Continental loses captain over colleague's alcohol allegation

[A350]

All:

Quit harping on each other......the dude was over the limit and showed up for work......

Everyone knows the limits. Everyone knows that drinking and flying do not mix. Everyone knows there are HIMS programs. Everyone knows if you drink and fly you are putting your career and your families livelihood on the line. Everyone knows that if you have an alcohol problem and keep showing up for work you will eventually get caught.

Everyone knows that this pilot not only deserves to be terminated, but also deserves to be ashamed of being an embarassment to his profession.

The pilot received a just punishment....lets just hope he can get help so he can continue to provide a living for his family.

The only shame here is that there was most likely indications of a problem and the pilots friends/family ignored it.

A350

 

[dogismycopilot]

Co-worker? or ex-wife F/A?

 

[nosehair]

I am not!
You are to!
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nottonottonottonotto

The best yet!

 

[nosehair]

To the one's on this thread to whom I am speaking:

Anyone who becomes angry or upset over a situation, that person is probably, most likely, guilty of the very same act in some way.
I didn't make that up. That's a fact of human nature.

 

[JP4user]

Couldnt agree more.. It just amazes me that i am reading posts about how it is possibly everyones fault except the pilot in question.. Blame the FO? or a whistleblower for not confronting the guy?? That is absolute insanity!! The captain is a grown adult and deserves everything coming to him and more.. If then pilot does not have the maturity or integrity to show up to fly a $50 million jet sober then I sure as hell dont want my family on that plane.

I agree with you as well. It is really pathetic to listen to some like fr8 boy and his lame rationalizations for an issue that degrades of us who do our jobs as professionals.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

I agree with you as well. It is really pathetic to listen to some like fr8 boy and his lame rationalizations for an issue that degrades of us who do our jobs as professionals.

Couldnt agree more.. It just amazes me that i am reading posts about how it is possibly everyones fault except the pilot in question.. Blame the FO? or a whistleblower for not confronting the guy?? That is absolute insanity!! The captain is a grown adult and deserves everything coming to him and more.. If then pilot does not have the maturity or integrity to show up to fly a $50 million jet sober then I sure as hell dont want my family on that plane.

When one has an problem or addiction they do not think rationally. Like a gambler who blows the family money. He believes he will win big and all will be ok. I'm not sure why you people don't want to comprehend this concept of human nature.

A pilot who shows up hung over or drunk either is an alcoholic or has a problem. He is not thinking with indifference. It isn't as black and white as you perfect people want it to be.

With 100k pilots there are going to a couple of non perfect people. The pilots here advocating empathy are not suggesting any type of compromise of safety. What is being suggested is how to handle the situation.

For all of you non-professionals who are trying to deal with this with chest pounding, as$ kicking and indifference to your fellow pilots, perhpas you want to move over to the C-5 thread. A plane was cut in thirds there. What happened here? Not much.

 

[AC560]

A pilot who shows up hung over or drunk either is an alcoholic or has a problem. He is not thinking with indifference. It isn't as black and white as you perfect people want it to be.

Those are issues for his friends, family, priest, etc. to resolve with him not his co-workers.

I certainly disagree with the statement that every pilot who shows up hung over or drunk is an alcoholic or has a problem, some of them are just immature and you do a deservice to people who do struggle with alcoholism by putting them in the same category.

 

[Cappy]

I would rather be an idiot than a spineless ninny that has to run to mommy (management) rather than confront this individual like a man. do you also call your buddy in the chief pilots office if somebody does not show at exactly the correct time?
I made no comment about this pilot showing up drunk, I assumed most people would not need a comment about how wrong that is. So I aplogize to you that I did not realize not every one gets it. So for the less than swift out there lets clairfy this SHOWING UP DRUNK IS WRONG AND SHOULD NEVER BE TOLERATED. That being said my post was about how it was handled, and how it should have been handled. Shouldnt this guy be given the opportunity to get help? The guy that called management, this kind of "man" is the exact sort of person the SCAB management at CAL wants. They want pilots who will not stand up to anyone (especially at contract time).

I agree with freightmaster. Showing up drunk on my flight puts my certificate and career in jeopardy as well. If you don't care enough about yourself, care enough about the other guy to call in sick and get the help you need. If you come to my acft drunk willing to take the controls and put my life and career in jeopardy, I will bust you out of the industry. On the other hand, if you call in sick and ask for help, I will back you 110%.

Got It!

Fly Safely,

Mike

 

[clickclickboom]

When one has an problem or addiction they do not think rationally. Like a gambler who blows the family money. He believes he will win big and all will be ok. I'm not sure why you people don't want to comprehend this concept of human nature.

A pilot who shows up hung over or drunk either is an alcoholic or has a problem. He is not thinking with indifference. It isn't as black and white as you perfect people want it to be.

With 100k pilots there are going to a couple of non perfect people. The pilots here advocating empathy are not suggesting any type of compromise of safety. What is being suggested is how to handle the situation.

For all of you non-professionals who are trying to deal with this with chest pounding, as$ kicking and indifference to your fellow pilots, perhpas you want to move over to the C-5 thread. A plane was cut in thirds there. What happened here? Not much.

I agree that the pilot in question deserves to receive help and recovery but does he deserve to show up drunk, get caught, enter a treatment program and reenter the cockpit as if nothing has happened?

The real sticky here is that by removing the problem and terminating the pilot is all but a non event in the whole grand scheme of this industry BUT if that same pilot went out the other day and crashed the plane killing hundreds and the toxicology determined that he was intoxicated WELL just think how much of an impact that would have on the livlihood of all involved..

While some on this board may somehow rationalize this, In my opinion the stakes are just too high and this industry is just too fragile to have drunkard pilots risking your and my family and career because they dont know how to exhibit self control.

This is not a business for everyone

 

[JP4user]

When one has an problem or addiction they do not think rationally. Like a gambler who blows the family money. He believes he will win big and all will be ok. I'm not sure why you people don't want to comprehend this concept of human nature.

A pilot who shows up hung over or drunk either is an alcoholic or has a problem. He is not thinking with indifference. It isn't as black and white as you perfect people want it to be.

With 100k pilots there are going to a couple of non perfect people. The pilots here advocating empathy are not suggesting any type of compromise of safety. What is being suggested is how to handle the situation.

For all of you non-professionals who are trying to deal with this with chest pounding, as$ kicking and indifference to your fellow pilots, perhpas you want to move over to the C-5 thread. A plane was cut in thirds there. What happened here? Not much.

Still no sympathy on my part. A pilot job demands perfection and respect to his fellow pilots and his passengers. If they have a drinking problem and can not think rationally they have no business stepping into the uniform. These career ending events always are not the first warning these individual have, yet they continue to ignore the obvious and refuse intervention.

Just because they finally get caught and endanger peoples lives and put a black eye on the profession they need a second chance and a shoulder to cry on? Not a chance.

Now for the ones who admit a problem and seek help prior to getting busted and shaming the rest of us "perfect people"...? Yes, they do deserve help.