Turbulent times at altitude: buckle up

Drunk passengers, a dog on the loose, people stuck in toilets and foul-mouthed fliers are among incidents reported to the Civil Aviation Authority this year.

Information released to Stuff under the Official Information Act shows the things that went wrong in the air in aircraft across the country, and around the world over the past year.

One of the common themes is passengers disobeying the orders of cabin crew members – sometimes resulting in the police becoming involved.

In May, a gang member travelling on an unspecified passenger plane, reclined and changed his seat during taxi.

He refused to return to his allocated seat. When the plane was safely landed, he was met by police officers, who escorted him off.

Using cellphones was also a rule often flouted, according to the data. One incident involved a passenger – who was using their phone – being told by another to turn it to flight mode.

The person using their phone replied: ‘‘Bugger off.’’

Others used even harsher language to tell the cabin crew what they thought of their rules.

One captain booted off a 13-year-old boy and his mother after the teenager had made the comment that their ‘‘bags included a bomb’’.

Passengers not returning to their allocated seats also caused headaches.

On one flight, nearly half the passengers were not sitting in their correct seats. It was noted that the passengers did move back to their seats – but only after ‘‘a lot of firm talking’’.

It is not just people who go walkabout at 40,000 feet. A medium-sized dog escaped from its wooden cage while being flown to Invercargill in June.

‘‘Halfway to Invercargill, we heard a lot of banging around in the hold and eventually it went all quiet,’’ the description read. ‘‘Using the camera, we saw the medium-size dog was just visible and had escaped.’’

Upon landing, the dog was found to be ‘‘very placid’’.

One nervous flier had to be taken off the plane after becoming overwhelmed, while another had taken it upon themselves to get drunk beforehand to help ease their anxiety.

Air Line Pilots Association president Andrew Ridling said that, in a passenger plane, the captain was always aware of what was going on behind him. ‘‘Everything is told to the captain. They are the person who makes the decision of what is going to happen next.’’

An Air New Zealand pilot, Ridling said there were 12 criteria that must be reported to the Civil Aviation Authority. However, Air New Zealand disclosed all instances.

While people using e-cigarettes on aircraft were reported to the authority, having someone light up on board had not happened ‘‘for at least five years’’ on Ridling’s flights.

Staying in one’s allocated seat was important for the pla0ekne being balanced, Ridling said. Landings and take-offs would be affected if too many people moved to the front or back of the plane.

‘‘During those critical stages of flight, the aircraft has to be balanced.’’

And while there is a debate over whether flying with your cellphone still receiving signal causes any danger, Ridling said it was still important that passengers flicked their devices to flight mode. ‘‘At the end of the day, this is about safety. It is not a level of safety, it is 100 per cent safety.’’

Of all the instances recorded, only one resulted in a prosecution and a $2000 fine.