Beech Baron Pilot

flustered apologetic compliant embarrassed

Pilot of Beech 0827, a Beech Baron 58 twin-engine plane, flies into restricted airspace during a White House crisis sparked by kidnapping threats. His radio transmission reaches the Situation Room, where he apologizes for the incursion—blaming 'a problem with the thing'—and follows the fighter pilot's orders without hesitation. This compliant response turns a tense intercept into a false alarm, relieving President Bartlet, Admiral Fitzwallace, Leo, and others as F-15s hold fire.

2 appearances

Civilian Aviation

Also known as: Beech 0827, Beech Baron 58 pilot, BEECH ON SPEAKER

Beech Baron …'s Journey

A timeline through the narrative

2 moments

S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Air Alarm Forces a Rules Debate — Bartlet’s Judgment Tested

Panicked then relieved; embarrassed that a mechanical issue nearly triggered a military engagement.

The Beech Baron pilot, patched through on the speaker, responds flustered and apologetic, admitting a mechanical problem that caused radio silence and complying with fighter instructions, turning the crisis into …

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S4E23 · Twenty-Five

Bartlet's Crisis: Fear, Memory, and the Transfer of Power

Embarrassed and relieved; anxious at realizing his incursion precipitated high-level military and presidential alarm.

Responded over the air apologetically, explaining a mechanical problem—transforming the intercept from potential敌 threat to false alarm.

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Affiliation

Air Route Traffic Control Center, Seattle

En Route Air Traffic Control and Crisis Communications Relay