
Some passengers on the flight from Los Angeles to New York were so worried they tried to call relatives on their mobile phones.
The pilot, whose name was not released, asked Christians on Friday's flight to raise their hands.
He then suggested non-Christians talk to the Christians about their faith.
He went on to say that "everyone who doesn't have their hand raised is crazy", passenger Amanda Nelligan told CBS news.
"He continued to say, 'Well, you have a choice: you can make this trip worthwhile, or you can sit back, read a book and watch the movie'," she said.
The pilot also told passengers he would be available for discussion at the end of the flight.
A spokesman for American Airlines said later that the pilot denied using the word "crazy".
'Bizarre'
Ms Nelligan said passengers had thought the pilot's behaviour was "bizarre" and wondered whether his comments were a threat.
Flight attendants notified ground control.
American Airlines spokesman Tim Wagner said the incident was being investigated.
"It falls along the lines of a personal level of sharing that may not be appropriate for one of our employees to do while on the job," he added.
2004-02-11 01:35 | User Profile
It definitely sounds like one of the Left Behind nutballs was behind the controls of that plane. If I had been a passenger on there, I would've probably freaked out, thinking that the pilot got tired of waiting for the Rapture, wanted to go meet Jesus, and had decided to take everyone on the plane along for the ride.
2004-02-11 09:52 | User Profile
Shoot, I'd've raised my hand. (It's best to humor them, I'm told.)