The Chinese Co-Pilot and his pilot worked for Lao Che Air Freight. In 1935, they were instructed by Lao Che to kill Indiana Jones, Willie Scott and Short Round as they were leaving Shanghai.
Biography[]
By 1935, this Chinese co-pilot served aboard a cargo-carrying Ford Tri-Motor Airplane from Lao Che Air Freight. On one scheduled cargo flight scheduled to leave in the early morning one day in 1935, the plane got three last-minute passengers: Indiana Jones, Willie Scott and Short Round; all booked by Earl Weber. The passengers arrived at Nang Tao Airport after escaping from Club Obi Wan and quickly got aboard the plane, which the pilot was preparing for take-off. Once the passengers got aboard, the pilot and his co-pilot spied Lao Che, their employer smiling outside the airport gate. Saluting their boss, the pilot took off.[1]
The co-pilot had received word from Lao Che to ditch the plane to kill Jones and his friends. After refueling in Chungking, they flew west, towards India, instead of flying south towards Bangkok, the supposed destination. When they were over the eastern Siwalik range, the pilot told him that it was the time to make their move, as their passengers were asleep. The co-pilot dumped the plane's fuel supply. After the pilot had made his way to the back of the cabin, the co-pilot tiptoed past the sleeping passengers. After the pilot opened the rear door, causing the poultry feathers to fly about the cabin, the co-pilot had to be prodded to the door to parachute out by his partner, who then followed him. However, their attempt on their passengers' lives ultimately failed, as Jones, Scott and Short Round jumped with an inflatable raft and survived.[1]
The co-pilot and his partner were later questioned by the French mercenary archaeologist René Emile Belloq, one of Jones' rivals, over the certainty of Jones' death. However, Belloq was told that neither the co-pilot nor the pilot could confirm Jones' fate.[2]
Personality and traits[]
As described by René Emile Belloq, this Chinese co-pilot, as well as his pilot, was a "idiotic" due his unavailability to confirm if Indiana Jones was dead or not.[2]
Behind the scenes[]
The Chinese Co-Pilot was portrayed by the late Michael Yama in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.[1]
During the development of the film's script, written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, the Chinese Co-Pilot was not originally intended to be in league with Lao Che, then known as "Lao She". Instead, he was an unaffiliated co-pilot who would have bailed out mid-flight alongside the other passengers during an attack from biplanes in the service of She which saw the pilot shot dead.[3]
Appearances[]
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom comic
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: A Tale of High Adventure
- Indiana Jones: Traps and Snares (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Non-canonical appearance)
Sources[]
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom trading cards (Card: High-Flying Peril!)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom trading cards (Card: River Of Death)
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: The Illustrated Screenplay
- The Temple of Doom: Fly the unfriendly skies on IndianaJones.com (backup link on Archive.org)
- The Greatest Adventures of Indiana Jones
- Indiana Jones: The Ultimate Guide
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Annual 2009