Aviation+

Russian Pilots, Flight Attendants Smoke Pot Before Take Off

These pilots love getting high in both senses of the term. A flight to Moscow was delayed for 12 hours last month when pilots and flight attendants for Yakutia, a Russian airline, were accused of smoking pot. The pilots’ high blood pressure and rapid heart rates made them unsafe to fly and the airline had to bring in another crew to fly the plane. A fun fact from Blades: although weed may feel like a downer, it is actually classified as an upper because it increases your heart rate. I don’t blame the pilots, when you’re flying there’s nothing to look at, nothing to do and you’re always praying for a chance to save the entire plane from a terrorist attack. Plus it’s Russia, what else is there to do. This is in no way the first time a pilot has taken heat for flying above the clouds while “above the clouds”. Over the last few years we’ve seen numerous arrests and jail sentences for pilots who have tried (and in some cases succeeded) to fly drunk. Yakutia should have gotten the clue when the pilots were constantly insisting on taking the overnight flights to Amsterdam…