THE RULES DO NOT APPLY TO ME

Notes of Concern…
…Jack Blair

The Rules Do Not Apply to Me

I was reading news reports of the Jet Blue Flight attendant recently arrested for his bizarre behavior while his plane was taxiing on the runway in New York.

For those of you who did not see this report, the plane had landed and the usual announcements had been made, including the one reminding everyone to stay in their seats until the plane had come to a complete stop and the Captain has indicated it is OK to release your seat belt. You may recall this is for safety reasons. Planes can come to quick and unexpected stops along the taxi-ways. Planes can be ordered by the control tower to quickly change directions, for instance to avoid being slammed into by a plane landing on the same runway.

In addition, the announcement also tells you not to open any overhead bins as luggage can reposition itself in flight and can fall out of the bin onto the heads of unsuspecting passengers.

I have flown well over one million miles on just American Airlines. This does not count the miles I have flown on other domestic and international carriers. I have heard these announcements many times.

It amazes me that passengers simply ignore the announcements.

It is as if their personal business is more important than their safety or the safety of their fellow passengers. These fliers are ignorant and full of themselves. They are narcissistic. They are the bane of reasonable people everywhere. And they are criminals! They do not follow directions or obey the laws.

The flight attendant in this case saw the passenger rise from his seat and open his overhead bin while the plane was in motion. At risk to himself he left his seat and approached the offending passenger and asked him to sit down and close the overhead bin. The exchange got heated and the passenger shared a familiar four-letter word with the attendant and then the attendant was struck by a piece of baggage from the overhead bin. I do not know whether the baggage hit was intentional or just the fulfillment of the warning the announcement provided.

In any event, the irate attendant returned to his seat, used the intercom to send the same four letter descriptive term back at the passenger, proceeded to grab a cool beer from the refrigerator on the plane, pulled the emergency door handle, opened the door, engaged the emergency shoot and then departed the plane by sliding away. No word on whether he waved happily or uttered some more profanity.

This reminded me of the famous scene from the movie NETWORK where the broadcaster raised his apartment window and shouted something along the lines of “I have had enough and I won’t take it anymore.” A lot of movie viewers could relate to this “last straw” reaction.

And so I could related to the “last straw” action of the flight attendant.

My mind is playing with all the scenarios that could have been working on the flight attendant. Perhaps after flying for many hours or days, encountering many people who simply would not operate in the best interests of all passengers, or a series of incredibly angry and difficult passengers, he just decided it wasn’t worth it and he wasn’t going to take it anymore.

I admit his decision to abandon the plane on the tarmac via the emergency slide, with a cool brew in his hand, was both dramatic and also placed him in the same category as his antagonist. Clearly, his departure in that manner placed his passengers at greater risk.

The police were charged with the task of finding the errant attendant and they did so, at his home. He was arrested and according to newspaper accounts may face up to four years in jail.

No mention of any charges against the offending passenger.

Too bad.

In this fight I am far more sympathetic with the attendant than with the passenger. Four years in jail for him would send a wonderful message to people who think and act the way he did.

The rules, alas, apply to us all. Those who think they are above the rules need to take some remedial classes on the subject. When we are in planes, whether on landing strips or 40,000 feet in the air, we want everyone to follow directions and obey the rules.

When one person doesn’t we are all at risk.