Pilot refuses relatives' boarding over weight concerns
A pilot's refusal to allow relatives wanting to board his plane for safety reasons has sparked widespread reaction on social media.
A 27-year-old pilot, passionate about gliding and paragliding, performs four-hour flights in the sky with a DG-1000 model glider, a two-seater produced by DG Flugzeugbau.
The man, who frequently posts on Reddit, says he paraglides once or twice a week depending on the weather and usually flies alone, but sometimes he invites his fiancée, friends, and family.
Although traveling with guests had been smooth so far, the situation changed when his cousin and her family wanted to fly.
"YOU'RE NOT SUITABLE FOR FLYING..."
In his post, the pilot stated:
"Once, when I invited one of my cousins and her children to fly, I hadn't considered that Naomi and her family would want to fly as well. On the day of the flight, both they and Naomi's family were at the airport. After completing the last flight with the people I had invited, Naomi and her twins started asking when it would be their turn. I was put in a difficult position because Naomi's family had obesity issues, and I could see they were not suitable for flying..."
The pilot also described having a tough conversation about the family being 'unsuitable for flying' with these words:
"Instead of lying, I pulled them aside and had a serious talk. I explained that I didn't think they were suitable for air travel and that they needed to be checked if they wanted to go. Unfortunately, due to their weight, they failed the passenger check and we couldn't fly. After this incident, my cousins blamed me and effectively disowned me!"
SUPPORT AND CRITICISM ALIKE
The incident garnered significant attention from Reddit users; many argued the man was justified.
One user said, "Carrying weight that could obstruct aircraft control movements could lead to an accident. Safety concerns are a valid reason to say 'no'. Their refusal to accept the message is their problem, not the message itself."
Some social media users criticized the pilot for his honest approach to his family. A user commented, "'Not suitable for air travel' Is that an official term? It sounds like 'you're not worth boarding the plane'... That's probably how the cousin felt."
