Getting to know the Smokin’ MacNeils, of Sunwing passenger fame
By macleans.ca - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 0 Comments
One friend of the MacNeils, the family who were booted off a Sunwing vacation…
One friend of the MacNeils, the family who were booted off a Sunwing vacation flight en route to Dominican Republic, has told the CBC that the smoking, belligerent MacNeils don’t sound at all like the family she’s known and worked for the last seven years. According to Debra Wilson, she was shocked to hear of the MacNeils’ behaviour, describing it as uncharacteristic.
The MacNeils—father David, mother Darlene and their son David Jr.—were accused of smoking and acting disorderly, and were thrown off the plane during an unscheduled stop in Bermuda. There, they went before a judge and pleaded guilty to various charges. Although, only the son was convicted of smoking—and he claims he wasn’t.
David MacNeil owns Mabou Mining in Ontario. And the family resides in Mabou, N.S., a hamlet in Cape Breton—home to other famous Canadians, including the Rankin Family. Neighbours have expressed embarrassment at the story of the MacNeils’ flight, some surprised and others not.
Darlene told the CBC yesterday that the family has their own version of the story to tell and will do so as soon as they fly home from Bermuda.
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Octogenarian woman lands airplane moments after her pilot husband dies in the cockpit
By Alex Ballingall - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 at 9:58 AM - 0 Comments
An 80-year-old woman from Wisconsin pulled off a death-defying airplane landing moments after her…
An 80-year-old woman from Wisconsin pulled off a death-defying airplane landing moments after her pilot husband died from a heart attack in mid-air. She doesn’t have a flying licence, but she did practise take offs and landings about 30 years ago, her son, James Collins, told the Associated Press.
Collins described how his mother, Helen, remained calm as she circled the airport about 240 km north of Milwaukee, even after one engine failed and the other sputtered as the plane ran out of gas. “I don’t know if there are a lot of trained pilots that could do that,” he said. “Everybody is proud of her.”
Helen and her husband, John, were returning from their vacation home in Florida on Monday evening. As they approached the landing strip near the northeastern Wisconsin community of Sturgeon Bay, John unbuckled his seat belt and collapsed from a heart attack. Helen reportedly knew that her husband was dead when she called 911 from the air and took control of their twin-engine Cessna.
Another pilot took off to help guide her onto the landing strip via radio. After reportedly circling about 10 times, the plane touched down on the runway. It bounced once and its front wheel collapsed before it skidded to a halt, witnesses said. Helen was taken to hospital with injuries to her back and a cracked rib, but is reportedly going to be all right.
