Joke empties plane Man ticketed and sent home as passengers scurry to resume travels

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ^ | Dec. 24, 2002 | GINA BARTON

[gitmo]

Joke empties plane
Man ticketed and sent home as passengers scurry to resume travels

As he boarded a commuter plane at the Dane County Regional Airport Tuesday morning, 33-year-old Steven M. Wiese of Cottage Grove peeked around the cockpit door and made a joke: "I hope you haven't been drinking."

The pilot didn't think it was funny. Neither did the other passengers.

"(The pilot) could see the other passengers' heads popping up like gophers coming out of their holes," said Lt. Michael Krembs of the Dane County Sheriff's Department. "The whole plane could hear. He said it really loud."

In an instant, Wiese's holiday travel plans were ruined. The flight was delayed. The other passengers had to re-book on other flights on Christmas Eve. And the pilots were checked to make sure they indeed had not been drinking.

Wiese and his wife have not flown since their honeymoon nine years ago. He had planned a trip to New York as a surprise Christmas gift for her.

"I shouldn't have said it. I regret saying it," Wiese said Tuesday afternoon. "I meant it as a joke. I had a smile on my face. But they took it the wrong way."

Atlantic Coast Airlines flight 6302, with 26 passengers aboard, was delayed. The crew reported to a medical facility to be tested for alcohol and drugs, in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.

"Since 9-11, you can't joke about anything in an airport," Krembs said.

Wiese apologized to his fellow travelers as they got off the plane at the Madison airport and lined up at the ticket counter, hoping to be re-booked. Then he and his wife got in line, too.

"The deputies pulled them out of line and said, 'Oh, no. You're not going anywhere today,' " Krembs said.

The deputies then ticketed Wiese for disorderly conduct. He must pay a $225 fine.

That's not all.

The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office will discuss the incident after the holidays and decide whether the man should face the more serious charge of interfering with a flight crew, a federal felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison term, said Monica Shipley, FBI spokeswoman.

All of the other passengers were re-booked to their final destinations, said Rick Delisi, spokesman for Atlantic Coast Airlines. The members of the flight crew all tested negative for alcohol and other controlled substances. Their plane departed more than four hours late, at 2:05 p.m.

Delisi said the pilot followed the proper procedures.

"The crew is never meant to ask whether (people are) joking or what their motivations are," he said. ". . . People just don't realize the seriousness of what they're saying."

For Wiese, that realization came at a high price - and not just the cost of the non-refundable plane tickets. Instead of taking the trip, he and his wife now plan a quiet holiday at home trying to recover from the ordeal.

Wiese has weighed in his mind exactly what he should have done differently.

"I should have said, 'Merry Christmas.' "

A version of this story appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Dec. 25, 2002.

_____________________________________________________

The incident at the Dane County Regional Airport is not the first time a passenger has gotten into trouble for making a comment regarded as inappropriate.

A female passenger was kicked off an America West Airlines flight in San Francisco July 8 after she asked, "Have you checked your crew for sobriety?"

A Massachusetts man was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $500 this year when airlines workers asked if he was carrying anyone else's items and he said, "Like one of those ticking cardboard boxes?"

A Delaware man was sentenced to six months in prison in 1998 for forcing a jet to make an emergency landing after joking about having explosives in his carry-on bag.

A Miami woman was arrested in 1999 for swearing at flight attendants when she blocked a meal cart and was told to move.

[varon]

That's insane. Even if it wasn't a joke it's not a crime to ask your pilot if he's been drinking.(my emphasis)

It is now!

[Trust but Verify]

But many people DO pray out loud. Especially when they are nervous.

So? Is this something I am now supposed to worry about? Maybe you should make me a list. The next time I fly is January 24th. Please have it to me by then. And thanks. You are a peach.

[Textide]

A few days after it was determined that an EgyptAir pilot downed his plane in an apparent suicide (blamed on his family problems), my father had a business flight. Upon boarding the plane he stuck his head in the cockpit and said with a grin, "Your family lives OK?". The pilots and a nearby flight attendent burst out laughing, and assured him that theirs were fine; both chuckling as they responded. Nothing more was made out of it.

He'd have been treated the same as this guy were he to say that today.

[TRY ONE]

Oh no! I can't even speak to my friend on the plane.

I can't say "Hi Jack"

[Trust but Verify]

The real thing about free speech asshole, is that it doesn't need justification, get it? Asshole, free speech you know.

I love free speech. It's what allows people like you you call a woman you don't even know an a$$hole on Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office will discuss the incident after the holidays and decide whether the man should face the more serious charge of interfering with a flight crew, a federal felony that carries a maximum 20-year prison term, said Monica Shipley, FBI spokeswoman.

Oh, please, if the FBI pursues this, the investigating officers should be sentenced to serve the same time!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Wiese has weighed in his mind exactly what he should have done differently.

Taking the bus comes to mind.

[Trust but Verify]

Thnaks, Eric. I knew I could count on you!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

airline pilots certainly aren't helping their business acting like this. In fact, the pilots are slitting their own throats. Oops, hope I don't get taken away for making an inappropriate comment.

Were you on board a plane when typing that?

[Hot Tabasco]

I wish I could have been right there behind the guy because I would have roared with laughter!! There is another thread going on asking which country has the best sense of humor. After what I just read I don't think the U.S. should even make the top 10....... Actually I think the jokester merely ticked a sore nerve

[DeaconRed]

OK
This gets the "NOT-A-LOTT" award.
We can't say anything stupid ever again.
KINDA SAD

[muir_redwoods]

Jokes about bombs are over the line but it seems reasonable to me to wonder if the crew has been drinking. If one can wonder whether a priest is a child-molester or whether a politician is a crook why can't you wonder about the sobriety of a pilot? Saying it out loud may be tacky but it is still well within the protection of the first amendment. Or was when I grew up in America.

[TightSqueeze]

I love free speech. It's what allows people like you you call...

Don't take it personal, it is way more about the freedom of speech rather than the content or the context of the speech I was exercising.

[mac_truck]

But many people DO pray out loud. Especially when they are nervous.

I'll bet the 9/11 hijackers prayed out loud. whats your point?

[RGSpincich]

it is way more about the freedom of speech

And the limits as pertaining to other's rights to be free from your offensive words. Freedom from offensive speech exists in certain cases, your post #42 being one.

[Billy_bob_bob]

You know, I was just considering booking a flight to Denver for a quick weekend trip to see some friends. One of my big considerations was having to deal with the new security measures. I'm glad I read this thread before booking a flight. There's no way I'll put up with this kind of nonsense. I'm hot-tempered to begin with, having some federal martinet in my face for no good reason would result in one mashed martinet face and me on my way to the pokey. Forget it. No way. If I end up going, I'm taking a week off and driving there.

[ASOC]

Still is, walk up the pilot and ask - what's the weather like at X (your destination)? He (or she) should smile and tell you. NO boozy smell on breath, you smile back and say "thanks".
You don't like what you see/smell, suddenly you have a need to make a call & leave (AKA an excuse). Report to the gate agent & ask for a manager. Or ask to go on a later flight.
Be prepared for any fall out.
Have fun, and enjoy life all you can