Pilot's religious address didn't inspire passengers

By Molly Knight
The Baltimore Sun

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Perhaps it was a mechanical glitch that caused the brakes on American Airlines Flight 34 to malfunction temporarily and, moments later, to start up again — just in time for takeoff.

But Capt. Rodger Findiesen seemed to think something more was at work. The Annapolis, Md., pilot's spiritual zeal was aroused earlier this month at Los Angeles International Airport, one passenger recalls.

Bruce Steele, a journalist traveling for business on the New York-bound flight, spoke to Findiesen after the plane landed about why he asked Christian passengers to raise their hands and share their faith. Steele said the pilot told him he was inspired after the brakes "cleared up without explanation."

"He told me that he felt God had been telling him to say something," said Steele, editor of the Advocate, a national magazine that covers the gay community. After the brakes flipped back on, "he felt he finally had the courage to do so," Steele recalled the pilot saying.

Findiesen, who had just returned from a mission to Costa Rica, has been making international headlines since he came over the intercom on a Feb. 6 flight and shared his religious enthusiasm with passengers.

American Airlines chief executive Gerard Arpey on Friday apologized for the incident. "Let me assure you that we take this very seriously and are conducting a thorough investigation," Arpey wrote to Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League.

Suspended from flying pending an investigation by the airline, Findiesen has declined interview requests.

The Rev. Byron Brought, pastor of Calvary United Church in Annapolis, Md., where Findiesen is a member, also declined to comment.

While Findiesen remains silent, his actions have ignited a fiery debate on the sensitive subject of religious expression — one that's being played out in the news, on the Internet and in conversations among religious leaders.

According to news reports, Findiesen's voice came over the intercom while Flight 34 waited on the L.A. tarmac, second in line for takeoff. Instead of offering passengers details about the flight, he stated that more than half of Americans are Christians, then asked Christians in the cabin to identify themselves. He was quoted as saying: "You can use your time wisely on this flight, or you can sit back and watch the movie."
 
An airline spokesman said it will look further into Findiesen's statements, in particular his use of the word "crazy." Some passengers reportedly said the pilot called non-Christians "crazy." Steele said he thought Findiesen meant that Christian passengers were "crazy" for raising their hands.

"I was definitely made to feel nervous, as were a lot of the people around me," said passenger Amanda Nelligan of Los Angeles.

After learning that he had spooked some passengers, Findiesen expressed regrets to the flight crew and invited passengers to share their concerns when the plane touched down in New York.

Steele said Findiesen stood by the cockpit in an "upright, but at-ease, military position," but did not express any regret for his actions.

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