A pilot called Tokyo air control on the radio, asking for instructions.

"Unless you call to tell me otherwise," his hired pilot called back down to him.

The actual time over Iraq, what pilots call the vulnerability period, was about an hour and a half.

An English-speaking pilot might have called it a can opener.

The pilot called on the radio to his opposite numbers in the other two helicopters.

In another six minutes his pilot would call the number from the parked jet.

The player's name is not revealed in the game, but some pilots call him "Captain".

The floater's pilot might be calling the police, or maybe not.

"You have a helicopter at the ranch," the pilot called back.

About 500 pilots had called in sick over the weekend.