Pilot dies on take-off to Adelaide

[babylonsister]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,19966146-5006341,00.html

THE pilot of a plane carrying up to 300 passengers from Bali to Adelaide died during take-off, it has been revealed.
Garuda Indonesia Flight 722 last Tuesday was delayed for almost an hour after it returned to Denpasar Airport following the death.

Adelaide Airport sources yesterday told The Advertiser the co-pilot had to abort the take-off procedure when the chief pilot suffered a heart attack and died at the controls. A spokesman for Garuda, the official airline of Indonesia, yesterday confirmed the pilot's death.

It was yesterday unclear if the plane was airborne at the time.

The Airbus A330-300 aircraft was preparing to return hundreds of Australian holidaymakers from Bali to Adelaide, via Melbourne.

more...

[napi21]

1. WOW! I know it can happen, but that's why all US pilots must have

a complete physical, and in some cases, more than one per year.

[Nashyra]

2. twice a year

including an ekg once a year

[Demobrat]

3. Well that's why they have co-pilots.

An hour delay isn't that bad. My last flight was delayed that long because of a busted tray table.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. A co-pilot really is a redundant system.

I think some people think co-pilots are just junior aviators learning the ropes rather than someone qualified to take over if the pilot is incapacitated.

I wonder when the passengers found out about the pilot.

[Elidor]

5. That's one announcement nobody wants to hear

"Ladies and gentlemen, we'll be returning to the airport because the pilot just died." Cue the scene from Airplane where everyone freaks out.

[pitohui]

8. i doubt they told them

they prob. simply said they were returning to the airport without going into any gritty details

[Demobrat]

9. I'd put money on it.

They probably found out from reading the paper.

[fshrink]

10. And during take-off

the co-pilot's hand is on the throttle, below that of the pilot.

[Sapphocrat]

6. Creepy and unsettling, but my question is...

...WHY are Aussies still going to Bali? Besides the 2002 bombing, besides cutting the prison term of one of the bombers -- you'd think death sentences for Australian citizens on trumped-up drug charges might have dampened every Aussie's enthusiasm for all of whacked-out Indonesia by now.

(Aussies! Try Phuket again!)

Please excuse the outburst; I am NO fan of Indonesia. Just Google "Bali Nine" or "Michelle Leslie" to find out why.

[pitohui]

7. why punish hindu bali for the sins of extremist muslims

bali wants and needs the tourists

as for "trumped up drug charges" i'll retain my skepticism as to how "trumped up" some of these charges really are, if you want to smuggle drugs in/out of other people's countries you are not going to find much pity from me this time of century -- every drug smuggler cries "oh customs or a baggage handler put that in my bags" yeah that's real believable

[Sapphocrat]

11. OK, then would the word "specious"...

...be more acceptable than "trumped-up"?

In any case, I trust you don't agree that execution is an appropriate response to any drug conviction.

Oh, I feel sorry for the Balinese, all right. I feel sorry for Jamaicans, too; Jamaica wants and needs tourist dollars every bit as much as Bali -- but I'm not about to book a vacation to a place where I'm likely to be beaten or killed because I'm gay.

I place common sense and survival over charity any day. If I'm going to consider the needs of the locals in my choice of vacation spots, I'll choose the one where I'm least likely to be imprisoned or murdered. Thus, Phuket beats Bali, in spades.

I question the sanity of any Australian who doesn't realize Aussies are as hated in some parts of the world just as much as Americans are.

[babylonsister]

12. Well... I just returned from Bali two weeks ago. I didn't feel

threatened at all, or hated for that matter. There were quite a few Aussies there, enjoying themselves as well. Americans, not so much.

I think their drug laws suck, I have my suspicions on Chapelle's innocence, but when
in a foreign country, I would hope most people would keep their noses clean, knowing what the
various punishments might be.

[foreigncorrespondent]

13. Well this Aussie doesn't give a shit...

...that Bali wants and needs tourists. They lost me the moment they released the ring leader of the Bali bombing from his rather short prison sentence, EARLY!