I would say that it is false that the sentence uses the proper pronoun. We don't know whether the crew member is a man or a woman, which is why you cannot use <em>him </em>here. You should say - them. If we knew it was a man, then <em>him </em>would be fine.
The correct answer this particular question would be revealed much about their behavior.
When it comes to poetry, I have found that the reading approach can really help you understand complicated phrases or metaphors. When listening to a poem, the narrator can help paint the picture the author was originally trying to create. However, when you can feel the paper, follow the words, use your own voice to profess each line- you can understand the subliminal meaning in many ways rather than one. One way is never the only way, otherwise, poetry wouldn't exist. Poetry isn't always understood, which is why it can mean many different things to many different people.
If we are talking about the airplane terminology, to to take off means to leave the ground, to start flying. So, the opposite of that verb would be to land.
