Chicago, IL – Staff Sgt. Bartek Bachleda doesn’t consider himself a hero, but passengers on a recent jumbo jet flight might beg to differ.
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One of 300 passengers on a United Airlines flight from Chicago, Illinois, to Tokyo, Japan, in April, Bachleda noticed white smoke billowing from the left side of the Boeing 747-400 jet on takeoff and then again at cruising altitude of over 30,000 feet.
He said he was sure it was a leak, a big one that could lead to a potentially dangerous situation.
Bachleda, 30, should know. He serves in an air refueling squadron in the U.S. Air Force.
He videotaped the midair fumes from his window seat and tried to warn a flight attendant. But at first, she paid him no heed.
“When I initially hit the call button, she thought maybe I wanted something, and she said, ‘Sir, I’m handing out drinks, I’ll be right back with you,’ ” Bachleda said.
Undeterred, Bachleda called her back to his seat.
“Ma’am,” he said. “It’s looking bad.”
He identified himself and showed the flight attendant his video.
“I decided, if the captain doesn’t know about this before we go oceanic — meaning once we fly over the ocean — and we’re leaking this massive amount of fuel, this is going to be a bad day,” said Bachleda, on a return trip back to Kadena Air Base in Japan, where he is stationed.
This time the flight attendant took him seriously, immediately stopped serving drinks and alerted the flight crew.
United Airlines spokesman Jeff Kovick said the crew was already aware of the situation and was considering what action to take when Bachleda brought it to their attention. He said the captain would never have attempted a Pacific crossing.
In Bachleda’s estimation, the plane, which United said has a capacity of 373,000 pounds of jet fuel, was losing about 6,000 pounds an hour.
Over the course of a 13-hour flight, the plane would have lost about 20 percent of its tank. But a former NTSB official said the plane still would have had to land because it lacked extra fuel to divert once it was over the Pacific or circle at its destination.
The jet landed in San Francisco, California — with all 300 passengers safe.
Hero? He was saving his own life. He was on the plane.
I am sick of a society that gives hero status for doing what anyone in that positin would have done. Or have we sunk so far, that doing just that is already considered a hero?
He did nothing. The crew was already aware of what was going on.
^^idiot!!!!
He’s not a hero at all!!
someone going into a burning building to help another while risking his own health is a hero!!
hatzoloh who gives of their time and money on a daily basis is a hero.
if i see a building on fire and call 911 i’m not a hero, i’m human, HUGE difference!
the reason the media calls them heros is we have so many ppl acting like animals when we act human they call us heros, sorry this guy is not even close to one.
ps shhh i’ll tell you a secret sully when he landed his plane in the hudson, was no hero either, he’s what we call an employe doing his job, also rare in this country, that’s jsut between you an i
“The crew was aware of the leak” — Yeah Right — The Airlines PR group is going to say that, since anything else makes the airline look even more incompetent. Why did they keep on flying and not turn around if they knew of the leak? And losing 20% of your fuel would only count IF the plane had a full fuel load.
“A child dying of cancer is sad, but it is not tragic” why is it not tragic? what is tragic in your opinion then?
In these very selfish times, anyone who does ANYTHING out of concern for ANYONE’S welfare is a hero. What is wrong with people on this website? Chassidim? Hardly. Tipshim.
from webster dictionary
a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability (not the case here)
b: an illustrious warrior (not the case here)
c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities (WHAT THAT HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT HIS LIFE? this doesn’t count as noble qualities when he’s on the plane)
d: one that shows great courage (no GREAT courage here)