A TikToker hoping to impress viewers has learned the hard way that his “joke” did not land when a Southwest Airlines captain put him in his place.
Jamie Degeorge, who goes by jamiedegeorge5 on TikTok, is a self-described “executive producer and main character on Jammer TV”.
Degeorge was boarding a Southwest Airlines flight when he chanced upon the flight’s captain.
Thinking that it was a brilliant TikTok moment, Degeorge documented his interaction.
“Jammer TV. Shhh,” Degeorge conspiratorially said to his viewers, before interacting with the captain.
“How are you doing? Are you the pilot of this flight?” Degeorge asked. The captain’s initial response was cordial, replying, “Yes, what’s up?”
Degeorge then asked him, “You haven’t been drinking or anything, have you?”
It was at this moment when things went south with Degeorge’s interaction with the Southwest captain.
The captain’s demeanor immediately changed, saying, “You know what? This is the stupidest f**king thing you could tell me.”
Degeorge can be heard awkwardly laughing, trying to diffuse the situation by saying that he was “just joking around.”
“It’s a joke sir,” the TikToker said.
“No I’m not joking around,” the unimpressed captain replied, now clearly incensed.
“Oh my God, have you ever heard of a joke? I’m a comedian,” Degeorge can be heard repeatedly saying.
The captain then approached the Tiktoker, beckoning him to come closer.
“The reason you don’t say that is because that gentleman right there, and anybody else around now doubts what I do for a living,” the captain firmly said.
“I don’t go into your work and sh*t on your situation, so don’t do it again,” the captain continued before leaving.
The TikToker apologized to the captain, saying that he did not mean to offend, and then addressing his audience, said, “Wow. See what I mean about life?”
The video was initially uploaded on Degeorge’s TikTok account but has since been removed. It has been reposted on Twitter by Paul Barbee, an airline pilot.
Why one should not joke about pilots drinking
Airline pilots’ sobriety is taken very seriously.
Under the Railways and Transportation Act 2003, a pilot’s blood alcohol is limited to a level of 0.02, compared to the legal limit of 0.08 for driving. This means that even just a small amount of alcohol detected within a pilot’s system would be enough to prohibit them from legally operating an aircraft.
If found guilty of being intoxicated prior to operating a flight, pilots could face imprisonment, fines and revocation of their pilot license.
In recent months, pilots have faced severe consequences for being found drunk before flying. In July 2023, a United Airlines pilot had his license suspended for a year after arriving for a shift in France three times over the legal alcohol limit.
In June 2023, a Delta Air Lines pilot was arrested 35 minutes before the scheduled takeoff for exceeding the alcohol limit.
