American Pie star was on that American Airlines flight with Fundie Pilot

[LynneSin]

http://www.imdb.com/PeopleNews/#8

You all remember the headline a few days ago about the American Airlines pilot that asked all the christians to raise their hands and then suggested to the non-christians to talk with the christians about being saved.

Turns out there was a celebrity in first class who witnessed what had happened. Jason Biggs of American Pie fame was on that AA flight.

Biggs Jets To New York on Hell Flight

American Pie star Jason Biggs had the plane flight from hell on Friday when the American Airlines pilot flying him to New York turned to God. The unnamed pilot started the flight by announcing he had just returned from Central America, where he had become a fervent Christian. He then asked Christian passengers to raise their hands and criticized everyone else. He later apologized to his crew for his comments. A passenger on the flight, on which Biggs was in first class, says, "He put the fear of God into us. It was a very uncomfortable flight." American Airlines bosses are considering reprimanding the pilot, but admit they welcome employees from all religions, creed and walks of life and they have no flight rules for staff who preach.

---

I'm hoping that American Airlines reprimands this pilot. If fundies want a captive audience on a transcontinental flight then they should start their own airlines, just like Hooters did.

[GOPisEvil]

1. So that's where Magic Rat has been.

I fly American all the time - I'm interested to see how they handle this.

[Bronco69]

2. That pilot should be fired!

When I first heard this story it scared the bejeezus out of me. His announcement made it sound like a threat.

[LynneSin]

3. BTW, I've been to Central America

I can assure you it was a 'religious' experience but not that fundamentally nutso

[MuseRider]

12. Me too.

Nothing like being held up by a truck load of teenage warriors pointing guns at you to make you consider conversion. I love Central America but I have never gotten over how often you are stopped and held at gun point just because you are there. This was a while ago, have not been back in about 15 years.

[arwalden]

7. A Threat Indeed!! That's Exactly What I Would Have Thought...

In other words: "make your peace now... locate a Christian to 'witness' for you 'cause I'm about to intentionally ditch this jet."

Well, of course that's not what he said and the safe landing is proof that that's not what he meant... but that's definitely something that would have been going through my head the entire time.

-- Allen

[LynneSin]

8. Didn't a devout Muslim do that with a plane about 5-6 years ago

:eyes:
and we know how that flight ended!!

That fundie pilot should have his wings taken from him.

[arwalden]

11. You're Thinking Of The Egypt Air (Air Egypt?) Flight, Perhaps

I'm thinking it was maybe 3 or 4 years ago. The one where the cockpit voice recorder has him shouting the Muslim equivalent of a "Kamikaze bonsai"? Or perhaps it was simply a "Allah save us" or "Allah here I come". I forget.

It was definitely disturbing.

-- Allen

[LynneSin]

13. That's the one

and if some zealous christian made a comment like the one on the AA flight, I'd be worried too about the same thing!

[parkia00]

23. The meaning is lost in the translation

The pilot of the Egypt Air flight said "Allah Akbour" which basically translates to "God Is Great". Although this may at first seem like something a religious zealot might say, the term is used quite loosely in the Arab world. Think of "Oh My God" which is a term used frequently in the Western world. Now it's very hard to say someone who said that term is a religious right wing nut. The term is basically an expression that is used loosely when one is surprised, in shock, in awe, or knowing something #*&%%) bad is going to happen.

Was a cause for that crash ever found?

[amazona]

28. Egyptair 990 cause of crash was co-pilot suicide

The information was not released for several years and then only very quietly in the months after Sept. 11. I think it might not have ever been admitted that it was an intentional crash if the U.S. gov't had been able to get away with it. There seems to be a policy of not acknowledging terrorist actions if it's at all avoidable, which may or may not be a wise policy but which surely interferes with the public's right to know.

[terrya]

4. Did anyone on that flight at least complain to the flight attendants?

I know you can't go up to the cockpit to talk to the pilots...

