from Russia, with vodka, to New York, by airplane

Flight attendants initially ignored passengers' complaints and threatened to expel them from the Boeing 767 jet unless they stopped "making trouble". As the rebellion spread, Aeroflot representatives boarded the aircraft to try to calm down the 300 passengers.

One sought to reassure them by announcing that it was "not such a big deal" if the pilot was drunk because the aircraft practically flew itself.

The pilot offered a compromise: "I'll sit here quietly in a corner. We have three more pilots. I won't even touch the controls, I promise."

[jwalk]