Another drunk airline pilot?

[Typhoon1244]

Gee, I've always wanted to work for a company that was fodder for Jay Leno monologues. Aren't I lucky?

IF this story is accurate, the guy needs to fry. There's no excuse for this.

 

[KingAirKiddo]

Ridiculous!

I agree...there is absolutely no excuse for this crap! If this story turns out to be accurate, then this guy needs to be made into an example and do some hard time. This is not what the f@#$ the industry needs right now, or ever.

Sorry, but this sort of thing really touches a nerve...off the soapbox now.

KingAirKiddo

 

[ILS JNKY]

boozing it up

keep boozing it up boys and you will make room for us older people who know how to conduct our selves,,,,,,,,,,,,,

any one know how old this pilot was ???

 

[AAflyer]

ILS JNKY,

Intresting you assume the ASA pilot is young. Why? As for the boys at AWA.The captain looked old enough to be my dad.

There is a very small minority that conducts themselves in that manor. Focus on building time, not taking the seniority number of a drunk pilot.

AAflyer

 

[rumpletumbler]

Most likely this kind of thing has been going on for a long time and now that someone in security got an atta boy the discovery of drunk pilots will be in the news for a while. As my favorite talk show host says, "If the folks in airport security got a job at the Cinnabon it would be a promotion." That doesn't mean it is ok to fly drunk. Sadly what it means is that there are Captains and FO's, FA's who regularly most likely smell alcohol on each others breath and don't say anything about it. "Good morning my union brother! I'll rally support around you by allowing you to endanger the lives of the crew and the passengers because I'm so awesome I really don't need you here anyhow" (insert snorting laugh with big toothy grin). "I be so bad!" Many people will this as security doing a better job but what is really happening is they are seeking some recognition and will get it because of the failure of flight crews to do the right thing to begin with. Don't just turn him in either. Kick his ass! If your up fairly high in something with a side window, kick his ass and then throw him out the window. "Good morning my union brother! I smell alcohol on your breath." BIP, BAP, PAAAAAATANG! THUMP!" and then call the police. That would make great news footage from the boarding area. "Ladies and gentleman if you will look through the glass behind me you will see what appears to be another drunk pilot (pan over and zoom in on guy getting his ass kicked and thrown out the cockpit and falling a couple stories to the ground) THUD! The crowd goes wild! Cheers! Suddenly someone starts "the wave" through B concourse. That's how it should go. Don't give the security screeners the victory, steal the ball and run for the touchdown!

RT

 

[FL000]

RT,

I think you could use a breathalizer right now.

 

[MetroSheriff]

FL000,

You beat me to it.

Rumple, you may want to edit that post a bit when the fog clears bud...it was a little difficult to follow.

 

[Typhoon1244]

ILS JNKY,

Careful. You're falling into the same trap that the Leno crowd is in, making assumptions about 1,500 people based on the activities of one. And as AAflyer already hinted at, you're not winning any friends in the Part 121 community with an attitude like that.

When you talk about ATP's with alcohol problems, you're talking about a very small minority. And as for the age of ASA's first officers, the one's I've flown with lately have been between twenty-three and fifty-five, with the average being about thirty-five. Believe it or not, not all the twenty-somethings were were booze-hounds, and not all the fifty-somethings were paragons of virtue.

As a thirty-year-old captain, I'm tired of hearing about how young pilots just can't be responsible. How many incident-free hours have you flown in a 53,000 pound fifty-seat turbojet, old-timer?

 

[ifly4food]

Some of you are making some pretty bold statements considering no official word or test results have been released.

Let's as pilots take the high road and (unlike the bloodthirsty and usually wrong news media) wait to see if this is really an incident after all.

When official test results are released and if he was drunk, then you can have your public hanging if you so desire. But it would be better to get help for this individual than to fire him to save your pride, don't you think. (Yes, I know the individual).

 

[rumpletumbler]

Its the massive amount of chlorine in the water I make my coffee with. I was just being silly but I guess what I'm seeing in all this isn't that there is a sudden rash of drunk pilots but that there probably will be a sudden rash of reporting them by security screeners. Why? Because the person who got the first two probably got a $20 gift certificate to the piggly wiggly and a job well done. Word got around etc. This would have never happened if flight crews would police themselves and not let anyone get on the a/c drunk, hungover, etc. Weed them out from within. No one with any brains believes that this is the first time those two (America West) or this guy with ASA (if it's true) ever flew drunk, hungover. If they were never allowed to do so (read if someone had the good sense/guts to stop them and turn them in) then those things could have been handled without all the massive publicity that these cases and the ones that follow will get. Publicity aside, stopping them, turning them in is the right thing to do but it is horrible that the only folks willing to do it are the screeners.

RT

 

[Typhoon1244]

Hey Rumple,

To my way of thinking, three does not constitute a "sudden rash."

Remember what I said about the Leno crowd.

And...ifly4food couldn't be more right. We don't even know if this really happened.

 

[FlyDeltasJets]

Gee, I've always wanted to work for a company that was fodder for Jay Leno monologues. Aren't I lucky?

