Is it a plane? a bird? No, it's Superpilot!

Responding to the call of duty is a premium activity in the airline industry. Besotted as it is by things beyond one's control - weather conditions, fault of other airlines and airports, human frailty - it is especially special when there is an instance of someone going beyond the call of duty. Like the pilot of Southwest Airlines, who found himself locked out of his cockpit after a passenger had accidentally locked the flight deck door that separates the cockpit from the rest of the craft. For anyone familiar with being locked out of their house or car, multiply the woes when it happens with a commercial airliner. Remember, since 9/11, aircraft all over the world have a flight deck door that locks from the inside and can be opened only by the crew from the outside once shut after punching in the right combination digits on a keypad lock. This means much to and fro, walkie and talkie. Not the best thing for a flight scheduled to take off in the next few minutes with a planeful of passengers.

Enter unnamed hero-pilot of the San Diego-Sacramento weekend flight. In this case, literally enter - through the cockpit window after a ground crew forced it open car stealing-style. Instead of waiting hours, the pilot's quick thinking (read: breaking and entering) saved the schedule and day. The 8-minute delay was deemed very acceptable.