But I'm curious if anyone complained at the time.

Terry

[GOPisEvil]

6. Yes. Complaints were lodged...and the pilot "apologized".

:eyes:

[ncrainbowgrrl]

5. I'm hoping this stays in the mainstream press.

Only way that pressure will build on American to come out with a meaningful statement/policy on the "mile high missionary"

[supernova]

14. Heh. Heh. You said "mile high"

This guy needs to be reprimanded and a note put in his permanent record. He's not paid to counsel or save souls, he's paid to get people from point A to point B safely.

If he wants to go evangelize (how I loathe that term) he should hang up his wings and become a missionary like anybody else, or heh start his own airline.

I have a definite bias against being lectured to, and this guy would be on my shit list very fast. I think passengers should boycott his flights. AA will get the hint.

[Loonman]

9. I don't think he should be fired, this time

If he does it again, sure.

[trof]

16. Sorry, to me his actions reflect extremely poor judgment.

Good judgment (excellent judgment, one could hope) is what we're (pilots) being paid for. That, and a certain amount of eye-hand coordination and good reflexes.
But the "good judgment" part is paramount.

Not only did he have the bad judgment to decide this would be a good time to share his particular religious beliefs with a captive and already chronically edgy (post 9/11) "audience", he did this at a time when the airlines are bleeding financially, with (evidently) no regard as to how this might affect his company and his own career and family. whew, long sentence, sorry

Yes, I do think he was emboldened to do this by the current fundie "We, and ONLY we are right" politico-"religious" atmosphere and politicians' reluctance to go against it.

Given the circumstances I laid out in paragraph 2, his behavior transcends bad judgment, it is idiotic.
And damned scary.

[CanuckAmok]

18. No second chances. Fuck him.

A HUGE part of his job description is to do everything within his power to make all his passengers feel safe and at ease, and give them the impression that they are in the care of a capable and lucid professional individual.

He broke that rule by suggesting some lives (souls?) are more valuable than others, and that his care and regard of passengers was conditional on them believing some mumbo-jumbo.

Not sure if I mentioned this, but "fuck him". Fire his ass and let him start his own evangelical airline. Let the market determine how popular 'mile high evangelism' will be.

Hmmm..that makes me think. What if Captain Zealot there did start an evangelism airline, and one of the planes crashed...would that be God's will?

[oldcoot]

35. I agree

He should be fired because his actions showed an horrifying lack of judgement. Imagine if a passenger acted like this. This passenger would probably be arrested and may have even banned from future flights. Passengers can even get in trouble for telling a joke if airline employees view the joke as inappropriate. Considering that passengers can get in trouble for relatively minor offenses, I see no reason why pilots should get a free pass. After all, it is much easier to deal with a crazy passenger than it is a crazy pilot.

[Bonhomme Richard]

10. Anxious to meet his maker

Nothing would unnerve me more than flying in a plane with a pilot anxious to meet his maker.

[trogdor]

15. Yet another reason not to fly.

Having some Fundie whack-job preach to you for six hours while flying from New York to LA comes close to my concept of Hell.

[Az]

17. Should pilots that believe

in the immenent Rapture be allowed to pilot passenger flights?

[HEyHEY]

19. What a prick of a pilot clips his wings

[SOteric]

20. American Airlines

should immediately put policies into place prohibiting such behaviour from their pilots.

I suspect, however, that they are likely hoping to benefit from the publicity this will generate in increased sales from fundamentalist Christians and Christian conservatives.

[GOPisEvil]

21. Goodness, I hope not.

I fly American when I fly. The last thing I need while captive in a shiny metal tube hurtling through the skies is a sermon. (OK, so it's not the LAST thing I need, but it's quite far down the list.)

However, an American spokesman stated something about this behavior being against policy.

I think AA is hoping this dies a quick media death so they don't have to deal with it and risk offending Christian fundamentalists.

