Deadheading (employee)

Deadheading is the practice of carrying, free of charge, a transport company's own staff on a normal passenger trip so that they can be in the right place to begin their duties.

Confidence trickster Frank Abagnale impersonated a pilot and supposedly deadheaded on more than 250 flights.

One of the four survivors of Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a deadheading flight attendant, Yumi Ochiai. She helped administer oxygen to passengers after the plane suffered Explosive decompression. She survived because she was wedged between several seats during the crash, preventing her from suffering serious injury.

In 1994, on FedEx Flight 705, employee Auburn Calloway attempted to hijack the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 on which he was deadheading with the intent of crashing it to initiate insurance fraud, but was repelled by the combined efforts of the plane's crew.

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