Much more satisfying than watching yet another in-flight movie
October 17, 2012 6:19 AM   Subscribe

"Thanks to extra fuel left on their plane and a pair of binoculars from a passenger, the crew of [an] Air Canada jetliner was credited Monday with assisting in the rescue of an Australian yacht adrift in the South Pacific."

"The pilot asked if someone had a pair of binoculars that could be brought to the cockpit and the massive jetliner began circling around, dipping its wings from side to side, he said.“Jill was surprised how nimble the plane was,” Mr. Lawrence said in an interview. “The pilot said, ‘If anyone spots the boat, hit your flight attendant call button’ and somebody did! Somebody with binoculars spotted the boat.”

"Everyone on the Air Canada jetliner cheered after they were told the boat was found and a rescue plane was on its way, Mr. Lawrence said."

(Original link and quotes are from a Globe & Mail story, but the paper is going behind a paywall soon. Here's another report from the BBC.)
posted by maudlin (34 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Australian coverage.
posted by zamboni at 6:34 AM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


This reminds me of all the times we have rescued folk in out (massive) rescue zone, and then turned around and griped about the cost.

And then wanted to turn back the boats.

But this story made me happy.
posted by Mezentian at 6:45 AM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


For some reason, the headline is "Canadian songstress was on Air Canada flight that helped rescue sailor". Good thing they had a songstress on board!
posted by Rock Steady at 6:57 AM on October 17, 2012 [5 favorites]


The Globe & Mail pushed the "Canadian songstress" angle (said songstress being the pretty damn good Jill Barber), but the associated story on the CBC Music site gets a little silly as it attempts to lump Ms. Barber in with other musicians performing heroic feats (she did good, but "heroics" is a wee bit of an overstatement.)

But the story did let me know that the Mozz tried to do something kind for an elderly woman, Scott Stapp owes his life to the rapper next door, we grow some kickass country singers up here, and Ryan Gosling is Batman.
posted by maudlin at 6:59 AM on October 17, 2012


Jill was surprised how nimble the plane was
Jill needs to see the video of Tex Johnson barrel-rolling a 747 prototype.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:59 AM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


The pilot didn't have binoculars on board?
posted by polymodus at 7:00 AM on October 17, 2012


The pilot didn't have binoculars on board?

Why would a pilot have binoculars? The instruments are only a few inches away from him.
posted by bondcliff at 7:02 AM on October 17, 2012 [7 favorites]


I love Jill Barber (though I think she's hitting the retro vibe too hard these days) but, uh, yeah, this really had nothing to do with her and, is she really famous enough even in Canada for her presence on a plane to be more than a passing footnote to this story?
posted by jacquilynne at 7:03 AM on October 17, 2012


This sounds great at first, but tomorrow Harper will announce that he's dismantling the coast guard since search and rescue is more efficiently conducted by private companies, and next week Air Canada will introduce a new "binoculars fee" on overseas flights.
posted by oulipian at 7:03 AM on October 17, 2012 [17 favorites]


The pilot didn't have binoculars on board?

I have never heard of any pilot carrying binoculars as part of their kit. You need a big picture view of the sky and ground, but binoculars are for focusing in on things.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:03 AM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


What they didn't tell you is that the passenger who found the boat asked for boat-spotting tips on AskMe beforehand.

Not really, but wouldn't that be awesome?
posted by xingcat at 7:08 AM on October 17, 2012 [3 favorites]


IN A MOMENT YOUR CREW MEMBERS WILL BE COMING THROUGH THE CABIN DISTRIBUTING BINOCULARS FOR THE LOW COST OF $199 OR YOU CAN BUY THE PREMIUM ONES FOR $499. AS WE LOOK FOR THE POOR STRANDED BASTARDS THE CAPTAIN WILL TURN OFF HGTV JUST AS THE NEW KITCHEN IS REVEALED TO THE DOWNTRODDEN IMMIGRANT FAMILY ON ELLEN. HANG ON AND WE'LL TELL YOU AGAIN IN FRENCH.
posted by jimmythefish at 7:19 AM on October 17, 2012 [16 favorites]


The pilot didn't have binoculars on board?

