Pilot in Command

That's one way to do it.

SIDENOTE: this is story number 3 regarding a bee and an airplane. I challenged myself to write 5 stories about one incident I encountered, each from a different perspective. There are two more stories on the way over the next few weeks.

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The buzz out in the entrance way of the aircraft was not the bee that some people saw. No, loud-mouth extroverts told all their bee sting and allergy tales to excite those who were still boarding. The co-pilot stepped out from the cockpit to see what the commotion was about.

“What’s going on here?” Captain Naylor asked one of the flight attendants.

“Sir, just a bee that may have flown onto the plane,” said Julie, the lead flight attendant.

“Anyone know what kind of bee it is?”

“Hornet. Sure of it,” said a bearded man entering the aircraft with a cane by his side.

“Do we need to call pest control before we fire up the engines?” he asked Julie.

“Beats me, sir. That’s completely out of my jurisdiction,” Julie said as she closed to the door to the jet way.

“Just a minute,” Naylor said going back into the cockpit and closing the door.

A minute later, a voice came over the intercom, “May I have your attention please, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is Captain Bonner. I know this might seem a little unorthodox, but now that we’ve closed the cabin doors – how do I ask this without sending you into a panic – have any of you seen a hornet or a wasp flying around?”

The Captain paused and waited a few seconds before continuing.

“While boarding a few seconds ago, the little critter might have stowed away completely without our permission and without paying full fare, I might add. If you’ve seen a flying critter that fits the description, please press the Call button to let one of our flight attendants know. That would help us greatly as Federal Aviation Regulations forbid us to fly while a known hostile actor on board. In my opinion – and my co-pilot Captain Naylor agrees – we will not be able to take off if the bee is still on the aircraft. Please let the flight attendants know if you’ve seen the critter within the last two minutes. Thank you for your cooperation.”

The man in 14B pressed the Call button.

Julie responded, unpressed the Call button and said, “Yes sir?”

“Ma’am, I just squished something like that into the carpet. I think it was a bee. Must have found something sweet on the carpet. No chance of that critter harming anyone.”

“Thank you for your help, Sir,” Julie said. “I’ll relay that to the Captain.”

Julie went on her merry way to the cockpit and the man returned to his reading, “White Lies, Dirty Lies and Half Truths: Persuasion Techniques for Dummies.”