Airplane

On my flight from San Francisco to Denver, I was seated next to an airplane captain. This had never happened to me before, and I dunno how common of an occurrence it is. Anyway, he started talking to me, and I kept asking questions/quizzing him. He has over 35 years of experience (in addition to getting an MBA at some point). He also had just gotten back from a 12-hour flight from Hong Kong. Apparently they make it through these flights by using reserve pilots who come in after the four- and six-hour mark. He also extolled the virtues of water as a means of staying awake and feeling alright for so long.

The other story he offered, unsolicited, was about September 11. On that day he was flying from Paris to somewhere in the States, but they were forced to land in Halifax. Apparently they then sat on the runway for 12 hours, him all the while explaining what happened. Twwwelve houurrsss. Also, he said when he worked for United he used to fly the route of one of the planes and was sure he had piloted the same plane that crashed.