Posted on 11/13/2004 3:37:48 PM PST by BulletBobCo
(AFPN) -- Like most passengers on a commercial airlines flight, Lt. Col. Scott Neumann probably expected a long, uneventful flight from Dulles International Airport in Washington to Los Angeles.
Boy, was he wrong.
The deputy commander for the 412th Operations Group at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., had just wrapped up a semiannual National Aeronautic Association meeting and was settled into his seat in coach class for his coast-to-coast trip Nov. 9.
During the flight, he had struck up a conversation with one of the flight attendants. He shared that he had been a test pilot for the B-2 Spirit and other aircraft.
With small talk aside, the flight attendant went about her business, and so did Colonel Neumann -- but not for long.
"About one and a half hours into the flight, the flight attendant made an announcement requesting a doctor or nurse," he said. Then she gathered up the airliner's medical equipment and an oxygen bottle and headed toward the cockpit.
The co-pilot was having a seizure.
The pilot, an airline captain, had struggled to restrain the seizing co-pilot as he sought help and piloted the aircraft during the episode.
A nurse who was a passenger behind Colonel Neumann responded to the request for assistance. And when the call came out for a couple of strong, able bodies, Colonel Neumann and a fellow traveler stepped forward.
They moved the co-pilot into the forward galley to allow the nurse to treat his symptoms.
The 737's pilot, now without a co-pilot, decided to divert to Colorado Springs Airport. The flight attendant told him about Colonel Neumann's experience as a test pilot.
"You'll do," the captain told the colonel. So Colonel Neumann moved from coach to better than first class. Despite being new to the 737 airframe, Colonel Neumann said he helped the pilot run checklists and land the plane.
Upon landing in Colorado Springs just after 10 a.m., a medical crew from the base here arrived to assist the co-pilot.
Unfortunately, Colonel Neumann's eventful flight led to a crew and aircraft change in what was supposed to be a nonstop flight to Los Angeles. Given his involvement, the colonel was late in arriving to the ticket counter to get onto the new flight. The new aircraft was booked solid.
However, when the ticketing agent learned he had been the one who co-piloted the airliner after the emergency, the agent booked him a first-class seat.
"Not quite as good as the one I had," Colonel Neumann said.
On the plus side, the emergency allowed the test pilot to log in "two or three tenths of an hour in a 737," he said. It might not seem like much when compared to the stick time he has with the B-2, B-1 Lancer, F-16 Fighting Falcon, KC-135 Stratotanker, C-12 and C-130 Hercules airframes.
"But this will be a lot more memorable," he said. (Courtesy of Air Force Space Command News Service)
"Smooth.... Real smooth. :)
That's EXACTLY what I was thinking!"
"So...uh...Yeah, baby, I've flown those things. Does that turn you on?
5.56mm
I am serious.......and don't call me Shirley!
"It's an entirely different kind of flying.....altogether".
Zoomie ping
My son has gotten seizures after he turned 40. The doctor told him he would have to take medicin (forgot the name) for the rest of his life. As long as he takes it he is fine
That's EXACTLY what I was thinking!"
Somehow I'm having a really hard time with that part of the story. Maybe the attendant was one of those grandmotherly types AA has on the longer hauls and she was just being friendly to a man in uniform. I'm hoping.
Yes I am jealous. One of my employees helped build them. He says the pilots love that machine.
Can he also speak jive ?
rule # one: never admit you're an ninja. :)
"Oh yeah, I fly out in Nevada test range all of the time. Heck... I was a test pilot for the B-2 spirit... and ... you know what they say about Area 51? ... well.... they are not from another world... but they might as well be.... you can come over to my apartment later if you like and I can show you photos of all the planes that I've flown... heck ya.... you can bring your friend Heidi... Do you girls have work tomorrow . . . "
Yeah.... I better stop doing that too.
That may be true. His ability to get a Airman's Medical Certificate is the difficulty. Conditions that require medication to prevent onset of symptoms, be it Epilepsy or Diabetes, precludes a First Class Medical required for a pilot to keep his job.
It's a side issue to be sure in this story.
It's an entirely different kind of flying.
I guess it is good that the airlines cut out food service in coach.
I picked the wrong week to stop doing heroin.
I am also skeptical about some of the facts. Do they fly a 737 non-stop from Dulles to LA? Also, 1 and a half hours from Dulles to near Colorado Springs? You know what they say when something smells?
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."
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