[

Not to worry Typhoon. If the early press reports are at all indicative, Jay will be making fun of Delta pilots, not ASA's.

 

[e120flier]

I agree with ifly, the proof needs to be presented. I will be surprised to find merit in the early accusations we're seeing, I know the captain and he would not have let this situation progress to the screening point.

 

[Tim47SIP]

Sorry Folks

Again, don't really know how accurate this news is, but it was just released. The alcohol level seems quite high to me. But here it is.




WILMINGTON, North Carolina (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the case of an Atlantic Southeast Airlines pilot who was stopped by security agents after they smelled alcohol on his breath, officials told CNN Sunday.

The pilot was scheduled to fly ASA flight 4240 from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Atlanta Sunday, sources told CNN.

The pilot's blood alcohol level was later measured at 0.16 -- four times higher than the FAA limit for pilots, CNN learned.

Atlanta-based ASA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

FAA spokesman Christopher White said the FAA was aware of the incident and had launched an investigation.

He said the FAA does not require alcohol testing for all pilots. It does require refraining from alcohol use eight hours before a flight, though he said individual airlines may have more stringent rules.

Flight 4240 was delayed for three hours and 42 minutes because of what Delta spokeswoman Nicole Sundgren called a "crew-related issue." She did not confirm the issue had to do with the pilot or alcohol.

"ASA takes the allegations made by a security agent at Wilmington International Airport [that a crew member was intoxicated] very seriously and is conducting a full investigation," Sundgren said.

Catherine Stengel, another Delta spokeswoman, confirmed the first officer was tested for intoxication.

Sundgren said the plane, an Embraer Brasilia 120 turboprop, was carrying 27 passengers. She did not know how many crew members were to be on board, but the crafts usually have two pilots and one flight attendant.

Earlier this month, two America West pilots were accused of trying to fly a passenger jet while intoxicated. They have pleaded not guilty to charges of driving while impaired, a misdemeanor, and operating an aircraft while intoxicated, a felony.

America West fired both pilots.

 

[ilinipilot]

Hello All,

One thing that really bothers me about this whole thing aside from the fact the pilot gave us all a bad name is that a security guy ratted on this pilot.
I think all you pilots should be on your toes for some very overzealous security officials who think that they can accuse any pilot who walks through his/her detector of drinking and not realize the ramifications of their actions.
I think its good that the security personnel are watching for this but they better watch themselves and not take this lightly. I can see some 18 year old with a wand smelling scope on a pilots breath mistaking that for alcohol and ruining their reputation and the airlines over nothing.
I hope us pilots have some ramifications I.E. termination if this gets out of control like i think it may.
Just my 2 cents and opinions.
FLy safe and watch out out there I cant wait to join the ranks of you all

D

 

[popilot78]

I'm glad they say something. We do not need pilots who are drunk or who have been drinking on the job. There is no need for it. If it happens to be that the pilots weren't drinking, the tests will prove it. If they were, then they do not deserve to be in the cockpit. If the pilots can't look after themselves, then someone else should. Save the partying for when you have time off. The AW pilots really got security "smelling" for pilots. Some may take it to far, but the ones to blame for that are the ones who got caught.

 

[wil]

This is a sad day for ASA and our profession! No matter what the age, we all know the rules and zero tolerance must be the law! I'm unsure if we have a maturity problem at ASA (for those of you "in the know" you know what our last scrape was with the FAA!) but we all better be on our best behavior and treat our next trip like a PC! Fly safe, and sober!

 

[Phrogs4ever]

This certainly can't help the effort to allow guns in the cockpit. If we're not supposed to fly under the influence now, why should we expect those who walk the fine line to stop just because they have a gun?

 

[dondk]

.02 into the pot

I am all for hanging this dude out to dry if the information is true.. It hurts every one of us that must see the traveling public each day and know they are "questioning" our abilities to be professional.

I don't quite know how he even got to security? Heck, not even picked up at the
hotel lobby, shuttle, breakfast if any? He did not get that intoxicated between the hotel and the field!

Regardless... there are larger problems. That is without the Leno bit I am expecting to see in the next day or two bashing our already beleaguered profession.

I see the security people being a problem, what happens when the guy non-reving (most do it in uniform for simplicity) and he gets pulled out and questioned, breathalyzer and accused. A guy OFF duty can have a drink, he can board a airplane as long as he falls beneath the level of intoxication. While he may not have made the best decision by being in uniform, nothing prevents him when he is off duty.

Are security guys going to check law enforcement? how about the rest of the passengers? We all have had a few who got on board already a little tipsy and them we SERVE them more!
I agree we should police ourselves BEFORE any other government agencies or our respective companies do it for us. There need to be reasonable compromise before it gets that far though...

Finally, if this dude was that intoxicated, did they let him on the flight back to corporate?

 

[checkessential]

Hey Wil- what do you mean by a maturity problem, and a scrape with the FAA. Please keep those kind of comments to yourself. Do you think that the media don't read this board? Internal business is exactly that. Thank you.

For those of you who don't know, the breathalizer means -ZERO- that's right, nothing. Wait for the urinalysis results and the full investigation. Thank you.