Longest flight...Ever!

[HarryKeogh]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,110791,00.html

apparently the pilot was still on his Jesus high from his missionary work.

from the article...

An American Airlines pilot asked Christians on his flight to identify themselves and discuss their religion with non-Christian passengers, the airline said.


wow, that takes nerve. As if a flight cross-country isn't bad enough.

[Zep]

I'd be worried about his flying ability rather than his PR goof-off. It would seem that he would be more than ready-and-willing to put all his trust in Jeebus rather than his flying skills and technical crew and all the neato electric stuff that planes have these days. Surely the panting and sweating and staring, crossed eyes and slightly shouting voice would have given the others a clue too, before he got in the driver's seat...

[geni]

Well it gives you something to do I suspose. Particluarly if the cristians on the plane turned out to be young earth creationists

[Mr Manifesto]

To the person who's giving all the threads a 1-star rating... You missed this one...


(not that I'm saying this thread deserves one... haven't even read it... I just hate seeing incomplete work.)

[kittynh]

I would ask if other religions or the atheists get equal time.

Then I would use my imagination to think up bizarre rituals that my satanic cult engaged in. I would tell young mothers that babies under the age of 2 are best for sacrifice. I'd describe the orgies to every male between the ages 12-18 I could find (I'll bet I'd get some conversions). I would make sure I'd got this idiots name and flooded his email and snail mail with every type of satanic literature I could find or invent. It's a two way street bub!

[renata]

Trying to think what I would do if I was on that flight....considering I am a Jewish atheist. Hmmmm. It is difficult to fathom. Did any Christians actually follow the pilot's instructions?

[Jas]

hmmmm...

religion + aircraft?

Generally not a very good idea.

[QuarkChild]

The Rapture Ready folks thought the pilot was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Apparently they are all eagerly emailing AA and begging them not to fire him.

One alert RR member reminded the others that the pilot could have been a member of one of the "cults" of Christianity--Mormonism or JW.

Anyway, I thought it was amusing to read the other perspective.

[Yahweh]

"Hey kids, I'm pilot of the plane and I think we should all meet JESUS! Whudaya say about that!"

:re:

[Yahweh]

Originally posted by QuarkChild
The Rapture Ready folks thought the pilot was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Apparently they are all eagerly emailing AA and begging them not to fire him.

One alert RR member reminded the others that the pilot could have been a member of one of the "cults" of Christianity--Mormonism or JW.

Anyway, I thought it was amusing to read the other perspective.
I really wonder what the RR folks reaction would be had that Pilot asked all Muslims on board to identify with all the non-Muslims...

[the_ignored]

This (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?threadid=130822) is the thread where they talk about him....


"Captive audiences" are the best ones, I guess...

[Lisa]

Originally posted by renata
Trying to think what I would do if I was on that flight....considering I am a Jewish atheist. Hmmmm. It is difficult to fathom. Did any Christians actually follow the pilot's instructions?
I probably would have stood up and shouted "Hey FlyBoy, Eat Me". But I've been known to take shortcuts in these sort of debates.

[HarryKeogh]

Originally posted by Yahweh

I really wonder what the RR folks reaction would be had that Pilot asked all Muslims on board to identify with all the non-Muslims...

Not only would the RR reaction be utter outrage I have a feeling the plane would have been chaperoned by a couple of fighter jets and made to land at the nearest airport. Then Ashcroft and that homeland security chief (whose name escapes me at the moment) would hold a press conference promising a full investigation and that the pilot will be held as an enemy combatant.

[ceo_esq]

Originally posted by Jas
hmmmm...

religion + aircraft?

Generally not a very good idea. I dunno. The Wright Brothers, apparently, were extremely religious; their father was an influential preacher.

But mistaking a cockpit for a pulpit seems like a bad idea, I agree.

[Bruce]

Originally posted by ceo_esq
I dunno. The Wright Brothers, apparently, were extremely religious; their father was an influential preacher.

But mistaking a cockpit for a pulpit seems like a bad idea, I agree.



Why do they call it a cockpit? Isn't that were cock fights take place?

[mummymonkey]

Wonder who his co-pilot was?

[mummymonkey]

Originally posted by Bruce




Why do they call it a cockpit? Isn't that were cock fights take place?

Originally yes. Also the place in a man-o-war where the wounded were taken in battle.

[no one in particular]

Originally posted by mummymonkey
Wonder who his co-pilot was?
http://www.pilotwear.com/images/Godismycopilot.jpg

[Tmy]

Religious freaks and airplanes just dont mix.

[HarryKeogh]

Originally posted by mummymonkey
Wonder who his co-pilot was?

Jesus.

more specifically Jesus Gonzalez.

[Bottle or the Gun]

Originally posted by the_ignored
This (http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?threadid=130822) is the thread where they talk about him....


