Report: Passengers Freak Out On December Aeroflot Flight | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-07.07.25

Airborne-NextGen-07.08.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.09.25

Airborne-FlightTraining-07.10.25

AirborneUnlimited-07.11.25

Wed, Feb 04, 2009

Report: Passengers Freak Out On December Aeroflot Flight

Feared Pilot Was Intoxicated, Forced Airline To Bring In New Flight Crew

What started out as the misgivings of a handful of passengers mushroomed into a major situation onboard an Aeroflot Boeing 767 before a December flight from Moscow to New York.

Citing Russian news reports, the London Times stated this week several passengers complained to flight attendants after being greeted as they came onboard by Alexander Cheplevsky, one of four pilots scheduled for the roughly 11-hour trip on December 28. Those passengers feared the pilot's slurred speech and garbled responses indicated that he was drunk.

Flight attendants tried to downplay those fears... reportedly telling passengers at one point to stop "making trouble," and assuring them that even if Cheplevsky were intoxicated, the jet basically flew itself.

Discord quickly spread throughout the cabin, and Cheplevsky initially resisted efforts to have him leave the cockpit and speak with passengers. When he did emerge, his alleged bloodshot eyes and difficulty in standing up sent passengers over the edge.

"I don't think there's anyone in Russia who doesn't know what a drunk person looks like," passenger Katya Kushner told the Moscow Times. "At first, he was looking at us like we were crazy. Then, when we wouldn't back down, he said 'I'll sit here quietly in a corner. We have three more pilots. I won't even touch the controls, I promise'."

When Aeroflot officials learned that well-known Russian television personality Ksenia Sobchak was onboard the flight -- and, that she was demanding that all four pilots be replaced -- they came onboard to try to calm the situation, to no avail. After a drama-fraught three-hour delay, Aeroflot Flight 315 finally left Moscow, with a new flight crew onboard.

"It took [Cheplevsky] three attempts to say the words 'duration of flight,'" Sobchak recounted after the flight. "Even after Aeroflot personnel asked him to do so, he barely made it out of the cabin."

Aeroflot maintains tests showed Cheplevsky was not intoxicated. An airline spokeswoman blamed the affair on "mass psychosis" among passengers, and hinted Cheplevsky may have suffered a stroke before heading to the airport... which isn't exactly a more reassuring scenario.

Cheplevsky admitted he had been out celebrating his 54th birthday the night before the incident occurred, but swears he didn't drink.

FMI: www.aeroflot.ru/eng/

Advertisement

More News

NTSB Final Report: Aviat A1

Airplane Bounced About 3 Ft Then Touched Back Down And Then, With No Brakes Applied, The Airplane Began Veering To The Left Analysis: The pilot entered the airport traffic pattern >[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (07.08.25)

Aero Linx: British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) The primary focus within all aviation activity is SAFETY. In all aspects of our sport SAFETY must come first, whether it b>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Fly Corvair’s Reliable Engine Alternative

From SnF25 (YouTube Edition): William Wynne Builds Practical Aircraft Engines on the Corvair Platform Seeking an affordable alternative to the traditional aircraft engine options, >[...]

ANN FAQ: Contributing To Aero-TV

How To Get A Story On Aero-TV News/Feature Programming How do I submit a story idea or lead to Aero-TV? If you would like to submit a story idea or lead, please contact Jim Campbel>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: CiES Fuel-Quantity and e-Throttle Systems Praised

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Bridge of CiES CiES Inc. is a Bend, Oregon-based designer and manufacturer of modular embedded aircraft systems and sensors. The company’s fuel-l>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC