A pilot and co-pilot on an Alaska Airlines flight engaged in a verbal dispute in front of their passengers.
The incident occurred on July 18 on a flight from DC’s Dulles International Airport bound for San Francisco International Airport.
Though it has not been revealed what exactly the two men were feuding about, the disagreement ended with the pilot turning the plane around on the tarmac instead of continuing with the flight’s scheduled take-off. Flight attendants allegedly had no idea what had transpired between the two that led to the dispute.
According to a Twitter post made by a passenger on the flight, the pilot made an announcement informing the passengers that the plane would be turning around and returning to the airport gate due to the issues between him and his co-pilot.
The pilot said he would be getting off of the flight and that the decision was in the interest of the safety of everyone on board.
He is said to have walked off the plane “fuming.” Another person posted a video to their Twitter account of the pilot walking away. Alaska Airlines provided a new crew to continue the flight to San Francisco and has offered the passengers compensation of $175 for the inconvenience.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines said, “While this situation was unfortunate, in the interest of safety, the pilots did the right thing. Both the captain and the first officer was evaluated by management and it was determined they remained fit to fly… We apologized to our guests for the inconvenience this caused.”
The flight had already been delayed 90 minutes due to inclement weather, however, the unexpected last-minute change caused the total delay time to reach two and a half hours.
