Air Canada pilot restrained in-flight

[Oscar]

I hope the pilot is recovering ok....

http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/06/04/cr ... mid-flight

Screaming for help and demanding to get off the plane, an Air Canada pilot had to be restrained in a first-class chair after suffering a medical issue in flight.

Dave Brown and wife Michelle were on Flight 584 from Calgary to Newark last Thursday when somewhere over Toronto, they suddenly felt the plane jolt and watched the drink cart release from the flight attendant’s hands, spilling beverages.

“About a minute later, the flight attendant came out and said ‘Are there any doctors on board? We have a medical issue’, he said.

“I assumed some old guy was not feeling too well.”

Passengers with medical training rushed to the first-class area.

“The cockpit door opens and there is the pilot and he starts screaming and holding onto the airline attendant saying ‘Help me, help me,’ ” Brown said.

“I am seeing the pilot saying, ‘Help me.’ I am a little concerned.

“He was screaming, ‘Get me off the plane’ — you don’t want to hear that. He looked like he was insane, grey, dead eyes.”

Brown said the pilot, who he heard may have had a seizure, had to be restrained in one of the first-class chairs.

He soon settled down and the flight was diverted to Toronto where the pilot was met by paramedics.

The 93 passengers had to wait about 90 minutes before continuing on to Newark with a replacement crew.

Before they left, one of the pilots announced that a chair had to be repaired from the incident before they took off, Brown said.

Brown said the flight crew did an excellent job handling the situation and keeping everyone calm. “It was very quickly taken care of,” he said.

However, he would be concerned if an airline didn’t have policies in place about staff prone to a medical condition, he said.

“I think if any pilot has a condition I don’t want to be flying on that plane,” he added.

For privacy reasons, Air Canada refused more information on the nature of the pilot’s medical condition, said spokeswoman Angela Mah.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada could not comment Tuesday.

[slowstream]

Seriously, I hope the person is alright and getting the help they need.

I fully expect that it scared the heck out of some of those passengers.



On a sarcastic note........ or maybe seriously, its possible he finally looked at one of his pay stubs, that would be enough to push anybody over the edge.

[Bobby868]

I'm honestly surprised there aren't more mental health issues that come up. In all seriousness you have to be a bit mental to become a pilot these days. What sane person would pay the cost of training / education and living expenses to become a pilot, with at best a 10% chance of getting employed in a flying position. Then work for free or worse pay to work. With the long term goal of getting a job at the majors 10-15 years into their career and at that point still make less than a McDonalds employee. All the while being treated like shit and in constant fear of losing your job due to economy, company down sizing or someone simply taking a dislike to you.

As far as I'm concerned any pilot that "makes it" these days has to be nucking futs! The sane ones are the ones that never start or switch careers when they see the light.

[pilotbzh]

I have a cousin that is prone to seizure, the 1st time it happened to her she was panicked, she thought she was dying...


Hope that he recovers and he's able to get his medical back.

[shabadoo]

I'm honestly surprised there aren't more mental health issues that come up. In all seriousness you have to be a bit mental to become a pilot these days. What sane person would pay the cost of training / education and living expenses to become a pilot, with at best a 10% chance of getting employed in a flying position. Then work for free or worse pay to work. With the long term goal of getting a job at the majors 10-15 years into their career and at that point still make less than a McDonalds employee. All the while being treated like shit and in constant fear of losing your job due to economy, company down sizing or someone simply taking a dislike to you.

As far as I'm concerned any pilot that "makes it" these days has to be nucking futs! The sane ones are the ones that never start or switch careers when they see the light.

Hey Bobby, thanks for your comment! Hopefully rookies that are easily discouraged by comments like yours will give up flying and make it easier for others to get that job. If someone makes less than a McDonalds employee after 15 years in, I think theres something wrong that individual.

Perhaps you speak from experience.

[Dh8Classic]

I'm honestly surprised there aren't more mental health issues that come up. In all seriousness you have to be a bit mental to become a pilot these days. What sane person would pay the cost of training / education and living expenses to become a pilot, with at best a 10% chance of getting employed in a flying position. Then work for free or worse pay to work. With the long term goal of getting a job at the majors 10-15 years into their career and at that point still make less than a McDonalds employee. All the while being treated like shit and in constant fear of losing your job due to economy, company down sizing or someone simply taking a dislike to you.

As far as I'm concerned any pilot that "makes it" these days has to be nucking futs! The sane ones are the ones that never start or switch careers when they see the light.

Like many airlines, Air Canada has some very stringent psychological testing for prospective pilots allowing them to weed out potential pilots who don't have the right stuff to be hired by them. No doubt they know what they are doing in their hiring process.

[Schooner69A]

“I think if any pilot has a condition I don’t want to be flying on that plane,” he added.

Now there's a statement I'll bet that Mr Brown wished he had taken a bit more time in formulating. (;>0)

[Alberta_Canada]

Must've been something serious to blow a gasket like that. I sure hope the pilot is okay and recovers from whatever happened.

[KAG]

Scary statistic but 1 in 4 will encounter some sort of mental illness at some point in their life.
I truly hope this pilot gets the help they need.
on a positive note I hear AC has awesome LTD
If anything I hope they enjoy their days off.