While most flight-gone-wrong stories occur as a result of passengers behaving badly, occasionally flight attendants or even pilots also make the news.
In August 2024, police walked into a Frontier Airlines (FRON) plane to escort off a pilot who was set to take a plane full of people from Houston to Dallas. 45-year-old Seymour Walker was arrested on an assault-family violence warrant in an incident that was filmed by a passenger on the plane and shared on social media.
A few months earlier, a Delta Air Lines (DAL) pilot was sentenced to 10 months in jail over a 2023 incident in which a security worker tipped authorities off to the fact that Lawrence B. Russell Jr. tried to pass through a bottle of Jägermeister that was open and “just under half full.”
A Japan Airlines (JPNRF) flight was also once canceled at the last minute after one of the pilots was spotted drinking heavily at a hotel in Dallas before a morning flight to Tokyo.
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‘Would not dream of getting on a plane with him at the controls’
The latest incident of a pilot behaving badly took place in the African nation of Cape Verde.
British tabloid outlet The Sun was the first to report that the flight captain whose name has not been released was spotted drunk and walking around naked at the five-star Melia Dunas Beach Resort and Spa resort on the island of Sal during the early hours of Aug. 5. The EasyJet (EJTTF) pilot had transported a plane of people from London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) on Aug. 4 and was scheduled to fly back a day later on Aug. 6.
Related: Frontier flight canceled after pilot arrested on plane
Witnesses who saw the pilot stumble toward the hotel bar without any clothing said that anyone present in the hotel lobby at the time “would not dream of getting on a plane with him at the controls.”
“The pilot did not have a stitch on and reeked of alcohol,” the hotel guest described. “He was so drunk that you wouldn’t have put him in charge of a toy airplane, never mind the real thing with hundreds of passengers.”
Melia Dunas Beach Resort and Spa
‘EasyJet managers could not believe what they were being told’
Someone among the observers called in customer service at the budget airline shuttling tourists to popular vacation destinations and the captain was suspended from his role pending an ongoing investigation into what exactly transpired.
The flight to Cape Verde from London is among the longest offered by the airline at 2,332 nautical miles or just over six hours in the air.
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“EasyJet managers could not believe what they were being told but took immediate action after complaints were raised at the highest level,” another source said to The Sun. Another commented, “The level of stupidity on display here by a veteran captain beggars belief.”
“As soon as we were made aware, the pilot was immediately stood down from duty, in line with our procedures, pending an investigation,” the airline said in a statement on the incident. “The safety of our passengers and crew is EasyJet’s highest priority.”
Related: American Airlines launches six flights to popular European cities
