Character information
Name(s):	Piotr Skut
Hair:	Blonde
Nationality:	Estonian
Occupation:	Pilot
Status:	Alive
Behind the scenes
First Appearance:	The Red Sea Sharks
Last Appearance:	Flight 714

Piotr Skut (French: Piotr Szut) is an eyepatch-wearing Estonian pilot who is friendly with Captain Haddock and Tintin after they saved his life in the Red Sea.

HistoryEdit

In The Red Sea Sharks, Skut flies one of the Mosquito planes used by Sheik Bab El Ehr to seize power in Khemed, and his squad strafes the boat Tintin and Haddock are crossing the Red Sea on. Tintin shoots down his plane with an assault rifle in self-defence, but later rescues him from the waters and Skut ends up marooned with the pair on a hastily-assembled life raft. Grateful for this treatment, Skut becomes a faithful friend and later refuses to betray Tintin and Haddock, instead sharing the rest of the adventure with them. He repairs the sabotaged radio of Ramona and calls for help, just in time to save the boat from a submarine attack.

In Flight 714, Skut has become a private jet captain for millionaire Laszlo Carreidas and gets hijacked by his temporary crew.

NameEdit

"Skut" is pronounced "scoot" (IPA: [skuːt]). Neither Piotr, Skut nor Szut are plausible Estonian names, but Skut was rather an excuse for a gag, as when they first meet, Captain Haddock believes Skut is telling him to "scoot" rather than introducing himself. In the original French, the Captain mistakes the name "Szut" for "zut," the French exclamation of frustration.