Pilot Who Left Plane for Food Gets Fired
Updated 7:44 AM ET December 8, 1999
DETROIT (Reuters) - A veteran pilot who left a loaded plane standing at an airport gate for 90 minutes to search for food because he did not like the in-flight meal has been fired, Northwest Airlines said on Tuesday.
Captain Floyd Dean of Reno, Nevada walked off the plane at Las Vegas airport, telling the crew of the Boeing 757 he was leaving to find something else to eat, according to airline officials.
Unable to turn up anything he liked in the departure lounge, the pilot took a cab to buy food outside the airport before returning to the plane and 150 frustrated passengers waiting to fly to Detroit on Nov. 23.
One passenger told the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday the plane was loaded and waiting to leave the gate when the crew announced the pilot had left because he could not get a "decent meal" at the airport.
Dean, a 22-year veteran of the Eagan, Minnesota-based airline, was terminated late last week.
"Clearly, the actions in this instance were to the detriment of his passengers, his fellow employees and the company, and that's not acceptable to us," said Northwest spokesman Jon Austin.
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John B.
jblersch@optonline.net
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