Confessions of a Pilot #3: Weirdo Pilots Edition – Smelly, Paranoid, and Narcoleptic…

When boarding a flight, passengers rarely think about the pilot being anything less than professional and skilled. After all, people are putting their lives in the pilot’s hands. But there are plenty of kooky pilots out there.

Pilots continue spilling their secrets. Thanks to Mark from Yahoo! for sharing a new weekly series called “Confessions of A Pilot” written this week by CaptainRon. This the 3rd entry from the series, you can check out the full post here and a new one each Tuesday.

1. The Neat Freak Pilot

Most pilots meet each other for the first time just before a flight (and then end up spending two or three days together — it’s as awkward as it sounds). So for this particular flight, the first thing I noticed about my copilot was that he was extremely well groomed. There wasn’t a hair out of place, and it looked as if his uniform hadn’t been worn before, it was so well pressed. After he went through his flight checklist he pulled out rubber latex gloves. He then opened up a Cheetos bag and started to eat, all the cheesiness staying on the gloves and turning them bright orange. When he was done snacking he whipped off the gloves in triumph and showed me his spotless hands. After takeoff, never mind flying the plane — the Neat Freak Pilot pulled out a toolkit with precision cleaning supplies and proceeded to give the cockpit a thorough scrubbing.

2. The Smelly Pilot

This guy is infamous — and everyone in the industry is afraid to fly with him. Because of a stomach issue, he has terrible flatulence. Stuck in the tiny cockpit with almost no ventilation, some of his copilots have actually gotten ill. When I first flew with him, the smelly pilot let one fly, so to speak, within the first few minutes. I knew I couldn’t take this odor for the entire flight, so I grabbed my oxygen mask and ended up wearing it until touchdown, Navy pilot style.

3. The Paranoid Pilot

When this pilot sat down in the cockpit, he pulled out a baseball cap — and proceeded to cover it in aluminum foil, which he had handy in his bag. He then donned this silver headpiece with pride. When I asked him why he encased his perfectly adequate hat in Reynolds Wrap, he replied, “Radiation protection.”

4. The Narcoleptic Pilot

Right after takeoff this guy dozed off, and he snored through the rest of the flight. (Good thing there were two of us flying the plane.) The Narcoleptic Pilot woke up during the final approach, seconds from landing. He cried out, “Wait, why are we so low?,” gave the plane a burst of power and then handed the controls back to me to finish landing.

5. The Speed Demon Pilot

There have been some legends when it comes to inappropriate pilot behavior. One such captain was the Speed Demon Pilot. (In the industry he was known as “Boss Hogg,” because he looked like the ’80s TV character from “Dukes of Hazzard.”) It was pre-9/11, and this pilot flew fast. All the time. Pretty much as fast as he could without incurring any structural damage to the plane. He also never wrote a takeoff checklist. Clearly he had buddies in important positions at the airline to keep his job secure.

Related –

• Confessions of a Pilot #1: Debunking the Biggest Air Travel Myths
• Confessions of a Pilot #2: We Fly Blind!
• 30 Pilots and Flight Attendants Confess their “Best Kept Flying Secrets”
• 16 Alarming Airline Secrets
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant: #1 – Attack of the Ambien Zombies
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant: #2 – More Nudity & Sleeping Pills
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant: #3 – The 15 Most Ridiculous Things People Say on a Plane
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #4 –11 Strangest Things People Ask for on a Plane
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #5 – What Happens in the Bathroom Doesn’t Stay in the Bathroom!
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #6 – 15 Flying Tips That’ll Keep You Sane this Summer
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #7 – Fecal Matter & Maxi Pads
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #8 –  Wheelchair Gaming the System
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #9 – Peeing in Cups & Breastfeeding Cats
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #10 – Drunks on a Plane
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #11 – Tales From the Mile High Club
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #12 – Smells on a Plane
• Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #13 – The Worst People on the Plane
• What Your Flight Attendant Really Thinks of You
• 10 Things You Should Never Say to a Flight Attendant
• 10 Signs You’re the Worst Person on Your Flight
• Nine Dirty Little Secrets of the Travel Industry
• 29 Things Your Pilot Won’t Tell You
• 7 Things Your Flight Attendant Wants You to Know
• What Do Flight Attendants Think of You…and your requests?
• The Unsurprising & Scary Confessions of a Regional Jet Pilot…sleeping in trailers at the airport
• How Much Do Singapore Airlines Flight Attendants Get Paid for Providing Great Service?
• Say What? Overheard on the Plane Edition 28 – Crazy Things Passengers Say to Flight Attendants