When Is it Appropriate to Kill Your Copilot With a "Crash Ax" +Video
Friday, July 27, 2018 10:35
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Bertrand Daily Report The War For Our Mind & Soul Continues
By Capt. Dave Bertrand, Ret.
When is it appropriate to kill your copilot [or captain] in flight?
My 25 plus years in aviation, beginning as a Flight Instructor, Co-pilot and later Captain on airliners, I’ve seen my share of crewmembers deserving a whack over the head.
But first, this report below appears to be a serious event at 37,000 feet between two Iraqi pilots, but the reason is not given.
Most modern jets today no longer have a third crewmember (Flight Engineer) capable of intervening one way or another. The oldest joke among pilots as to why there’s a “Crash Ax” in the cockpit was not necessarily for hacking your way out of the cockpit in an emergency, but to whack (either) the co-pilot or captain over the head. Really !!
However, a nutcase pilot riding the jumpseat onboard a FedEx cargo jet to Memphis, a couple decades ago, decided to whack both the captain and copilot with a claw hammer. The jumpseater was subdued and the jetliner was managed by two badly injured pilots. They landed the DC-10 and it was reported the entire cockpit was covered in blood.
“42-year-old Federal Express flight engineer Auburn Calloway, an alumnus of Stanford University and a former Navy pilot and martial arts expert, was facing possible dismissal over falsifying of flight hours.[4] In order to disguise the hijacking as an accident, so his family would benefit from his $2.5 million life insurance policy, Calloway intended to murder the flight crew using blunt force. To accomplish this, he brought aboard two claw hammers, two club hammers, a speargun, and a knife (which was not used) concealed inside a guitar case.[4][5] Just before the flight, Calloway had transferred over $54,000 in securitiesand cashier’s checks to his ex-wife.[4] He also carried a note aboard, written to her and “describing the author’s apparent despair”.[4] “
I’ve had my share of situations where I had to react…..over the Florida Everglades when my 6 foot 280 lb student froze on the controls after I placed the single engine Cessna into a supervised spin by having the student look down as I set-up the spin…then have the student look up and take control of the aircraft by applying opposite rudder to stop the nose down spin direction, and normally an easy recovery is completed. However, the 6ft lug froze on the controls and our nose dive needed immediate correction. I yelled…no response…..his hands were firmly on the control wheel as we dove nose-down towards the Everglades. My only reaction to force him out of his stupor was a hard back hand across his face. He immediately let go of the control and I recovered the aircraft from the spin with about 1,000 feet to spare. He thanked me later….
While on an ILS approach to an airport in South America in a DC-8 jetliner, the airport was down to minimum weather conditions and it was my leg of the flight. In the right seat, was a Romanian copilot with years as a captain on the Russian IL-62 jet and while on the approach segment, he decided to place his hands on the control column wheel (I guess) to fight with me over the controls if I screwed-up the approach (?).
Definitely NOT part of any protocol in the world, his actions took my attention away from my focus on the approach, and was during a critical phase (inside the final approach fix) on the glide slope to the runway. However, I quickly yelled at him to “take your GD hands off the controls,” which he did and we landed. He explained….that is how they conduct approaches in Europe and I told him he was “full of shit.” He pleaded with me to not report him and have him fired. I flew with him after that incident and unfortunately had to always watch everything he was doing. He was not fired…
Getting along with another crewmember in a cockpit with three was easier to do because the Flight Engineer can react if necessary and often enough, the F/E is also pilot rated.
Today’s jets, no matter how large, have only two pilots. A conversation about anything other than flying can cause major safety issues.
During a Comair (Delta Connection) flight with my copilot, after leveling off between Chicago and Cleveland, my copilot casually said to me (head set to head set), “You know Dave, I really enjoy flying with you, but I have to confess something.”
“I’m in love with your wife.”
My blood pressure went to the extreme and I paused before answering him. I asked for how long has he been sleeping with her and ended our conversation with…”Ok….guess what? You can now support her and pay all her credit card bills she has accrued.”
Needless to say….he didn’t take the bait and broke it off with her after I moved-out.
Getting along with different personalities in a cockpit is as tricky as getting along with a spouse. Be it political, religious or different foreign trained pilots together as a crew, there is often tension. On top of that, the removal of the Flight Engineer that oversees the mechanical operations of the aircraft, is now controlled by automatic systems monitored by only two pilots.
The Flight Engineer was also the peace keeper when tensions got out-of-hand.
Most senior pilots agree today, with only two pilots in a large jetliner is a safety issue, except those pilots that never flew with a Flight Engineer cannot appreciate why the “Crash Ax” was an important tool…..which the two pilots up front could not easily grab off the cockpit door.
Here’s food for thought !
Saudi Flight 163 (Jetliner on fire, Captain orders passengers to pray)
“The captain declared an emergency and returned to Riyadh International Airport, where the aircraft landed safely.[3] After touchdown, contrary to the captain’s declaration of an emergency landing, the airplane continued to a taxiway at the end of the runway and exited the runway, stopping on the taxiway two minutes 40 seconds after touchdown. The airport fire rescue equipment was stationed at the landing section of the runway, with emergency personnel expecting an emergency stop and evacuation. Why the captain did not immediately order an emergency evacuation of the aircraft is unknown.”
Did This Co-Pilot Willfully Crash Into the French Alps?
For me…..flying now as a passenger anywhere is not a pleasure, therefore….I will remain Captain of my RV.
—Dave Bertrand
BREAKING Fight breaks out in cockpit at 37,000 feet between Iraqi Airways pilots
Two Iraqi Airways pilots having an argument in mid-flight began physically fighting at 37,000 feet, hours after departing from an Iranian airport on Wednesday.
The plane, which was carrying 157 passengers at the time, was headed to Iraq from the Mashhad Airport, a city to the northeastern-most province of Iran that borders Turkmenistan and Afghanistan.
Security guards on the plane intervened to break up the altercation which, according to passengers on board, caused damage to the cockpit.
The Iraqi Ministry of Transportation (MoT) said on its website later that day that it had begun an investigation into the pilot and co-pilot’s actions and had “ordered immediately to restrict them from flying.”
“They will have no chance of escaping harsh penalties, and will face the worst and most severe punishments, the least of which is the denial of flight for life,” the MoT said.
Since 2015, Iraqi Airways has been prevented from flying over any European Union airspace because of its non-compliance with public safety standards.
READ MORE……..
From The Desk of Capt. Dave Bertrand (Ret.) Int’l Airline Freight Captain on the DC-8 stretch jet / B-727 series 200 jet & First Officer DC-6 prop & DC-10 wide-body jet), 72′ to 76′ U.S. Army Veteran (Military Police) ‘Comms Sergeant’ (Korea), Law Enforcement (State), DHS Trained Counter-Terrorism Instructor for HWW, Border Security Specialist, Political Analyst and Activist to help “Make America Great Again” while exposing the “Deep State” shadow government enemy.
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