The social media reaction was predictable, but not what this Charlotte lawyer had apparently hoped for, proving once again that the general public is still pretty much in awe of pilots and sort of "meh" on attorneys.
From the Charlotte Observer:
An airline pilot, flying as a passenger on a recent flight from Charlotte, was caught on camera texting on his cellphone while the plane was taking off – in violation of federal rules.
Chad Tillman, a Charlotte resident who was on the Aug. 14 flight from Charlotte to Tampa, used his own cellphone to capture video of the unidentified pilot as he texted.
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| Charlotte lawyer Chad Tillman says he was disturbed to see a pilot ignoring federal rules on a recent flight. Photo courtesy of Chad Tillman |
The flight was operated by American Airlines, but the pilot worked for a different airline, a spokeswoman for American said.
Soon after landing in Florida, Tillman wrote a letter to American Airlines CEO Doug Parker to express his concern.
“I am sure he is a good pilot, but even a small lapse in judgment in his profession can get people killed, and it bothers me that he can so casually disregard FAA regulations in the public view,” Tillman wrote. “I fear what he may be doing in the cockpit that could jeopardize passenger safety.”
American Airlines declined to identify the pilot or the airline he worked for.
“I do know the other airline addressed the issue with the pilot,” American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said.
Tillman, a Charlotte patent attorney, said his own smartphone was set to airplane mode when he took the video of the texting pilot.
On previous flights, he said, attendants have told him to turn his cellphone off. So he said he was initially annoyed – and later disturbed – to see a pilot ignoring the rules.
“I started thinking, ‘They’ve got these rules in place for a reason,’” Tillman said. “… The pilots, more than anyone, should know those rules and obey them.”
The public scorn that followed was overwhelmingly in favor of two things, first the pilot and the fact that texting while flying will bring down an aircraft and second Chad should mind his own business.
Here's just a small sampling:
"I bet this guy was beaten up on the playground one too many times in elementary school. Did the planecrash? No. Do you know why? Because it's a freaking TEXT MESSAGE. Grow up!"
"This guy is a complete tool and a coward. If he had any testicular fortitude whatsoever, he would havesaid something directly when it happened. If he was really worried about anyone's safety as claimed, he would have addressed the issue immediately. Total j@cka$$."
"Hey Chad, When has there been a plane crash been caused by a text message? Never. Worry about terroists and not a fricken text message for god sake"
"There are also laws concerning vehicle speed limits, DWI, red lights and stop signs. I hope Mr. Tillmanobeys each and every law of the land......if not, let's hope someone can get a video of him breaking the law. Just saying.....do not be a hypocrite; or a shyster."
"He's a pussy. Texting does nothing to an aircraft. The FCC is the one who has the limitation, hence the FAA by default. Someone needs to shove something in the drainpipe of this windbag lawyer."
"and then this dbag goes ridiculously further & questions his piloting skills when he's "in the cockpit". Then again he is a lawyer...Shakes
Saving the best for last:
"What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A great start."
The complete Charlotte Observer article is here.
5 comments:
Ugh. A white boy wearing Dr. Dare beats headphone. And he is a little on the old side. Nasty. Can you say BOSE?
Slow news week. I if the plane had been improperly loaded and the plane had crashed (like the last CLT gravity issue on takeoff) then heads would need to roll.
This attorney could have been a janitor or a stowaway for all I care. Hypocrisy, maybe...as none of us are perfect. But he pointed out a legitimate issue, filed a complaint, and the rest is not too extraordinary.
The backlash? No one likes lawyers? I have another question?
Who likes the woods? Who likes the woods so much they go walking through them within 2000 meters of a runway? What's the significance of 2000 meters you ask? I don't know. It depends on the caliber of weapon someone might fire, their capabilities as a marksman and how low the plane gets a certain distance away. Could be 4000m
Yes, of course it's all urban. That's why we catch 100% of shots fired call suspects. Oooo, someone texted and now the soft part of the population hates him because he's a member of the bar.
Now he's a hypocrite and you still hate texting and lawyers. Are we actually thinking or waking up from a bender? Are you flying for the holidays? Just put it on airplane mode and police your area. You'll be fine.
I don't know this lawyer and don't care for the breed much (with the exception of a few I am VERY loyal to in all areas), but it seems as though the low information crowd got a hold of this one and resulting, nothing will come from it. Minor news frame until it gets real...then we all forget this conversation and mourn.
Same poster here as 0047. Didn't make it clear that I understand that the texter (pilot) and the complainer (lawyer) are separate people. Yes I did read it. Just in a rush for a flight myself (I won't be texting on take off!).
lawyer Chad Tillman is a douchebag little bitch.
"I am sure he is a good pilot, but even a small lapse in judgment in his profession can get people killed, and it bothers me that he can so casually disregard FAA regulations in the public view," Tillman wrote. "I fear what he may be doing in the cockpit that could jeopardize passenger safety."
-Chad Tillman, Charlotte Patent Attorney
You see, this (ahem) gentleman is one of the reasons we can't have nice things. I wonder what Mr. busybody attorney here would do if he found out that on private planes (with far more sensitive electronic kit) that people never turn off their phones? Let's take a survey of the following on commercial flights: How many people have accidentally left their phone in their bag, in normal mode (I turn it to airplane mode to save the battery), for an entire flight? How many of those planes had trouble? Cell phones aren't going to cause trouble. They won't cause the plane to fall out of the sky.
Now if Chad Tillman's judgement is that poor that he honestly believes this is a safety of flight issue, I'm sure glad I'm not his client. I don't know what kind of patent lawyer Chad Tillman is, but given his judgment here I certainly hope it has nothing to do with technology from 1980 or newer. I should also note for the peanut gallery, I'm not saying Chad Tillman is a bad patent attorney per se, but I am seriously concerned that patent attorney Chad Tillman of Charlotte has issues regarding judgement. This pilot wasn't flying the plane, and yet patent attorney Chad Tillman of Charlotte felt this action was so egregious it needed to be publicly aired. This, in reality, only really shows poor judgement on the part of Chad Tillman in my lay opinion. In reality, this was probably due to the following statement more than him being worried about any regulation per se:
On previous flights, he said, attendants have told him to turn his cellphone off. So he said he was initially annoyed -- and later disturbed -- to see a pilot ignoring the rules.
This shows what was going through the mind of patent attorney Chad Tillman of Charlotte, NC: annoyance. Somebody else was doing something he was told not to do, and hadn't been caught yet. So what did Mr. Chad Tillman do? Did he notify a flight steward? No. Did he quietly and politely tell the bloke, "Oi, mate, you're not supposed to be texting and such. They give you a talking to if you're caught." No, not that at all either. What Mr. Chad Tillman, a patent attorney in Charlotte, decided to do was go for internet fame via humiliation. This leads me to believe that Mr. Chad Tillman was seeking internet fame to boost his business. This may be due to his poor judgement in that field as well. After all if Mr. Chad Tillman, a patent attorney in Charlotte, truly believed this was a safety of flight issue then video recording the event instead of bringing to the attention of plane stewards was the height of poor judgement!
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