Originally Posted by
Spooky 2
First off all and this is very important, the airplane did not just land on the wrong runway, it didn't land on the runway but rather the main was off the side of the runway in the dirt. So it's unlikely Ernie was simply watching the Capt land on the wrong runway as stated.
This flight was many hours late departing LAX. They called out a reserve crew because the original crew was going to be out of duty time. I forget just late it was or how much noticed the reserve had. As I recall the F/O commuted down from his home in Seattle so that must have added to the stress at the start of the flight. The Capt had been up since early that morning departure and if I'm not mistaken had spent some time flying a P51 that he has access to. All in not a good start for a crew that should have been taking it easy.
Captain Gilbert was an enlisted Marine during WWll in the Pacific. He may have been a little rough around the edges but certainly not a Captain who ran rough shod over his fellow crew members. Interestingly he took a leave of absence from Western while he was flying Captain on the DC6B to work for Japan Airlines. I think he just wanted get to know what the Japanese were like when they weren't shooting at each other.
My Father also flew with Capt. Gilbert on the DC 10 for Western Airlines. He would have somthing different to say about Capt. Gilbert. He was more than rough around the edges. I've been told he didn't treat coworkers very well.