Latest Aeroflot Incident

Passengers had a pilot removed from the direct Moscow-NYC flight because the pilot was drunk.

Moscow Times story: http://www.moscowtimes.ru/article/600/42/374157.htm

My favorite quotes from the story:

• "It took him three attempts to say the words 'duration of the flight.'
  
  
• At the same time, an Aeroflot representative sought to assure them that "it's not such a big deal if the pilot is drunk."
  
  "Really, all he has to do is press a button and the plane flies itself," the representative said. "The worst that could happen is he'll trip over something in the cockpit."
  
  
• "I don't think there's anyone in Russia who doesn't know what a drunk person looks like," said Katya Kushner, who, along with her husband, was one of the first to react when the pilot made his announcement. "At first, he was looking at us like we were crazy. Then, when we wouldn't back down, he said, 'I'll sit here quietly in a corner. We have three more pilots. I won't even touch the controls, I promise.'"
  
  
  
• An Aeroflot spokeswoman said the pilots were removed due to "mass psychosis" among the passengers and that ... Aeroflot would sue Sobchak (socialite who made the biggest ruckus) if the costs of delaying the flight were "very large."