North West Pilot needs Charm school

[Kip Powick]

Northwest Airlines canceled a flight with 180 passengers aboard after the pilot began cursing at passengers while the plane was being prepared for takeoff in Las Vegas on Friday, airline officials and witnesses said.

The cancellation disrupted Easter travel plans for many of the passengers.

From the moment the captain stepped aboard Flight 1190 to Detroit, passengers reported hearing him use "animated" language while talking on his cell phone, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor told CNN.

"He was having a fit, swearing up a storm," a passenger on the flight said. "He was saying 'F this' and 'F that.'"

When confronted about it by passengers, the pilot became "obscene" and began cursing at the customers, she said. "He made a big disturbance."

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and the local FAA flight standards office were notified, Gregor said. Police arrived on the scene, pulled the pilot aside and interviewed him.

He was not administered a field sobriety test. CNN was unable to immediately contact the police officers involved.

The FAA officials called Northwest Airlines headquarters. The airline decided to remove the pilot from the aircraft and fly him to Detroit for further questioning.

Northwest Airlines then canceled the flight, apologized for the delay and offered hotel accommodations and penalty-free re-booking on the next available flight out of Las Vegas, a spokesman for the airline said.

The airline said "a review of the matter" was being conducted and the decision to cancel the flight was made "due to reports of inappropriate language by a crew member."

Mike Fergus, an FAA spokesman, said the FAA's flight standards investigation unit was looking into the incident. According to Fergus, the FAA has the authority to send a "letter of admonition" to the pilot or, in the most extreme cases, revoke a pilot's FAA certificate, which would ground the pilot.

"I had to call and cancel two family dinners and we're stuck here an extra night," a passenger said. "We've been at the airport for six hours waiting -- it's chaos. It's Easter weekend...we want to be home."

[Homerun]

My guess: he's had his pay slashed, his pension disappear, he's being demoted due to cutbacks, his wife is leaving him and to top it off some $6 hr security worker just strip searched him. People do have a limit.

[Dork]

I would have to agree. While I don't think anyone would condone this type of behaviour, one has to wonder how folks deal with no, pay, no pension and now probably no family.

Welcome to the "Want fries with that?" aviation pay.

[Guest]

Maybe the guy was just an A-hole.

[AME]

If a passenger were to act like that he would have been thrown in jail.

[J.O.]

How does one person losing it turn into a rant about security and pay issues? If my next flight starts with a 1-hour maintenance delay, am I allowed to pop a couple of gaskets? I agree with Robert, maybe he's just an arse!

[Guest woxof]

How does one person losing it turn into a rant about security and pay issues? If my next flight starts with a 1-hour maintenance delay, am I allowed to pop a couple of gaskets? I agree with Robert, maybe he's just an arse!

If someone pops "a couple gaskets" over a 1 hour maintenance delay, I wonder that they will do when there is a really big screw-up? I'm sure he just an arse.