Was the pilot engaged in a dogfight with Snoopy?
posted by Optamystic at 7:23 AM on October 17, 2012 [11 favorites]


but the associated story on the CBC Music site gets a little silly as it attempts to lump Ms. Barber in with other musicians performing heroic feats

AND IT DOESN'T EVEN FUCKING MENTION STAN ROGERS
posted by oulipian at 7:45 AM on October 17, 2012 [5 favorites]


Where was Karen Black?
posted by Gungho at 7:59 AM on October 17, 2012 [2 favorites]


AND IT DOESN'T EVEN FUCKING MENTION STAN ROGERS

This!
posted by MrGuilt at 8:00 AM on October 17, 2012


Later, the pilot apologized for taking so long to find them.
posted by Mister Fabulous at 8:30 AM on October 17, 2012 [3 favorites]


Aren't all songstresses Canadian?
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 8:45 AM on October 17, 2012


I'm Canadian. Who's Jill Barber?
This would be a way better story if it was Diamanda Galas, who's not Canadian, but at least I know who she is.
posted by philip-random at 9:01 AM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm Canadian. Who's Jill Barber?

Who's Jill Barber?! What kind of CBC listener are you?

Oh.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 9:09 AM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


The pilot didn't have binoculars because that cost would have been charged to you.

2nd bag $50
Meals on a plane--$10/person
Binoculars -$9 million dollars.
posted by stormpooper at 9:10 AM on October 17, 2012


Boeing 777. Sydney. Famous musician on board. Unscheduled descent over water. Solo yachtsman in trouble. Damn right I'd be concerned if I was in that plane.

Polar bears, dude.
posted by Sonny Jim at 9:48 AM on October 17, 2012 [6 favorites]


Aren't all songstresses Canadian?

I think the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in songs are a feature of virtually every music tradition, regardless of whether that tradition involves marine rescue efforts.
posted by GenjiandProust at 10:02 AM on October 17, 2012


This is why I always carry binoculars when I travel.


Okay, it's actually to look for birds. I'm guessing the person with the binos was a birder.
posted by gingerbeer at 10:24 AM on October 17, 2012


New South Wales police patrol boat Nemesis

Who thought naming a police boat the Nemesis was a good idea? What's next, the police helicopter Raining Hellfire? The ambulance Late? The firetruck Napalm?
posted by lstanley at 10:36 AM on October 17, 2012


Good thing they had a songstress on board!

I think Perfect Pitch ups your accuracy, so that probably helped.
posted by maryr at 10:53 AM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


If anyone's ever rolled a 747 or other jumbo, then they kept it to themselves.

I thought I remembered an incident where the pilot of a passenger jet performed a barrel roll and was turned in by his copilot. If done properly (and at night) it's possible that no one would notice.

But if we're just talking about extreme maneuvers in jumbo jets, China Air 006 is pretty good. More recently All Nipon had some adventure. Neither were intentional.
posted by flyingfox at 12:04 PM on October 17, 2012


Thanks to extra fuel left on their plane and a pair of binoculars from a passenger, the crew of [an] Air Canada jetliner was credited Monday with assisting in the rescue of an Australian yacht adrift in the South Pacific

I just hate these IQ test questions. The answer is 41 fluid oz, a diaper and a coil of rope. Whew...that was a bastard...
posted by gallus at 12:34 PM on October 17, 2012


You can see the diversion of the flight on the Flightaware track here and even look up the flight graph. The altitudes are incorrect as oceanic sectors tend to be poorly covered by the public flight tracking feeds, but it definitely looks like a turn near -33.7807,156.2514 where they probably found the boat and headed onward to Sydney.
posted by crapmatic at 12:46 PM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


first Argo, and now this?

Canada...FUCK YEAH!!
posted by KillaSeal at 1:42 PM on October 17, 2012 [1 favorite]


A container ship, the ANL Benalla, reached the yacht to shield it from the strong winds until the New South Wales police patrol boat Nemesis arrived from Sydney to pick up the sailor.

Nemesis? That's hardly comforting. What's the dockyard called? Skynet?
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 9:55 PM on October 17, 2012


first Argo, and now this?

Bloody Argo. The lies that movie tells about New Zealand's involvement in smuggling the Americans out are outrageous. That Ben Affleck guy is a prick.
posted by The Monkey at 3:48 AM on October 18, 2012


Oh yeah!
posted by TrinsicWS at 5:25 AM on October 18, 2012


Who thought naming a police boat the Nemesis was a good idea? What's next, the police helicopter Raining Hellfire? The ambulance Late? The firetruck Napalm?

Nemesis? That's hardly comforting. What's the dockyard called? Skynet?

It's a police patrol boat, not a pleasure craft. It's not ludicrous to name it after the goddess of retribution.

The NSW Police has had a boat named Nemesis since at least the 30s, and several others since.
posted by zamboni at 8:06 AM on October 18, 2012


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