# This is why you don't let toddlers in the cockpit **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 13, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857 "2012-11-13T03:30:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/1 "2012-11-13T03:30:57Z")
Man, I thought I was pissed when my son backed his truck into mine in the driveway last year. 3 grand not covered by insurance. At least he didn’t kick us out of the fucking sky! > **[5-year-old apparently caused deadly helicopter crash by kicking flight...](https://www.foxnews.com/us/5-year-old-apparently-caused-deadly-helicopter-crash-by-kicking-flight-controls-report-says)** > > 5-year-old apparently caused a 2010 crash near Phoenix that five people by kicking the flight controls while on dad's lap.  ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/2 "2012-11-13T11:00:32Z")
Wow. Didn’t a Russian airliner crash a few years ago because the pilot let one of his children in the cockpit? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/3 "2012-11-13T11:25:18Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Wow. Didn’t a Russian airliner crash a few years ago because the pilot let one of his children in the cockpit? Yes, two children, in fact. And it was one of the children that was the first to notice that the other had caused something to go wrong (which was quietly disengaging the autopilot) – too late, alas. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/4 "2012-11-13T12:03:06Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Wow. Didn’t a Russian airliner crash a few years ago because the pilot let one of his children in the cockpit? [Aeroflot 593](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroflot_Flight_593). The pilot not only let his children into the cockpit but let them sit in the seats by themselves and fiddle with the controls. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/5 "2012-11-13T15:53:39Z")
LOL When I was 3 days old, my Dad was bringing my Mom and I home from the hospital. She had just finished nursing me when he hit a patch of turbulence, and I sort of redecorated the interior of the cabin of the piper with vomit. Dad decided that he really needed to upsize the plane and traded the piper for a commanche. Now _that_ is a reason to not bring an infant or toddler onto an airplane and let them into the cockpit! [first, last, and only time I have ever been anything close to motion sick …] ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/6 "2012-11-13T16:01:39Z")
_Sweetie, don’t tinker with the Bell._ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/7 "2012-11-13T16:03:25Z")
> [@](#): > > The report says it’s “highly likely” the little girl suddenly pushed down on a control and either Stewart or his company pilot then quickly pulled up. That made the rotor blades bend and strike the tail boom. I’ve never flown a Eurocopter (only R22s and CB300s), but it sounds like the girl may have kicked the collective resulting in a negative-g condition. In a helicopter with a semi-rigid rotor system (which the Eurocopter isn’t), this is a somewhat common reason for a crash (especially amongst airplane pilots with little time in helicopters). Unloading the rotor disc is not something you want to do. If you do, pulling up quickly is the wrong move. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/8 "2012-11-13T16:08:54Z")
Fuel … check. Lights … check. Oil pressure … check. We’ve got clearance. OK, Jack-- let’s get this [baby](http://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=73489) off the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/9 "2012-11-13T16:20:06Z")
I thought the worst thing that could happen with children in the cockpit was some awkward questions about gladiator movies and Turkish prisons. ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/10 "2012-11-13T16:22:49Z")
I keep reading this as crockpot, not cockpit. Slightly different. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/11 "2012-11-13T17:44:10Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > I keep reading this as crockpot, not cockpit. Slightly different. Heh-heh. You said, “crockpot.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Accident](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-why-you-dont-let-toddlers-in-the-cockpit/640857/12 "2012-11-13T20:25:24Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > I keep reading this as crockpot, not cockpit. Slightly different. Glad I’m not the only one who thought that.