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Pilot in Shorts and Tee Evacuates 330 from Maui

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A United Airlines pilot on vacation in Hawaii volunteered to fly a plane from Maui to mainland US to help 330 people escape the fire (www.msn.com) More...

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RWSlater
Ron Slater 29
So since a big deal was made about him being in shorts, I think to honor his effort to help 330 people, every United pilot should be allowed to wear shorts to work for a month if they want to
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hangar14
Rick D 32
Of course. A pilot's ability to fly is based entirely on his attire, so this is nothing short of an aviation miracle.
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ghstark
Greg S 18
It's a revelation. I wondering now if they even need the hat.
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sparkie624
sparkie624 5
By Company regulations yes! But I doubt it helped the plane get off the ground.!
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WavemanT
WavemanT 1
It helped a little... his shorts and tee probably weighed less than his uniform. Even better if he wasn't wearing underwear. :)
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srobak
srobak 1
I do get interesting looks sometimes at Signature Indy and PWK when I'm the only one getting out & wearing either worn-in athletic shorts in the summer or non-descript sweats in the winter.
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shootandfly
Bernhard Reimer 6
I flew a citation once in camo cargo shorts. There’s a performance chart for that. It’s was pretty cool seeing the difference in performance based on how many pockets the shorts have. Color also plays a role with camo taking the biggest hit.
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locomoco
M.F. LaBoo 8
A tip o' the coconut hat from this Hawaiian lad to Vince Eckelcamp for his assistance in mitigating the effects of this tragedy.

He didn't directly save lives, but stepped up and helped to relieve pressure on Maui's human and supply infrastructures by reducing the burdens on them. Mahalo!
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KennyFlys
Ken Lane 6
Kudos!
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watkinssusan
mary susan watkins 11
this man who happened to be in the right place at the right time,had an idea and was qualified to fly the plane..he offered to do a service for not only himself and his family,but the 300 others who might have been stranded there..he is not a saint,just a man with the qualifications to fly and a great idea..i say he deserves thanks and kudos from united airlines for his help..
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fireftr
Dale Ballok 2
He was a saint to the people he helped!
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sparkie624
sparkie624 9
LOL... I could care what he is wearing or if he is wearing anything at all... Just get the people and planes out of harms way!
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JainaBrown
Jaina Brown 3
With all the changes and challenges our industry has endured, this is what makes it great, the people who do the work.

"Eckelkamp insisted he "didn't do anything special," saying he was glad he was able to help Hawaii in a small way.

"The people working at the airport, they were the true heroes in all of this," Eckelkamp said. "With all this going on back home, losing their houses, and still they're helping people get out. It's pretty amazing.""
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ExPatHere
ExPatHere 3
Pilots are the best.
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jkeifer3
Joe Keifer 3
He's a hero!
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21voyageur
21voyageur 5
The term "hero" is, IMHO, greatly overused. Those fighting the fires deserve being identified as heroes as they put their lives in harm's way. This pilot is a wonderful man with great values and compassion.
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don3m
Don Parker -3
There is absolutely nothing whatsoever this pilot did that was heroic. He worked for the company and happened to be in Hawaii when the need for his services arose. He stepped up and did what they pay him well for. Fly an airplane !
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MickLucas
William Lucas 3
You obviously have not been in a wildfire situation, or you would not have made such a stupid comment!
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djames225
djames225 2
I am curious as to where, in the article, it indicated he worked for the airline he helped? It only stated he worked for United. And before you go off about it had to be United, I know of several pilots who have flown with other airlines, not theirs, when it came to vacation time
That and he did not get paid to fly the flight."This was when Eckelkamp volunteered,"
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mhawke1
Michael Hawke 2
United is not going to allow a pilot from another airline fly passengers in their plane. There is no way for them to verify qualifications. The pilot is trained to different procedures the they use and the liability to them would be enormous if something went wrong.
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djames225
djames225 1
He worked for United. And this would not be the first time a pilot from another airline assisted another airline, especially during what could be classified as an emergency situation.
If you had read the article, it stated "Only a handful of people on the plane were aware of the work behind the scenes that made the flight possible, Eckelkamp said." Easy enough to get verification, and qualifications, faxed over in minutes, again especially during emergency situations.
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JohnBranson
John Branson 7
I think the point here is that he was on vacation and "volunteered" to fly the plane to the mainland.Good luck for the 330 people he helped escape.
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kiwerry
Chris van Zyl 0
Why the quote marks round "volunteered" - are you suggesting that he had an ulterior motive?
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coinflyer
coinflyer 5
Hats off to Vince Eckelcamp. Sometimes lady luck shines on you and also helps you do good while helping you. As he himself said, it's the people struggling to solve problems for others at the airport while their own homes were destroyed that deserve every commendation.
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SuzanneLabine
Suzanne Labine 2
Thank you so much for your dedication!
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Yazoo
Yazoo 1
It's great that he stepped forward. I do question if he was adequately rested with a minimum of 8 hours behind "closed door", after sleeping behind a ticket counter.
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selmer40
selmer40 1
The article should have referred to the pilot an CAPT.
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tark12
Mary Ann Yavelow 1
You don’t have to wear a uniform to save lives.
He is a hero who stepped up with the expertise to take care of a dire situation .
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EMK69
EMK69 -2
I'm surprised the author of this article wasn't reporting this gent to the FAA for being improperly dressed. Ohhh and to answer your next question YES would have still read the article if you had said: Airline pilot flies 320 out of Maui.
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ssobol
Stefan Sobol -1
You'd think that spending the previous night on the floor of the airport would not be considered a proper "rest period" and would disqualify the pilot.
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Cat3508
Neil Ward -2
The press forgot the "Hero Pilot " headline
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[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

djames225
djames225 13
Who got off the island earlier than anyone else??? He was scheduled to fly out on that flight to begin with, he his family and 300+ other souls. He was in the right place at the right time otherwise those folks would have been stuck in Maui.
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pjshield
pjshield 6
You don't need any more practice to becaome and a$$hole!
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sparkie624
sparkie624 8
It was a Better way to not only get himself, his crew, but also a lot of other stranded people as well.
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