"Captive audiences" are the best ones, I guess...

I notice that the posts had a photo of a Batman mug (devil-symbol) and a sig had Snoopy (anthropomorphic dog - don't demons possess animals and make them talk?) in it.

[Ipecac]

I only read the Rapture Ready board when someone here links to it. I certainly couldn't handle reading it more often. What a bunch of idiots.

The best response was the one which responded to the question of whether they would be so happy if the pilot had been a muslim. The response was (paraphrased) "no, because that's a bogus religion. The pilot was sharing the way, the truth and the life so it was okay." :crazy:

[Brown]

I've wondered what I would do if I were on board that plane. I suspect that I might have ended up being arrested at the conclusion of the flight.

Why? Because anyone who tried to convert me would find that s/he had a tiger by the tail. In the end, feelings would be hurt, and very likely I would be the one branded as being disruptive and threatening.

[kittynh]

Pool Boy said he would have called 911 on his cell phone.

He remembers the Egypt Air disaster where the pilot flew the plane into the ocean while saying religious verse. He said he would totally have been afraid that this guy was wanting to make sure as many were converted as possible BEFORE he killed everyone...

Maybe God had ordered him to fly into an abortion clinic? It actually was a very dangerous situation.

[Keziah Mason]

Originally posted by mummymonkey
Wonder who his co-pilot was?

God was my co-pilot.

But then we crashed in the Andes and I had to eat him.

Well, someone had to say it.

[Upchurch]

R&P thread on the incident (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35154)
Originally posted by Yahweh
I really wonder what the RR folks reaction would be had that Pilot asked all Muslims on board to identify with all the non-Muslims...
Originally posted by PlentyGroovy
As far as this muslim argument, that would be promoting a bogus religion and that would be wrong. The pilot was promoting the truth, the way and the light. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Incidently, if God is God, why is he only the co-pilot?

[demon]

Replace the word "christian" with "muslim" and its likely the flight would have been shot down.

[Kopji]

Yeah, I'm amazed they didn't have passengers demanding they land immediately.

Creepy like in: all Jews please identify yourselves and stand.

I fly frequently, and pilots always act very courteous and professional. They are experts at making nervous people feel at ease by their demeanor and presence. I have never EVER heard such weirdness from a professional pilot and would be shocked if he were not fired... or demoted to the Phoenix - Page Arizona newspaper delivery route.

[Chaos]

No offense intended, but...doesn´t this strike anyone as another episode of "Such things only happen in America" (now playing in its 222nd successful season)?

[Brown]

According to this report from CNN (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/02/09/airline.christianity/index.html), the pilot apologized, but...About 45 minutes into the flight, the pilot came back on and apologized -- but his apology focused on the crew, not the passengers, Dorsey said.

"He came on and said, 'I want to apologize for my comments earlier. I think I really threw the flight crew off a little bit, and they are getting a lot of flack for the things I said. So I want to apologize to my flight crew,' " she said.

On her way off the plane, Austin said she told the pilot "he should be ashamed of himself."

"He just nodded and looked to the ground, and that was it," she said.

[HarryKeogh]

also as reported at CNN he said the people who weren't christians were "crazy".

Pilots have a very strong union. I wonder if any disciplinary action will (or can) be taken.

[renata]

