You can say a lot of things about San Jose and the Bay Area in general, but if you can’t say something nice it might be best to nothing at all. One crew member of a Southwest Airlines flight probably wishes he had kept his opinions to himself after a recording of his expletive-filled rant about the Bay Area was published this week.
The original recording was made on March 13 and was posted on One Mile At A Time. Here are a few excerpts:
In this audio clip you can hear a pilot ranting about San Jose, as he seemingly has a stuck mic that everyone on the frequency can hear. It’s hard to make sense of what exactly the pilot’s point is (especially since we only hear one side of the conversation, given the hot mic), but here’s what I’m understanding:
- “F*ck this place, g*ddamn liberal f*cks”
- “Eight guns out here somewhere as it is”
- “F*cking weirdos, probably driving around in f*cking Hyundais, f*cking roads and sh*t that go slow as f*ck
- “You don’t have balls unless you’re f*cking rolling coal man, g*ddamnit”
Who says stuff like this?! And what exactly is his point? He has a problem with… Hyundais?
Who indeed! Well, it was a reporter at SFGate who confirmed that the voice is definitely aboard a Southwest flight, though the airline declined to identify the pilot as an investigation into the matter is ongoing.
You can find the recording of his rant online at Live ATC, which confirmed the recording’s authenticity for SFGate. Even the FAA weighed in on the matter:
In a statement, FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor wrote, “FAA regulations prohibit airline pilots from talking about subjects that are unrelated to safely conducting their flight while taxiing and while flying below 10,000 feet altitude.”
“The FAA is investigating communications that an airline pilot made while taxiing at Mineta San Jose International Airport last week,” read the statement. “The FAA also reported the incident to the airline.”
I guess that above 10,000 feet crew members can be chatty Kathys all they want. I don’t want to swoop in and tell anyone how to do their job, but even if you don’t like a city or its inhabitants, leave the Hyundai owners alone. They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like airline pilots.
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