DIsco FEver:
They were not unticketed and even if they were, what's the problem ?? They were known personally to PIC. but......
Read facsimiles post again. And the post that was cross-posted from the cc forum.
He's talking about the bog riders, not the jump seaters. The bog riders boarded the acft via the staff door to the ramp, according to the cc post. *No-one* on the acft knew they were on board, until the cc were doing their cabin secure checks after pushback. They certainly weren't ticketed!
That's a pretty good definition of stowaway for my money, and a hanging offence for staff these days.
Having heard the account from the cc forum - if true, I have a *little* more sympathy for the capt. One can conjecture the thought process: 'OK... we go back to the gate, offload them, miss our slot, delay, (was this his last sector? Running out of hours perhaps)... that's going to have to be explained and the stupid sods will be in the deepest ****... OK we're half way to the flaming hold, let's just GO and I'll read them the riot act myself after we arrive'
Doesn't excuse a wrong decision but you can imagine the thinking that led to it.
R1