[DS1]

27. Yea though I walk through the metal detector of death,

I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy peanuts and Thy 6 ounces of coke and three ice cubes they comfort me.

Psalm AA2054

[fudge stripe cookays]

33. I just spit Coke out my nose!

Stop all that wacky sarcasm!

[GOPisEvil]

34. *snort*

Asketh not for the remainder of the beverage can contents, lest thou be smitten by an angry Father...

[PVnRT]

22. Dude, Hooters has an airline?

Oh yeah.....

[Zomby Woof]

24. Alaska Airlines is even worse

They include a bible verse with a cozy picture with each meal. I realize airline meals require all the help they can get, but I don't ride planes to be proselytized.

I still hold a grudge against Alaska Airlines stiffing me out of a refund of my half my fare for a leg which was cancelled just a few days after 9-11. Their website and customer service phone person both assured me that taking my ticket to any counter would get me a refund, but when I did so, they debated and discussed and went back and forth - even with my webpage print-out, and denied me my money back. Never again.

And the famililes who lost their loved ones in tht horrible crash off of California 4 years ago... they can tell you how criminal they are. They stonewalled a settlement as long as they could. Alaska was severely negligent, having let a jackscrew in the aileron go 1/8 inch past acceptable stripping limits, which is what caused the crash. They put off repairs as long as they could. The bottom-line mentality is the biggest cancer in America.

I hope the AA pilot is fired, but they look out for their own in the pilot's fraternity. Neither them nor Alaska will get my business again. Show them what the bottom-line is all about, since that is all they care about.

[elfwitch]

25. Jason Biggs is Jewish...

I'm sure they probably approached him too. He is a well known Jew. Imagine the big Fundie Christian afterlife points they would score for trying to convert a Jew.

Arrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!

I have had more than my fill of pushy fundie Christians and their witnessing bullshit. I am at the point where if ANYONE of them does that shit to me again, I'm gong to start a fistfight.

[Loonman]

29. I just say

"I don't think my lord and savior Satan would approve of me listening to you"

That works.

[elfwitch]

32. Nah!

At this point I'd just rather paste em.

[Melsky]

26. I'm flying on AA on Friday

It's my first flight in over 6 years. I'm nervous enough about flying as it is, I'm not happy to hear this sort of crap.

I think the pilot should be fired, or severely reprimanded. What if a pilot converted to Paganism or Islam and did that?

[Westegg]

30. Jeez, I thought you meant Don McLean!...

..."Bye-bye Miss American Pie," etc. Showing my age, kids. Anyway, I was really freaked out when I heard this story. I thought about what I'd do in such a situation, and realized that I would be inclinded to grab the nearest flight attendant and say, "Excuse me---that's a terrifying and completely inappropriate thing to do. Please tell the pilot to stop his rants." Yet I then realized, well, what if the guy's a real nut-case and has no qualms about ditching the plane in the ocean (or wherever), because he KNOWS he's going to heaven and all non-believers are going to hell? In which case, maybe I'd say nothing, but just sit there and white-knuckle it for the rest of the flight, while also ordering mini-bottle after mini-bottle of booze. Then, when the plane finally landed, I would get off and go to the nearest airline official and say, "Hi! I'm going to sue this airline for $10 million, because your pilot basically just convinced me that I was about to die in some kind of religiously-motivated act of insanity. See you in court!" Then I'd call my lawyer.

Only then would I kiss the ground.

[DinahMoeHum]

31. Too bad there was no warm apple pie on that flight. . .

Jason Biggs should have challenged that pilot to stick "it" in the thing!!

:evilgrin:

[EV1Ltimm]

36. religious nuts need to be kept away from aircraft.

i could name several reasons why...

[geniph]

37. Personally, I think it's unnerving when the pilot starts praying

in-flight. Would tend to make me think there was a REASON the pilot thought it was good to receive absolution RIGHT NOW.

:scared: