# Off-duty pilot tries to shut down the engines mid-flight **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 23, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966 "2023-10-23T17:50:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/301 "2025-11-24T04:10:48Z")
Well, okay, what ARE you trying to do? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/302 "2025-11-24T09:08:47Z")
@Magiver, it seems to me that you’re arguing anyone caught operating any sort of vehicle while under the influence should be charged to the maximum. So in addition to someone messing with an airplane being charged with attempted murder do you think everyone who drives drunk should be charged with attempted murder, no exceptions? After all, they _could_ kill someone. I’m sure adding another 3/4 of a million people to the prison system every year would solve a lot of problems /s ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2025, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/303 "2025-11-24T14:18:46Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Which is a good thing nobody is suggesting it. You did in post 283, & I replied to that in 284 > [@Magiver](#): > > The only way to **prevent** the negligent actions of someone is to incarcerate them. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/304 "2025-11-25T02:39:27Z")
If someone commits a crime and is incarcerated then they don’t commit crimes while incarcerated. You’re trying to read into something that isn’t there. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/305 "2025-11-25T03:40:23Z")
Right, but at some point, incarceration should end. The question is, at what point has incarceration served its purpose? You seem to be arguing “not yet,” but I can’t quite make out your reasoning. I would argue “it already has” given the consequences he has experienced and the likelihood he will commit further crimes of this nature. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/306 "2025-11-25T08:32:32Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > If someone commits a crime and is incarcerated then they don’t commit crimes while incarcerated. Yes, some of them do. Plenty of prisoners are prosecuted for crimes they commit while locked up. Assault, murder, rape, drug offenses… Seriously, you didn’t know that? Locking people up might protect the public that’s not incarcerated but it seldom if ever solves the problems that lead to the incarcerated folks being locked up in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/307 "2025-11-25T19:39:15Z")
Well, crimes in prison don’t really count, do they? I mean, the “victims” are only other criminals (/s in case anyone is unsure). I understand the feeling that this poster is struggling with, but (as was pointed out to me upthread) it doesn’t pass the test of living in a reasonable society. The worst that a DUI that causes death would normally get would be manslaughter, because the harm was entirely unintentional. You can’t have “attempted manslaughter” because it is a contradiction in terms\*. So for this pilot, in a similar situation but on a plane, since no-one was hurt or killed, there is no appropriate “attempted” crime of which he is guilty. He endangered people, the law recognizes that, and punished him for that. It was a lot of people, and I don’t know if that matters to the law, but if your mental calculus is something like “the penalty for endangering one person is X, so the penalty for endangering 100 people should be 100X” I don’t think it works that way, nor should it. \*not a lawyer, so don’t take my word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/308 "2025-11-25T20:41:06Z")
Moderating: > [@Magiver](#): > > I’d think attempted mass murder tips the scales toward incarceration. “sorry I was on drugs” seems a bit weak. > [@Magiver](#): > > His actions were willful and deliberate and they initially charge him with attempted murder. > [@Magiver](#): > > It’s not irrelevant to what he was charged with. > [@Magiver](#): > > I’m not glossing over he almost killed a plane full of people. > [@Magiver](#): > > He would need to be punished first in order to punish him harder. > [@Magiver](#): > > Is that how the legal system works now? As for his chosen career he chose to take hallucinogenic drugs. > [@Magiver](#): > > The only way to prevent the negligent actions of someone is to incarcerate them. It temporarily takes away the ability to engage in the behavior and it is punishment for the negligence committed. > > I think the sentence was too lenient. > [@Magiver](#): > > Incarceration isn’t about vengeance and it’s not about spending/saving money. It should take into consideration the gravity of the situation. He could have killed hundreds of people. > [@Magiver](#): > > The reason to incarcerate someone is to avoid a repeat of what happened. > [@Magiver](#): > > If someone commits a crime and is incarcerated then they don’t commit crimes while incarcerated. You’ve made your position very clear over numerous posts. Everyone gets that you feel this pilot should be incarcerated for his actions. Your ongoing repetition of this point has become a distraction. Time to drop it now. To all other posters who are responding to @Magiver’s assertion, please don’t anymore. Just report violations of this mod note. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966.md?page=15)