Diverging a little from the general flow of discussion..................
I accurately recall about 30 years ago a report of an American captain who partook of similar inexplicable and dangerous activities. He was previously a well experienced, professional, and cautious pilot. The change was fairly rapid.
Several F/Os did report his activities, and to the credit of the airline management, fully investigated the matter, including psychological evaluation.
He had a rapidly developing brain tumor, which was, fortunately, successfully removed. After surgery, his behaviour became normal again.
The original poster has stated that both he and the captain are "old-timers". I'd like to ask, was his behaviour always like this, or is it a recent development?
I have long ago discarded the original report, I'd be interested to know if anyone still has access to information on this case. It was quoted in many airline's safety journals at the time.
Regards,
Old Smokey