A comforting thought for anyone whose fear of flying has them questioning the safety of the airplane: If the pilot says it’s safe, you can take some comfort in getting onboard. After all, the pilot’s life is on the line, too, if anything would go wrong.

So when a pilot freaks out before takeoff and announces over the intercom that the plane isn’t safe, and he isn’t flying it, passengers should immediately perk up and listen. Then they should follow his example and get the fuck off that plane.

British vacationers coming back from Turkey were treated to a pissed off pilot doing just this. The Airbus 321 pilot for Onur Air got on the intercom and announced: “I am resigning from my job. Do not fly with this plane. It is not safe. Do not fly with Onur Air.”

Then he powered the plane down, got up, and left.

Onur Air, a discount airline based in Turkey, has seen better days. The airline was banned from four European countries’ airspace because of safety concerns, though they’re “legal” again today.

Was the dramatic exit a “take this job and shove it” stunt? A legitimate grievance borne of years of witnessing subpar maintenance and questionable safety practices? A psychological episode the pilot might rather forget? Irrelevant! If we hear such pronouncements, we’re high-tailing it off the flight.

Terror as pilot tells passengers: this plane’s a deathtrap [Daily Mail]

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