Is it illegal, or proscribed in contract, for a pilot to abandon a [hijacked] plane? A sea captain?

[Leo_Bloom]

Yesterday’s EgyptAir hijacking; the plane is parked, pilot exits via window: EgyptAir hijacked plane: Suspected arrested after being branded an 'idiot' by Egyptian minister

Obviously abnormal circumstances.

I’m basing this on my notion that such laws exist in marine operations.

[Leo_Bloom]

ETA: Under normal circumstances, it’s hardly a question, although I’m interested what of the many charges could be filed.

Apologies for the naive-sounding subject header.

[muldoonthief]

Well for an actual GQ answer, the captain of the Costa Concordia liner which sank off Italy was sentenced to 16 years, in part for leaving the ship during rescue operations:

The court sentenced Schettino to 10 years for multiple manslaughter, five years for causing the shipwreck and one year for abandoning his passengers. He also received a one month civil penalty for failure to report the accident correctly.

[MikeS]

There is precedent for the pilots escaping without the passengers. When hijackers stormed Pan Am Flight 73 while it was on the ground in Karachi, the flight crew left the passengers behind:

The escape hatch used by the Pan American World Airways cockpit crew to slip out of a hijacked jumbo jet in Pakistan is a standard feature designed for quick getaways in land-based emergencies, Boeing Co. spokesmen said Friday.

…

The Air Line Pilots Assn. said in Washington that it makes sense for the flight crew to escape from the plane in case of a hijacking. … “It takes away the mobility of the hijackers,” a pilots association spokesman said.

You can see the “inertial escape reels” in action in this YouTube video.

[enipla]

The pilot is possibly the hi-jackers most important asset. Getting him off the plane may be a good idea.

[Colibri]

Thread title edited at request of OP.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

[griffin1977]

@enipla

The pilot is possibly the hi-jackers most important asset. Getting him off the plane may be a good idea.

Yeah it seems irresponsible to me for the pilots to stay on the plane, given the opportunity to get out. Without anyone capable of flying it, a plane goes from a guided missile to a tin can.

[Leo_Bloom]

@MikeS

There is precedent for the pilots escaping without the passengers. When hijackers stormed Pan Am Flight 73 while it was on the ground in Karachi, the flight crew left the passengers behind: [in line cquote]
[The escape hatch used by the Pan American World Airways cockpit crew to slip out of a hijacked jumbo jet in Pakistan is a standard feature designed for quick getaways in land-based emergencies, Boeing Co. spokesmen said Friday.

…

The Air Line Pilots Assn. said in Washington that it makes sense for the flight crew to escape from the plane in case of a hijacking. … “It takes away the mobility of the hijackers,” a pilots association spokesman said.]…

Good cite, which whets my interest in what, if any, the union (I assume that’s what that association is) or the airlines themselves, formally or anecdotally-informally have established since 9/11.

It can’t be that the topic hasn’t come up. (Insert smiley-but- not- really-funny-smiley.)