Mixing One's Moms and Bombs!
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Mixing One's Moms and Bombs!
Plane panic after 'mom' confused with 'bomb'
(Or how easily Americans confuse mom with bomb)
Plane panic after 'mom' confused with 'bomb' - Telegraph
(Or how easily Americans confuse mom with bomb)
A pilot who used his plane's intercom to send birthday greetings to a colleague's mother triggered panic on board after passengers thought he said "bomb" rather than "mom".
A spokesman for Southwest Airlines, said: 'The pilot made an announcement that was misunderstood'
The unnamed Southwest Airlines pilot was asked by an air traffic controller to wish his mother a happy birthday as he flew from Baltimore, Maryland, to New York's MacArthur airport in Islip, Long Island, on Friday.
Taking to the plane's intercom, the pilot told passengers that they had a "mom on board," however, many thought he said a "bomb on board".
Panicking passengers asked other members of the crew to clarify what the pilot had said, and were assured that there was no bomb. The pilot also went back on the intercom to explain his remarks.
But several passengers have now complained to the authorities about the announcement.
Brandi King, spokesman for Southwest Airlines, said: "The pilot made an announcement that was misunderstood.
"He did clarify with the passengers that he was wishing the mother on board a happy birthday."
The spokesman added that the air traffic controller had been working out of the Terminal Radar Approach in Westbury, Long Island, when he contacted the pilot and requested that he send a birthday message to his mother, who was on the plane.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said: "Pilots and controllers will sometimes engage in brief greetings.
"If such conversations go beyond this limit, controllers are counselled to refrain from such unnecessary talk."
The FAA has launched a review into the air traffic controller's request. The pilot, who reported the incident to the authorities at Southwest, is not under investigation.
A spokesman for Southwest Airlines, said: 'The pilot made an announcement that was misunderstood'
The unnamed Southwest Airlines pilot was asked by an air traffic controller to wish his mother a happy birthday as he flew from Baltimore, Maryland, to New York's MacArthur airport in Islip, Long Island, on Friday.
Taking to the plane's intercom, the pilot told passengers that they had a "mom on board," however, many thought he said a "bomb on board".
Panicking passengers asked other members of the crew to clarify what the pilot had said, and were assured that there was no bomb. The pilot also went back on the intercom to explain his remarks.
But several passengers have now complained to the authorities about the announcement.
Brandi King, spokesman for Southwest Airlines, said: "The pilot made an announcement that was misunderstood.
"He did clarify with the passengers that he was wishing the mother on board a happy birthday."
The spokesman added that the air traffic controller had been working out of the Terminal Radar Approach in Westbury, Long Island, when he contacted the pilot and requested that he send a birthday message to his mother, who was on the plane.
In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said: "Pilots and controllers will sometimes engage in brief greetings.
"If such conversations go beyond this limit, controllers are counselled to refrain from such unnecessary talk."
The FAA has launched a review into the air traffic controller's request. The pilot, who reported the incident to the authorities at Southwest, is not under investigation.
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You have got to be kidding...
How stupid are people getting !?!
Talk about overreacting !
Where has common sense gone ?
Very surprised they were actually listening to the PA, and not talking, reading, sleeping through it
How stupid are people getting !?!
Talk about overreacting !
Where has common sense gone ?
Very surprised they were actually listening to the PA, and not talking, reading, sleeping through it
"Mildly" Eccentric Stardriver
The FAA has launched a review into the air traffic controller's request. Haven't they got anything better to do; like maybe getting their sense of proportion reset? This sort of thing used to happen frequently, and makes the job less impersonal.
Per Ardua ad Astraeus
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Originally Posted by Pow-wow
How stupid are people getting !?!
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Oh for crying out loud.
180+ nervous-because-they-are-flying people crammed into a small space, chatting, listening to music, ordering drinks, writing on their computers. Lots of engine noise and the creaky hissing 737 PA system.
Apart from the similarity in pronounciation in American English, this misunderstanding has nothing to do with the pax' nationality.
Enough already with the Yank-bashing.
Passengers complaining to the authorities about the announcement is a sad indication of the hysterical money-grabbing times we live in.
Worldwide.
180+ nervous-because-they-are-flying people crammed into a small space, chatting, listening to music, ordering drinks, writing on their computers. Lots of engine noise and the creaky hissing 737 PA system.
Apart from the similarity in pronounciation in American English, this misunderstanding has nothing to do with the pax' nationality.
Enough already with the Yank-bashing.
Passengers complaining to the authorities about the announcement is a sad indication of the hysterical money-grabbing times we live in.
Worldwide.
God only knows what would happen if you were seen reading about the manufacture of 'une bombe Americane'.
Which needs the yolks of 32 medium size eggs, half a gallon of cream, 2 pounds of strawberries, 4 pounds of raspberries, half a pound of sugar......Quite an ice cream.
Which needs the yolks of 32 medium size eggs, half a gallon of cream, 2 pounds of strawberries, 4 pounds of raspberries, half a pound of sugar......Quite an ice cream.