Here is an interview with two passengers

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0402/09/ltm.09.html

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A pilot has some explaining to do after he reportedly asked Christian passengers on his flight to identify themselves and talk about their beliefs with other passengers in flight. American Airlines investigating that incident. It happened on a flight from L.A. to New York.
Karla Austin and Jen Dorsey were passengers on Flight 34. They're with us here to talk about the experience.
Good morning to both of you.
JEN DORSEY, PASSENGER ON AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT: Good morning.
KARLA AUSTIN, PASSENGER ON AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT: Good morning.
HEMMER: Karla, nice to see you.
Jen, as well.
What happened at this point in flight? How far into it were you?
DORSEY: We were just at the beginning of our flight. The pilot came on to greet everyone, give his comments for the morning. And he said he had recently been on a mission trip and he'd like all the Christians on board to please raise their hands and then invited us to all look around a little bit at one another. He said that we -- our flight time was four and a half hours today and you can either use your time wisely on the flight or you can just sit back and watch the movie, the choice is up to you.
HEMMER: Meaning you can use your time wisely how?
DORSEY: I think to think about religion or to pray or to discuss it. I really don't know what he meant by it.
HEMMER: How many people raised their hands?
AUSTIN: Well, nobody did.
DORSEY: Not really. Not many.
AUSTIN: Nobody did.
HEMMER: Really?
AUSTIN: But he did say to the people, he said if you're Christian, raise your hand. If you're not, you're crazy. So he did make that comment, as well.
HEMMER: He used that word crazy?
AUSTIN: Yes, he did.
HEMMER: What was the reaction among passengers?
DORSEY: Shock. Everyone really spent quite a few minutes just looking around, I think, at one another. A few people reached for their phones. A few people got up to use the on air phone. No one really knew what to make of it.
HEMMER: Obviously there was concern, though, and the concern was what?
DORSEY: Yes.
AUSTIN: Well, we weren't sure. I mean just given the history of what's happened on planes in this country, anything could happen at this point. So we weren't sure if something was going to happen at takeoff, if he was going to wait till JFK to do something. But there was definitely an implication there that we felt something was going to happen.
HEMMER: I understand that some of the passengers talked with the flight attendants and they relayed some messages to the cockpit.
What was said there to the flight attendants?
DORSEY: Correct.
AUSTIN: Mostly passengers were asking flight attendants what was going on. And they were reassuring us that things were OK and thought if our safety was in jeopardy that they wouldn't be there, as well. They said that they had called ground, that the purser was talking to the pilot and basically if they thought it was a safety concern, they would do something about it.
HEMMER: OK, it's my understanding about 45 minutes later the pilot came back on the speaker system? Is that right?
DORSEY: Yes.
HEMMER: What did he say, Jen?
DORSEY: Correct. He came on and said I want to apologize for my comments earlier. I think I really threw the flight crew off a little bit and they're getting a lot of flak for the things I said. So I want to apologize to my flight crew.
HEMMER: And at the end of the flight, you spoke with the pilot.
What did you say?
AUSTIN: I told him he should be ashamed of himself.
HEMMER: And his response?
AUSTIN: He just nodded and looked to the ground and that was it.
HEMMER: No comment?
AUSTIN: No comment.
HEMMER: Well, American Airlines has made a statement anyway and we'll read it to our viewers now. Quoting now, "It falls along the lines of a personal level of sharing that may not be appropriate for one of our employees to do while on the job."
That statement from the airline.
As you mentioned, he had just returned from a mission in Costa Rica. Perhaps that had something to do with his state of mind.
But at this point, you guys are OK, right?
DORSEY: Right.
AUSTIN: We're OK.
HEMMER: No harm, no foul.
AUSTIN: Right.
HEMMER: Karla Austin, Jen Dorsey, thanks for sharing with us today.
Welcome to New York.
DORSEY: Thank you.
AUSTIN: Thank you.
DORSEY: Thanks.


It appears that few to none people identified themselves as Christians, and some people called various places. I assume they called authorities, as they got ground crew involved. It looks like the passengers handled it rather well, as did the rest of the flight crew.

I also saw an update on CNN, and they claim the pilot denies saying if you are not Christian you are crazy. As if that phrase alone makes things better...

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by demon
Replace the word "christian" with "muslim" and its likely the flight would have been shot down.

It's likely it would have been forced to land but gee, I wonder why? Could it be that because people who claimed to be Muslim flew planes into building where people who claim to be Christians have not?

[geni]

Originally posted by Grammatron
It's likely it would have been forced to land but gee, I wonder why? Could it be that because people who claimed to be Muslim flew planes into building where people who claim to be Christians have not?

Untill 9-11 people who claimed to be muslims had not flown planes into buildings

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by geni


Untill 9-11 people who claimed to be muslims had not flown planes into buildings

Yes, you are correct.

[gnome]

Originally posted by Upchurch
R&P thread on the incident (http://www.randi.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35154)



Incidently, if God is God, why is he only the co-pilot?

Funny you should ask...

http://www.salon.com/comics/bolling960624.gif

[kittynh]

Originally posted by Grammatron


It's likely it would have been forced to land but gee, I wonder why? Could it be that because people who claimed to be Muslim flew planes into building where people who claim to be Christians have not?


hhhmmmm, so if I'm a police officer and I see a bunch of Muslims in a rental van parked outside a Federal Building, hey, at least it's not Christians so I should leave them alone!

[Ladewig]

If I may make a request. When titling threads, would you include more details as to what the story is about? It makes it easier for people to make a decision as to open the thread or not.
[I am unsure as to which smiley to include to show that I make the request in the politest of terms]

[HarryKeogh]

Originally posted by Ladewig
If I may make a request. When titling threads, would you include more details as to what the story is about? It makes it easier for people to make a decision as to open the thread or not.
[I am unsure as to which smiley to include to show that I make the request in the politest of terms]

No smiley can make up for so rude a request.

See you in hell.

[Skeptic]

It seems that people don't notice this was likely very embarrasing to the chirstians on the flight, as well.

It's one thing to believe in Jesus; quite another to be told by the pilot flying your plane that you should now stand up and explain all about it to complete strangers.

I'm not surprised almost nobody raised their hands.

