Video: The pilot who stuck to the right schedule
posted at 5:30 pm on January 16, 2011 by Ed Morrissey
After one of the more unpleasant weeks we’ve all spent in politics, we need a week-ending palate cleanser that restores our faith in humanity. Via The Blaze, ABC News presents us with just that very tonic, reminding us that tragedy can bring out the best in people at the moment when we feel most alone. That wasn’t the way the day started out for Mark Dickinson, whose grandson had been mortally injured by his daughter’s boyfriend. He rushed to get to the airport in Los Angeles to catch a flight to Tucson, connecting from there to Denver, so he could be with his daughter when the doctors turned off the life-support machines. Unfortunately, he got caught in a long security line in which no one would let the distraught grandfather move to the front. Dickinson assumed that his flight had taken off — he was ten minutes past its takeoff time — but ran down to the ramp anyway.
As it turned out, one man made sure that Dickinson didn’t miss his flight — the Southwest pilot who refused to board without him:
Dickinson’s wife Nancy wrote about the incident at her blog:
The pilot held the plane that was supposed to take off at 11:50 until 12:02 when my husband got there.
As my husband walked down the Jetway with the pilot, he said, “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
The pilot responded with, “They can’t go anywhere without me and I wasn’t going anywhere without you. Now relax. We’ll get you there. And again, I’m so sorry.”
My husband was able to take his first deep breath of the day.
Our prayers go out for the Dickinsons for their loss — and for the pilot who followed the right schedule.
Blowback
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Levin Stands Up to the Shrill Left
Finally!!! Someone is standing up to and getting into the face of the shrill and vitriolic leftist mouthpieces who brazenly and carelessly slap “Responsible for Arizona Shooter” on the backs of anyone they despise.
Nearly Nobody on January 17, 2011 at 7:49 AM
I love Southwest- it’s operated by human beings instead of cold machines.
MTF on January 17, 2011 at 9:14 AM
Southwest pilots are not part of the Airline Pilot Association (ALPA). Southwest pilots are represented by Southwest Airlines Pilot’s Association (SWAPA), an independent union. SWAPA is very proud of this pilot’s action.
(Disclaimer: The opinion is my own, and not that of Southwest Airlines Officers, Directors, or Employees.)
Mike Morrissey on January 17, 2011 at 10:29 AM
TSA pedophiles and rapists would not allow the grandfather to cut into the security line.
FIFY
Amendment X on January 17, 2011 at 11:32 AM
Southwest is the best airline. My Mom is 80 years old and has alzehimers and cannot walk without help. My 79 year old father still takes her to florida for the winter and he keeps telling me how the Southwest flight attendants could not be any more helpful. He would not be able to do this on any other airline and doesn’t plan to. I am also convinced that people who fly Southwest are cut from the same cloth.
Angry Dumbo on January 17, 2011 at 11:33 AM
I have preferred SWA over other airlines for a long time, because of their timeliness, excellent safety record, and the pleasant (sometimes entertaining) way they conduct their business. I’ll certainly support them even moreso now. God bless that pilot and the personnel who got word to him! God bless and comfort the Dickinson family! Those who oppose this kind of humane initiative are just a-holes–TSA and ASA need to let this go.
Ay Uaxe on January 17, 2011 at 12:58 PM
This is precisely why I fly Southwest whenever possible.
And they’re non-union? Even more reason to fly Southwest. It explains why all their employees are friendly & helpful, not surly & sullen.
CatchAll on January 17, 2011 at 10:22 PM
I love Southwest! In stark contrast to some other airlines I could name, flying with SW is a pleasure. Their people are friendly, helpful, and happy in their work. I ALWAYS fly SW if it is available. That pilot operated as a compassionate human being, not a soulless employee.
francesca on January 17, 2011 at 11:04 PM
How refreshing! A guy driven by a moral compass! How different and alien from guys like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who stick their fingers in the wind for current prevailing opinion as a weak substitute for having an internal moral compass.
olesparkie on January 18, 2011 at 8:25 AM
I don’t know the exact situation however I fly on a fairly regular basis and on a trip from FCO to IAD, I upgraded to business class, OUT OF POCKET. I actually was able to help out a women in that manner.
She was on the same flight as me (my brothers flight was delayed 6 hours) and looking at the line there was no way she would make it on time.
That said I told her to come with me and took her to the “premier” line and made up story about her being a co-worker and we need to make this meeting (which was not belived by the ticking agent since my destination was IAD and hers was LAX) but she played along and issued a ticket.
Most time flights out of IAD TSA screening takes 10-15 minutes, however when it gets slow it takes around 45 minutes, which makes it really hard to plan for. It is a crap shoot for the most part.
F15Mech on January 21, 2011 at 12:46 AM
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