Passengers stop flight

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

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It is normally a moment of cheery reassurance when an airline pilot greets passengers during preparations for take-off. But Alexander Cheplevsky sparked panic on flight Aeroflot 315 when he began to speak.

His slurred and garbled comments ahead of a flight from Moscow to New York convinced passengers that he was drunk. When he apparently switched from Russian into unintelligible English, fear turned to revolt.

Flight attendants initially ignored passengers' complaints and threatened to expel them from the Boeing 767 jet unless they stopped "making trouble". As the rebellion spread, Aeroflot representatives boarded the aircraft to try to calm down the 300 passengers.

One sought to reassure them by announcing that it was "not such a big deal" if the pilot was drunk because the aircraft practically flew itself.

 

[Royal Ambassador]

300 pax in a B767???

 

[jimntx]

Brings a whole new perspective to the idea of close, personal relations, doesn't it?

 

[mga707]

300 pax in a B767???

Typical media error. According to the jp Fleet List reference book, Aeroflot's 767-300s (the only 767 series they operate) have 30 seats up front and either 185 or 188 in back.

 

[jimntx]

Back in the 80's my wife and I were traveling in Russia, and had the "pleasure" of flying Aeroflot from Moscow to St. Petersburg. It was on the Russian-built plane that looked just like an MD-80. They ran out of overhead bin space; so they made the passengers in the bulkhead seats move and they stacked luggage in the floor against the bulkhead all the way up to the bottom of the overhead bin!!! We got to watch that stack of luggage sway back and forth the entire flight.

Fortunately, we were far enough back in the cabin that we would have had time to duck if the luggage went flying, but when we got to St. Petersburg, my wife said, "I would rather walk back to Moscow than fly that airline again." Needless to say we took the train back.