Astrid reports over at Park News that a United Airlines Pilot grabbed and ax and took out his frustration on a parking exit gate at Denver International Airport. Although the reason the gate didn’t open is unclear, what is clear is that a number of cars were being held in the parking lot.

The pilot is on video marching up to the gate with an ax and removing the gate arm. He was grabbed by security personnel and later released without charges. He is quoted as saying he had reached the limit of his frustration.

First of all, I’m happy we could provide a release for this pilot. I would hope that his frustration wouldn’t be released in the cockpit of a 757. That having been said, perhaps this is a clarifying moment for JVH.

I commented earlier this week on a system that removes gates and uses LPR to enforce parking fees and permits. (It seems that perhaps the problem here was that some folks were attempting to leave on expired permits. – They could stop expired permits on entry, or let expired permits exit and sort them out later.) As was pointed out to me it certainly would have been better for those scofflaws at DIA to be allowed to leave than holding up countless others who had just been off a 15 hour flight from Japan.

This might be a learning experience for airlines. Perhaps they could provide a ‘frustration’ alleviating experience for their flight crews, maybe an ax throwing booth or a sparring ring where blows could be exchanged with a dummy and frustration cleared.

I do know one thing. The vast majority of people watching this video are cheering on the pilot, not the gate.

Just another weave in life’s rich tapestry.

JVH