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by kittynh



hhhmmmm, so if I'm a police officer and I see a bunch of Muslims in a rental van parked outside a Federal Building, hey, at least it's not Christians so I should leave them alone!

How would you know there a bunch of Muslims in a van?

Point being that before 9/11 a Muslim pilot would be treated the same, now if a Muslim pilot did the same thing there would be extra investigation because of 9/11. Would that really be such a horrible thing?

[ceo_esq]

Originally posted by kittynh
hhhmmmm, so if I'm a police officer and I see a bunch of Muslims in a rental van parked outside a Federal Building, hey, at least it's not Christians so I should leave them alone! Good point, but just to keep things in perspective, the Muslims have a virtually insurmountable lead over the Christians both in terms of number of jets intentionally crashed into office buildings and number of vans detonated outside U.S. government facilities. But who's counting?

[LFTKBS]

Originally posted by ceo_esq
Good point, but just to keep things in perspective, the Muslims have a virtually insurmountable lead over the Christians both in terms of number of jets intentionally crashed into office buildings and number of vans detonated outside U.S. government facilities.

Like this fine Muslim right here?

[kittynh]

Before 9-11 white supremists were our most experienced terrorits in the US. That and I would include the abortion rights activists - a largely white population. My neighbor works with teenagers at the local high school. The worst part of her job is escorting kids to the local Planned Parenthood, usually just for a free check up (they do lots of stuff besides abortions). Looking at the crowd that ends up protesting there, I'd say middle aged, slightly over weight, women wearing skirts even in the middle of winter are a terrorist threat (at least based on what they say..."murderers, you should die!")

So, let's check out the muslims, let's check out the white terror groups, let's check out retired Weathermen....but let's check people out!


It should be noted I always add a half hour to my airport check in time when travelling with my daughter. She has a passport full of pages of visas and such all in Arabic. They take the extra time to search everything...multiple times. I don't complain, I think it's a wise precaution.

[Cleon]

Originally posted by kittynh
Before 9-11 white supremists were our most experienced terrorits in the US. That and I would include the abortion rights activists - a largely white population.

Based on the rest of your post, can we assume you meant "anti-abortion activists?"

[Grammatron]

Originally posted by LFTKBS


Like this fine Muslim right here?

Yes, just like him. And FBI is/was very active in infiltrating and stopping those groups. However, none of them have used a plane as a bomb yet and none that I know of have used suicide bombers.

Once again, what would be so wrong if extra investigation would be done if the pilot was Muslim?

P.S. How goes that research on data from Nevada?

[ceo_esq]

Originally posted by LFTKBS


Like this fine Muslim right here? You're just reiterating Kitty's point, which I already acknowledged was valid. We all caught her allusion to the non-Muslim Timothy McVeigh. However, my point was that, notwithstanding McVeigh and the terrible harm he inflicted, the number of non-Muslims who have blown up vans outside U.S. government facilities in the last quarter-century is - let's be honest - statistically insignificant.

Originally posted by kittynh
That and I would include the abortion rights activists - a largely white population. My neighbor works with teenagers at the local high school. The worst part of her job is escorting kids to the local Planned Parenthood, usually just for a free check up (they do lots of stuff besides abortions). Looking at the crowd that ends up protesting there, I'd say middle aged, slightly over weight, women wearing skirts even in the middle of winter are a terrorist threat (at least based on what they say..."murderers, you should die!")They're a threat, all right - but again, there's a reason why they're so far down on Homeland Security's list of priorities. If these folks got equal billing with Al-Qaeda, it would be a tremendously inefficient use of both government resources and John Q. Citizen's already-limited attention. Consider that in the 9-year span from 1989 through 1997, there were an average of two murders or attempted murders committed annually by anti-abortion extremists. Those are unacceptably high figures, of course, but any self-respecting Islamist terrorist commits, attempts or conspires more murders than that before breakfast every day.

[kittynh]

Very true. I think it just proves the point that any group with what they consider good enough an agenda, will commit a terrorist act, including murder.

Seriously, case in point, when Mr.Randi tells me to take out John Edwards or Sylvia...I'm cleaning the Uzi and signing up for free tickets to Montel.

[a_unique_person]

Originally posted by HarryKeogh
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,110791,00.html

apparently the pilot was still on his Jesus high from his missionary work.

from the article...

An American Airlines pilot asked Christians on his flight to identify themselves and discuss their religion with non-Christian passengers, the airline said.


wow, that takes nerve. As if a flight cross-country isn't bad enough.

No, I was just on the longest flight. over 14 hours from LA to Melbourne non-stop.

[Bottle or the Gun]

Here's a link to Daryl Cagle's Cartoon Index, with a good cartoon by Jeff Parker.

Daryl Cagle Index (http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcartoons/)

Jeff Parker's page (http://www.reuben.org/parkertoons/)