Many pilots say they are also uncomfortable with the idea of armed off-duty pilots on their airplanes.

One observer, an off-duty pilot, said the jet appeared to maneuver around bad weather.

The man was escorted to the back of the plane by two off-duty pilots who happened to be on board and was arrested when the plane landed.

German ground crews, anticipating a torrent of Vickers machine-gun fire, were running into the forest, while off-duty pilots, trying to struggle into their flying jackets, were racing towards the parked aircraft.

He was also criticized for a lack of discipline among his off-duty pilots, and for allegedly encouraging exaggerated kill claims.

In fact, it was the first time any of them had laughed and it so startled the off-duty pilot that he burst in to see if something was wrong.

I prefer a few passengers," Barr remarked as the off-duty pilots were enjoying dinner in the mess hall, "as a leaven to crates and crates, big, little, medium.

October 8, 1947: An American Airlines Douglas DC-4 over Texas went into a steep dive after a prank played by an off-duty pilot.

When the off-duty pilot deactivated the gust lock, the aircraft went into a steep dive, executed part of an outside roll and became inverted.

Neither the command pilot or the off-duty pilot that their seat-belts fastened which led them to hit the feathering (propeller) switches with their heads.