Flight Attendant upgraded to B767 co-pilot . . .

[robbreid]

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010 ... plane.html

[niss]

She worked as a flight attendant for 40 years before being upgraded to FO?

Was this an article about buffalo?

BAAAAAZZZZING!

[tripleseven]

The first comment after the article is funny.

[Hedley]

DeLuna, 61, an American Airlines flight attendant

I thought only Air Canada had FA's in their 60's and 70's?

[Maynard]

"I was thinking about survival. I was thinking about getting it down the best I could. I don't feel like a hero. When you work on an airplane, you work as a team. You do whatever you can do to help."
give me a break....as if the airplane was about to fall out of the sky at any moment....a monkey could have sat in that seat and I'm sure they would have landed Just Fine!

[Hedley]

Oh sure, criticize her if you want, but I still think she was hot:

[Cam]

According to the article, a 767 can fly and land by itself. Why are we paying you guys again?

[flying4dollars]

"I was thinking about survival. I was thinking about getting it down the best I could"

lol...

[flying4dollars]

The first comment after the article is funny.

Sam on June 16, 2010 1:36 AM

""I felt terrible for the first officer,'' DeLuna said. "But I was so excited. It was way more fun than serving meals from the galley.''"

Serving meals? What meals? What is she talking about?

[HS-748 2A]

Did anyone else do an immediate flash to Airplane, the movie?

She should have tried inflating the auto pilot.

[Lurch]

This is not a feel good story. 225 passengers lives were put at risk. what would they have done if that flight attendant wasn't on the plane?

why in the world couldn't the first officer help land the plane? Having the stomach flu is NOT a good excuse. what if the pilot had the stomach flu too, would he have just abandoned his post to go take a rest in the back of the plane?

""I felt terrible for the first officer,'' DeLuna said. "But I was so excited. It was way more fun than serving meals from the galley.''"

As a person that flies frequently, this situation makes me very very uncomfortable

Lurch

[Charles the Equestrian]

There's nothing like a happy ending at the hands of a well-experienced female flight attendant. Everything about this story is fantastic.

[bcflyer]

Hmmm happy ending from a 61yr old FA? "shiver"

[Charles the Equestrian]

You won't be young forever, slick. You'll get there.

[bcflyer]

LOL.. I'm not as young as you think.. Even saying that, 61 is still outside my comfort range... lol

[all_ramped_up]

Did anyone else do an immediate flash to Airplane, the movie?

She should have tried inflating the auto pilot.

LOL totally.

[Big Pistons Forever]

LOL.. I'm not as young as you think.. Even saying that, 61 is still outside my comfort range... lol

A guy with standards......HHMMMMM.......I am guessing you are not a pilot......

[bcflyer]

I just said 61 was outside my "comfort" range.. I've been know to be uncomfortable a time or two in the past.. lol

[SunWuKong]

What a bull crap story! Probabely the most ridiculous ever.
Some journalist and spokermen really don't feel ashamed, i like the advertisement at the end of the article speaking about FA safety and all! So ridiculous!
I like the lady aswell, playing the false modest like a bad actor.
Give us a rest!
The captain is very quiet... Probabely too busy watching and listenning the hero lady on the news...

I wouldn't call in the cockpit somebody not qualified to seat at the controls (unless there is NO pilot anymore at the controls, so that somebody can set the plane for an automatic landing with the help of the ATC).
Unsafe decision from the captain, then ridiculous article.

I was thinking about survival. I was thinking about getting it down the best I could. I don't feel like a hero. When you work on an airplane, you work as a team.

What? False hero stories, we already have enough of it in the movies, is she going to get real?

[bcflyer]

There was nothing unsafe about the captains decision. Have you ever flown a large transport category jet? There's a reason they aren't certified for single pilot operation. Having someone sitting there to read the checklist and talk on the radio would hardly affect flight safety. (I do agree that the article is ridiculous though)

[yycflyguy]

Did anyone else do an immediate flash to Airplane, the movie?

She should have tried inflating the auto pilot.

Looks like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.

[SunWuKong]

There was nothing unsafe about the captains decision. Have you ever flown a large transport category jet?

Yes I have, in fact that is what I do for a living, even if I try from time to time to come back to the "real aviation", a career that could keep my interest, I am a bit sick of the auto pilot.

Ok, unsafe or not, I guess there is no easy answer, but personnaly I wouldn't call somebody not qualified and without experience to put her/him in front of the controls, and the company wouldn't tell me I am wrong...

There's a reason they aren't certified for single pilot operation.

I don't quite follow you here. So? The seat has to be filled up whatever the situation? I reckon few captains heart attack recently, did the F/O called the flight attendant to "land" the airplane?

I think this case shows that when CRM philosophy is pushed to its extreme safety doesn't increase, but stupidity of the situation does.

[. ._]

Did anyone else do an immediate flash to Airplane, the movie?

She should have tried inflating the auto pilot.

Looks like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue.

LOL!

[Meatservo]

Guys, wake up.

This is obviously a staged event. It was probably all set up by the marketing people at the airline. Ol' Tootsie gets to ride in the cockpit and play pilot. The idea is that this will be the first step in a campaign to get people to accept the idea of a single-pilot cockpit. It's a corporate ploy to undermine the position of the co-pilot and pave the way towards public acceptance of aeroplanes that "land themselves". Not only does the pilot have nothing much to do there anymore, but he has time to play host to a silly, middle-aged woman who has had the thrill of a lifetime looking out the big windows and telling all her cackling friends about how easy it was at her next book-club meeting.

If this had been a real situation the crew members would have been instructed not to talk to the press. Instead, she is encouraged to speak out in public about how easy it was and how clever she was, and how little fuss there is in the operation of a big aeroplane, and how all pilots are really doing is swanning around in comfy chairs in the big office, wasting our money and making themselves look like big shots. True, true, the poor co-pilot (whoever he was) had a sore tummy, but he's lucky anyway because it won't be long before he's back to looking in wide-eyed wonder at all the scenery out the big windows, chatting with his buddy the skipper as the big plane makes its own way across the sky to land itself in time for all the silly ladies (I mean co-pilots) aboard to make it to tea-time at butterscotch junction.

This is how the whole idea of aviation is being presented to the public. The story is, if not a hoax, a cleverly planned down-home-ey feel-good story about just how safe and easy it is for one anonymous, interchangeable guy and a clever, brave granny to take that gosh-darned big ol' airliner pretty much anywhere their care-free hearts desire, thanks to the wonders of modern technology and of course, all that pixie dust and happy thoughts coming from the head office!

[Kilo-Kilo]

In addition to meatservo's post, when are we going to be able to watch streaming porn on the seat back TVs?