Unusual tales that put flights on hold

The Moscow Times said in February 2009.

One passenger told the newspaper: “The first thought that occurred to me was: ‘This guy is drunk’. His speech was so slurred it was hard to tell what language he was speaking.”

The pilot later emerged from the cockpit of the Boeing 767 red-faced with bloodshot eyes and appeared unsteady on his feet.

The crew was replaced and the flight later departed safely.

Curry powder sparks smoke alert An Air India passenger jet heading to Frankfurt was forced to return to Mumbai after a bag of curry powder set off smoke and fire alarms.

Pilots on the Boeing 747 activated fire extinguishers after receiving a cockpit warning about a fire in the cargo hold in June 2009.

Engineers said the alert had been triggered by a leaking bag containing curry powder. The bag was removed before the plane took off again after a 12-hour delay.

Passengers stung by delay In January last year, a bee delayed an Indonesian passenger plane for four hours after getting stuck in vital equipment and causing a problem with the aircraft controls.

The flight, operated by

Pilot loses artificial arm – and control A pilot for a British budget airline briefly lost control of a flight after his artificial arm came loose during landing.

The Flybe plane carrying 47 passengers was coming in to land at Belfast City Airport from Birmingham in February 2014 when the pilot’s prosthetic forearm became detached from a special clamp fitted to the plane’s yoke.

This caused the plane to land with a bounce, but no one was injured.

Flybe said it was proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

The captain pledged to be more careful in future about checking the attachment on his artificial limb. – AFP