# 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:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/141 "2023-10-26T16:28:26Z")
I can’t imagine the thought process. “I haven’t slept for 3 days, and I’m tripping balls, but hey let’s get ready for work”. Didn’t the crewmembers notice the odd behavior, the fixation on seemingly innocuous, mundane everyday items, the periodic “oh wow, man, is that you, or is that me?”. (Never mind the tie-die T-shirt and a groovy direct-to-board recording of the Dead at the Fillmore in August, 1970 over the intercom). “Known or should have known” applies here. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/142 "2023-10-26T22:32:47Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s supposed to be an Alaska Native in a traditional coat, apocryphally a fellow named Oliver Amouack. I assumed it was something like that but I thought it looked like Johnny Cash. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/143 "2023-10-26T23:19:33Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Two things: > > - I cannot imagine anyone on mushrooms deciding to shut down a plane’s engines. You hallucinate some and certainly should not be driving or operating anything except your stereo but you are definitely still in control of yourself. > - I’ve never heard of a mushroom trip lasting much more than six hours (give or take). While you might be ‘hungover’ (of a sort) afterwards and not in shape to fly a plane neither are you still tripping 48-hours later. Certainly not so out-of-your-mind that shutting down the plane’s engines in flight would even be considered. > > That said, it has been a few decades since I used magic mushrooms. Maybe things have changed but that would surprise me. 48-hours later you should be well in control of yourself. Either he is lying, had an unusual reaction or ate some ridiculous amount of mushrooms (and not even sure that would suffice to trip for 48-hours) or he took something else unknowingly. one thing: 😉 (no expert here, whatsoever) … but don’t most drugs have the potential to trigger a psychotic episode? … so maybe the mushrooms just pulled back the curtain - and what was behind the curtain, was not nice, warm and fuzzy… IOW: maybe the root-cause were the 'shrooms, but the deed proper was a psychotic short-circuit (for lack of better wording) ETA: do we already know (“black box” or captain’s interview) if this was meant as an ill conceived joke or something funny … or was it more like “I will kill all around here by pulling those levers” I have a hard time parsing either … but it prob. helps understanding the situation better ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/144 "2023-10-26T23:42:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > It’s supposed to be an Alaska Native in a traditional coat, apocryphally a fellow named Oliver Amouack. I’ve always thought it looked like Dersu Uzala… > **[Kurosawa in Siberia: how the master got his mojo back](https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/kurosawa-siberia-how-master-got-his-mojo-back#:~:text=For%20The%20Idiot%20and%20The,Dersu%20is%20played%20by%20Siberian)** > > Akira Kurosawa’s only non-Japanese language film, Dersu Uzala is an epic tale of friendship set in the Siberian hinterlands, which arrived at a crucial point in the master’s career. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/145 "2023-10-27T13:19:39Z")
Hallucinogens are definitely (well, anecdotally) capable of triggering a psychotic episode, but to be fair, any time you haven’t slept for 3 days you’re likely not in your right mind. Insomnia all by its own is very powerful. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/146 "2023-10-27T20:08:58Z")
agreed … let’s roll all of the before mentioned into a “stupidity cocktail” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/147 "2023-10-28T03:16:47Z")
Even if you think you’re rolling on the safe side of a chemical vacation there is still the unknown of what is actually mixed with it. In my area e’re getting an increase in xylazine mixed in with other drugs. Narcan won’t help in an overdose. What this pilot took could have been laced with anything. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2023, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/148 "2023-10-29T13:25:01Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > What this pilot took could have been laced with anything. The idea of drugs being “laced” with something else is a bit overblown in my experience. Keep in mind that it all comes down to profit. Xylazine isn’t cheap and adds little to the ketamine experience, for example. Neither is reversed by naloxone. I once smoked some cannabis with a woman who get the weed from her brother. Turns out it was “laced” with PCP, but her brother had paid extra for it specifically because of this. He gave some to his sister as a prank. Interesting evening, it was. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2023, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/149 "2023-10-31T08:43:33Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > Maybe one day I’ll do it here. The best example I came up with was a way to fly, within nearly all regulations, with 12 people in a Cessna 150 I would be interested in knowing how you intended to physically get 12 people all into the cabin space of a Cessna 150. It would be like stuffing a phone booth. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/150 "2023-10-31T10:20:52Z")
The same way you would fit 100 otters on a plane surely? ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/151 "2023-10-31T10:32:57Z")
Fire them from a cannon through the spinning propeller, provided the windshield opens? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/152 "2023-10-31T11:06:00Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > The same way you would fit 100 otters on a plane surely." Are we talking an Otter, a twin Otter(s), or a Beaver. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/153 "2023-10-31T15:05:38Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > 100 otters on a plane surely? Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/154 "2023-10-31T15:47:36Z")
Easily worth a 25 year old Talisker. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/155 "2023-10-31T16:00:04Z")
The lemon is in play. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Fairway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Mrs\_Fairway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Fairway)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/156 "2023-10-31T19:20:37Z")
Will I win cheesecake or strudel? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2023, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/157 "2023-10-31T19:38:07Z")
I see the mushrooms have kicked in… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/158 "2023-11-01T00:45:10Z")
Story about another airline pilot who lost it in mid-air. > **[A pilot has been indicted for allegedly threatening to shoot the captain if...](https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/pilot-indicted-allegedly-threatening-shoot-captain-flight-diverted-104525370)** > > Authorities say a co-pilot threatened to shoot the captain if the plane was diverted to take care of a passenger who needed medical attention Pilotless aircraft are starting to look better. Well, not really. But sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/159 "2023-11-01T00:59:27Z")
So you won’t be using MuskAir anytime soon? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966/160 "2023-11-01T01:29:30Z")
Good point. If Musk wants The Site Formerly Known as Twit-X to be a dating app and a bank, would airline be next? (Before space taxi…?) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/off-duty-pilot-tries-to-shut-down-the-engines-mid-flight/991966.md?page=9)