http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003/2...aked-pilots.htm

Strange,One of them took off his clothes because of spilt coffee. I wonder if the other pilot felt overdressed and decided to disrobe.Secondly it was stated that an FAA spoksman said that there was no prohibition against flying naked. ??? Strange, very strange! Brent Hebert

Yeah, they said it's unclear why the second guy took his clothes off. Since an airline cockpit is pretty small, isn't it possible the coffee hit both pilots when it spilled? Somebody suggested that, but I don't know. Still really weird!-MarcMarc Gibsonhttp://www.freewebs.com/flightsimcfi/http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

The USA Today version of the events is not exactly complete. It was a ferry flight without passengers. One of the flight attendants wanted to get pictures of herself naked in the cockpit. While she went back to dig up her camera, the pilots decided to also strip down to their underwear for a laugh when she got back to the cockpit. The pictures were done and that was the end of it. Somehow, the pictures later ended up being posted on the internet somewhere and came back around to the Company....

Check outhttp://www.frugalsworld.com/columns/BBall.shtml B Ball's section on Frugals world. He is a Northwest 757 captain, And has some great stories!!

B1900 Mech,Thanks for the advert...lol. (there are also several "airline" stories in the "Logbook" section)Yeah, I saw this one when it hit the wires, and quite frankly, I just chuckled and shook my head. Over the years, pilots have been fired for lots of reasons that make sense, but I assure you, I've heard (and seen a few) stories that make this look like child's play.A story hit the streets a few years ago about a USAir Captain that was fired for "letting the flight attendant land the airplane".... :)Apparently, she sat in the F/O's seat (or on his lap as one version goes), while the Captain did the landing and she "followed him through" on the controls. Stupid? Yep! I guess my biggest chuckle came when I began to picture him telling his wife WHY he was fired...-Capt: "honey, I lost my job today.."-wife: "oh my God, did you have an accident? Are you OK?"-Capt: "er, ah, no...I, er, ah...let an attractive young lady...er, ah...help me land the airplane.."-wife: "WHAT?" No matter what the guy says, he's toast.As a good friend of mine is fond of saying..."life IS tougher when you're stupid"take care all,BBall-------------------Capt. William "BBall" BallBoeing 757, Northwest AirlinesSenior Editorwww.frugalsworld.com

I have turned wrenches on C-150s To B747s since 1976, and could tell you stories that would horrify you, Iam glad " Maintenance" was flying the a/c (Auto Flight System):-lol

Frankly I don't see why they were fired. The flight was empty, they flew naked..so waht? Did they threaten the safety of the plane in any way? They had some fun during an alreaday stressful job and that's it. I'm sure SW loves the publicity but they go ahead and fire the pilots for the publicity. I hope they get their jobs back.Mike

Umm, can you say sexual harrasment? I can't believe that in this day and age, two adults who have invested so much time, money and possibly military service into their careers would flush it all down the drain for something that is clearly not OK in today's business world. Their lack of judgement both boggles the mind, and frankly, is somewhat sobering to this sometimes SWA passenger. If they were willing to risk their careers doing something this completly out of bounds, what other decisions did they make flying the plane that lacked judgement?And I don't care if it was a ferry flight. With or without passengers in seats, they were driving a multi-million dollar jet that could a) hit another jet or :( fly into a densly populated part of the world.Sorry, no excuses in my book. Just plain stupid. Colin

Colin,I agree with you 100%. I think there needs to be a level of professionalism and maturity in any field, especially flying. It's not that what they were doing was so dangerous, but was just a really immature and unprofessional decision. I agree that if they aren't mature enough to act like adults, they don't belong flying a plane with me on it.-MarcMarc Gibsonhttp://www.freewebs.com/flightsimcfi/http://vatsim.pilotmedia.fi/statusindicato...tor=OD1&a=a.jpg

Guys,Of course, you're exactly right. They were fired for what the FAA would deem "careless and reckless" in their operation. Did they almost kill anyone...probably not. Were they operating "carelessly"...yep. I've said it a million times, being a professional aviator is as much attitude as it is aptitude.humorous note...As we were taxiing to take-off in KSEA yesterday, a SWA 737 pulled out in front of us and commenced to taxi "like a bat out of hell" toward the duty runway (their normal taxi speed is about twice as fast as everyone else...I'll tell you a story about that someday). As we noticed him, the jumpseat rider in my cockpit (an Alaska Airlines pilot) commented: "Must be in a hurry to get to altitude...clothes must be chafing a bit...":)take care all,BBall--------------------Capt. William "BBall" BallBoeing 757, Northwest AirlinesSenior Editorwww.Frugalsworld.com

You know, I flew out of Oakland a lot in my last job and on several occasions saw SWA 737s motoring out the gate area for the runway - far faster than the 10 - 15 mph recommended in my old Wilco 737 for Fly2k. Is that part of their business plan? I know the airline puts a premium on airports with short taxi distances to keep turnaround time to a minimum (one reason they still don't serve KDEN from what I read). Seems a tad reckless to me, though, given that the 737 doesn't corner like my old Honda Civic...Would love to know more.Colin

Colin,How's it going?From what I know, here's the basic deal. It's all about the mighty dollar. They're paid by the "leg" flown...not the flight hour like (most) of the rest of the airline industry. I'm not sure of all of the ramifications regarding such in their contract, but where I am paid an hourly wage from the time I release the brakes at the gate, until they're set again at the destination...they are not. So, the more legs they can fly, the more they make. Again, I haven't seen their contract, so I don't have all the info there, but that's what I've been told by many sources.They taxi fast by anyone's measure, and I assure you, the rest of the industry makes note of it. Btw, I'll be updating my "Column" over Frugalsworld in the next couple of days with a yarn or two concerning just such antics.later,take care all,BBall----------------------Capt. William "BBall" BallBoeing 757, Northwest AirlinesSenior Editorwww.Frugalsworld.com

Things are going well, thanks. Also, thanks for the info. The leg thing doesn't make sense to me though - they still have to fly a schedule. It's not like they get to an airport before everyone else they get thier first choice of planes sitting at the gate (at least I would hope not). Maybe the flight jackets have gone to their heads!I will look forward to reading your articles over at Frugals. Colin

Yeah, quite frankly, all I know is that I've been told by several folks that would know, that they get paid by a different pay program than the rest of the U.S. airlines, and it definitely favors getting things done "quickly".Over the years, I've heard on the ATC frequency a version of the following conversation many times:ATC: "Northwest (Delta, American, United...fill in the blank) XYZ, sorry about this, but we're starting to get a little backed up...stand by for a holding clearance."Airline crew: "Not a problem...I get paid by the minute."I have NEVER, however, heard that from a Southwest crew...LOLI'll be posting up my "Column" concerning such at Frugalsworld later today.take care,BBall-----------------------Capt. William "BBall" BallBoeing 757, Northwest AirlinesSenior Editorwww.frugalsworld.com