His request to take pictures of a mountainside fire approved, the ABC News photographer quickly uses a cellphone to call the local airport to charter a flight. He is told a twin-engine plane will be waiting for him at the airport.

Arriving at the airfield, he spots a plane warming up outside a hangar. He jumps in with his bag, slams the door shut, and shouts: "Let's go."

The pilot taxies out, swings the plane into the wind and takes off. Once in the air, the photographer instructs the pilot: "Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fire on the hillsides."

"Why?" asks the pilot.

"Because I'm a photographer for ABC Cable News," he responds, "and I need to get some close-up shots."

The pilot is strangely silent for a moment. Finally he stammers: "So, what you're telling me is... you are not my flight instructor?"