The April 3 flight from Peoria, Ill., was scheduled to land in Denver. Everything was going according to plan until smoke filled the plane. The pilot of the United plane called the control tower to request an emergency landing.
There is some debate, saying these prank calls are fairly common, and the pilot should have announced himself by giving United Airlines and the number, which may have made the controller suspect that something was wrong. However, his blunt dismissal was shocking, because I would think they would have to err to the side of caution.
“And, ah, I apologize. If you probably heard there, that’s not real what we’re hearing on the frequency,” the controller announced to his coworkers.
The plane prepared for an emergency landing believing that fire crews had been dispatched and were ready to assist.
When the plane landed, the pilots called the control tower again in a panic.
“We’re on the runway! We’ve been evacuating! We’ve been evacuating! 34 right!” the pilot screamed.
But even with the plane on the ground, the controllers still didn’t believe the emergency was real.
Yeah, he's probably going to feel pretty bad about this once all the facts roll in. I almost feel sorry for the guy, but he really doesn't seem to take a possible disaster seriously. As it is, glad to hear they landed safely and there were no reports of injuries. I can't imagine anything more terrifying than an airplane malfunction of any kind, but maybe fire above all.
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