A group of airshow veterans was gathered in a chalet a couple of years ago, swapping aerospace stories of the 'strange but true' variety.

As the beers went down, the yarns grew taller. By the end of the evening the 'Apocrypha Club' was born.

Reality has put paid to the club this Paris. For it has been a vintage year for wacky aerospace stories... and these are all true. A selection:

* Flying may be in danger of losing its reputation as the safest form of transport, but it's nothing to do with the aircraft. Disruptive, and violent passengers are a growing problem. Excessive drinking is the main problem but nicotine deprivation - on no-smoking flights - is leaving some passengers fighting mad.

One British woman was charged after tipping wine and food over a steward who judged she had had enough to drink; an American man is in jail for assault on several members of the crew.

* The flight deck is not immune from the trend. Two Turkish pilots were fired after a dispute over their correct altitude led to a stand-up fight on the flight deck.

The captain misheard instructions from the tower on what height to climb to. The Number Two pointed this out in a less-than-deferential manner.

While the fists flew, the autopilot maintained the course of the jet which was carrying 240 passengers. A third pilot completed the flight.

* Airborne rustling is the latest sport from Russia, much to the distress of a Japanese fishing boat skipper.

Russian soldiers loaded a herd of stolen cows onto an Antonov transport aircraft and took off.

When the herd panicked and began to destabilise the aircraft by moving about, the rustlers jettisoned the herd over the sea. One of the cows hit the Japanese boat and sank it.

The Japanese crew survived but were 'heiffer' so unhappy - doubly so when they were arrested because nobody believed their story.

* But strangest of all was the presentation to Larry Walters of the 1997 Darwin Award for "outstanding contributions to natural selection through self sacrifice".

Walters, who failed to make US Air Force pilot because of poor eyesight, decided to take to the air anyway.

He attached weather balloons to a garden seat, loaded up sandwiches and beer and a gun to shoot the balloons if he flew too high.

He planned to float at 30ft above his girlfriend's garden in California.

More than 10,000ft later, he drifted into the main approach corridor at Los Angeles International Airport.

The lawn chair pilot was reported by airliners and he was finally rescued by helicopter when he floated out over the sea.

Source: Flight Daily News