Continental loses captain over colleague's alcohol allegation

[wmuflyguy]

A colleague would be another captain, not an understudy or apprentice like an FO. An FO is more like a "pro·té·gé" than a "colleague".

I don't see it that way, there are many FO's around that have been furloughed and have been around the industry for a long time(I am not one of them). It is well within the realm of possibility that the FO could have had more experience than the captain.

Regardless we all bring soemthing to the table experience wise anwyay and can learn things from eachother.

 

[FN FAL]

Well said! The guy was over the legal limit as proven by the blood test. If he is not smart enough to realize he smells like booze and he probably feels like sh*t and should call in sick, then he probably is not smart enough to handle some sort of complex inflight emergency while he feels like and smells like sh*t!

Complex inflight emergency? You mean like stalling C5's for no reason at all, like the military does with 8 sober flight crewmembers.

 

[jws717]

Nice job by the FO or whomever. I guess trying to get the guy to call in sick and following up with pro standards would have been too much work.

I agree with your course of action, however i think its sad that you are busting on the whistleblower. What ever happened to personal responsibility and not going to work drunk. If you risk others lives by being drunk on the job, you desreve to lose your job.

 

[FR8mastr]

You are an idiot. Alcoholism has nothing to do with scabs or chocies one makes in their lives, particulary this incident.

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).

 

[big_al]

Complex inflight emergency? You mean like stalling C5's for no reason at all, like the military does with 8 sober flight crewmembers.

im sorry but saying the words sober and military in one sentence is like saying military and intelligence in another

 

[bizicmo]

The pilot didn't show up to work "drunk".

If you show up to work and you fail a breath alcohol test. What does that make you if your not drunk?

 

[bizicmo]

I'm sure it doesn't make you sober.

 

[PurpleInMEM]

I agree with your course of action, however i think its sad that you are busting on the whistleblower. What ever happened to personal responsibility and not going to work drunk. If you risk others lives by being drunk on the job, you desreve to lose your job.

Me thinks you takes this JOB and yourself a bit too seriously.

I was waiting for a sanctimonious comment from the peanut gallery and it sure didn't take too long.

The rat that dropped the dime deserves a bullet or at a minimum, a lifetime of harassment.

I am NOT my brother's keeper.

Welcome to the Nanny State, it will only get worse.

 

[jws717]

Me thinks you takes this JOB and yourself a bit too seriously.

I was waiting for a sanctimonious comment from the peanut gallery and it sure didn't take too long.

The rat that dropped the dime deserves a bullet or at a minimum, a lifetime of harassment.

I am NOT my brother's keeper.

Welcome to the Nanny State, it will only get worse.

You may not think you are your brothers keeper, but when the feds bust the guy next to you for drinking, you'r also busted. Drinking and flying is just stupid and you are if you think its acceptable. I have no pitty for the guy who got busted, its his fault. too bad! As a side note the proper response when someone smells like alcohol is to question them first and strongly suggest that they call in sick. I am sure that this is what happend but, the capt pobably had an attitude like yours and told the other guy to F off.

 

[JP4user]

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).

Whatever. Not sure what you are trying to accomplish about you scab mantra and some idiot that ruins his career. Perhaps if you didn't post while drinking your message may come across better.

Who knows what type of employee reported it. In my opinion it doesn't matter. You drink, you lose your job.

 

[big_al]

so is this another example of the pro-union brotherhood I keep hearing about?

 

[OrionFE]

Complex inflight emergency? You mean like stalling C5's for no reason at all, like the military does with 8 sober flight crewmembers.

You're new to this aviation thing, are'nt you? You might want to back up a bit from all those paints you're using to paint your pretty little pictures. Hey, you remember the NWA crash in Detroit years ago......probably not!

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Me thinks you takes this JOB and yourself a bit too seriously.

I was waiting for a sanctimonious comment from the peanut gallery and it sure didn't take too long.

The rat that dropped the dime deserves a bullet or at a minimum, a lifetime of harassment.

I am NOT my brother's keeper.

Welcome to the Nanny State, it will only get worse.

I'd think a MIL guy and an Air Line guy would understand brother's keeper better than anyone. Worst than the liberals are the Law of the Jungle types that are ready to pound their chest and scoff at thier "brothers" for not having the strength to keep up. Problem is there is always someone better, faster and stronger....do you really want to compete with that guy? Cause he will scoff at you when you can't keep up.

Real men and women are holistic

The real issue isn't a pilot showing up to fly drunk. With 100,000 Air Line Pilots in the US, there will always be pecentages of pilots who are alcoholics, diabetic, cancerous, bi-polar, etc.

The issue is how professional Air Line Pilots respond to our brothers and sisters indescretions. We all make mistakes, what we do afterwards defines who we are. But just as important is how we treat our fellow pilots when they make mistakes. Treating your fellow pilot with repsect, empathy and assistance doesn't condone thier faults. Rather it is the progessive win/win path.

 

[bizicmo]

I think the issue IS pilot's showing up drunk. If they didn't show up drunk and put their fellow employees in crappy positions this wouldn't be an issue.

 

[Alamanach]

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...

For all we know, that confrontation may have already taken place. I think we would all hope that it did; it'd be a shame to see a guy lose his job, possibly ruin his career, over a one-time lapse in judgement. Some judicious forgiveness keeps the world going round.

But at the same time, if the pilot in question really is a hopeless screw-up (and this is possible too), then any one of us probably would have blown the whistle on him. There are some people who shouldn't be flying airliners.

We don't have enough information to say whether this colleague did the right thing; it could go either way. Some of you guys on this thread are really tearing into each other, and I don't know why.