Passenger Avoids Delay By Fixing Plane Himself

It would be a shame if an engineer on a recent Thomas Cook Airlines flight doesn't get a complimentary first class upgrade every time he flies. The engineer was on flight TCX9641 when it was announced that the trip would be delayed eight hours, while a mechanic was flown in to fix a problem. Luckily for the other passengers, the engineer happened to work for Thomsonfly Airlines, which has a reciprocal maintenance agreement with Thomas Cook. After about 35 minutes the man fixed the problem and the flight was on its way. A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said, "When they announced there was a technical problem he came forward and said who he was. We checked his licence and verified he was who he said he was, and he was able to fix the problem to avoid the delay. We are very grateful that he was on the flight that day."

I noticed this comment doesn't have a first post..

[GigaHurtsMyRobot]

That's a problem.. just thought I'd show my ID and let you know I could fix it.

Security Flaw #1, Interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

Did they check his score as a flight risk?

Yours In Communism,
Kilgore Trout

This is too much.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

First they took away all the food and gave us peanuts. Then they went all the way and said, "Bring your own food". Now bring your own technician. What next? Bring your own pilot?

Re:This is too much.

[tom17]

Naah, bring your own plane.

Hrm

[Steauengeglase]

Shouldn't you get the death penalty for something like this? Seriously, this malcontent took work from airline repairmen. That is almost like eating babies. I say death to the traitor.

Re:Who is "the engineer"?

[pete-classic]

John Galt.

-Peter

No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express

[digitalgiblet]

No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express....

During the flight he delivered a baby, performed a partial liver transplant, devised an experiment to test string theory, rescued Schrodinger's cat from the "box of death", and helped the elderly Fitzsimmons sisters join the "mile high club".

diy

[Anonymous Coward]

better than FA announcing "does anyone know how to fly a plane?".

Re:No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express

[gavron]

He fixes airplanes. With toothpicks. He debunks myths. Without snopes or wikipedia. He once delivered a baby airplane from a mother airplane at forty-thousand feed - in the wind! He is the most interesting man's next door neighbor's cousin. "I don't always drink single-malt Scotch. But when I do, it's pretty decent. Stay thorsty, my frenz."

Re:Charity is Unpatriotic

[scubamage]

Noted. Still strange in this day and age!

Re:No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express

[schon]

What exactly is a partial liver transplant? Did you only replace a part of the liver?

No, it's where you get to the part where you take the old one out, but don't bother to finish.

Re:Thomas Cook & First Class

[PalmKiller]

I can see it now, the toilet will be alway occupied by lazy cattle class who don't want to stand.

Re:Charity is Unpatriotic

[FictionPimp]

The USA's DHS has no jurisdiction in Europe....

YET!

Re:This is too much.

[Anonymous Coward]

Bring your own handcuffs to arrest yourself for thinking about bringing your own tech to work on the plane.

Re:Hrm

[tnk1]

No, no, this is win-win. The reason that it was going to take hours to fix was due to the technician's union mandated 5 hour coffee break. Since the other guy was already there, the first guy didn't have to leave the coffee shop.

Don't worry, neither of the poor technicians was denied their 100 dollars/hr rate, they both still got paid time and a half for their efforts. The airline was just happy that they could leave almost on time for once.

Re:This is too much.

[V!NCENT]

That's nothing! Bring your own airport.

Re:Charity is Unpatriotic

[gubers33]

Nah it has been over 24 hours, he would be in Gitmo by now.

Re:This is too much.

[palegray.net]

I brought my own pilot, flying my own plane, but I can't get clearance to land because apparently I should have brought my own air traffic controller, too. Now I'm going to die when my plane runs out of fuel, thanks.

A caveman could have done it

[microbee]

It's nothing, just push the 'reset' button, and tell the pilot 'no more porn on the plane computer!'

Re:Charity is Unpatriotic

[nizo]

Actually I was thinking that they should make the repair crew regularly fly on the planes they service. I would be much more trusting of repairs made by people who are planning on flying on the planes they are servicing.

Re:Who is "the engineer"?

[introspekt.i]

Pfff. Who is John Galt?

Re:BREAKING NEWS: Plane engineer fixes plane

[Forge]

In a small country everybody has to do multiple things and local talent is never far away. This means all kinds of crazy things like the PM not having a "Marine one". Instead he just borrows a regular chopper and a flight crew from the army as needed.

This led to an interesting fiasco in around 1987. A chopper on route to pick up the Prime minister has technical difficulties and makes an emergency landing on a high school football field (You yanks call it soucker). One of the Army Helecopter mechanics teaches math at that high school so he gos out to fix it. Then he offers to fly it back to camp (Another bird picked up the PM while the repair was going on).

How is this relevant?
He crashed the helicopter on the way back to camp.

Re:This is too much.

[brusk]

Bring your own sky.

Re:Charity is Unpatriotic

[JuzzFunky]

Reminds me of a story about some Engineering lecturers on a conference who were asked whether or not they would get in a plane that their students had designed and built. Only one said that he would. When asked why he felt so safe, he responded that he was absolutely certain that the plane would not even get off the ground.