Ever known a pilot that has going through drug/alcohol rehab?

[Rally]

Ever known a pilot that has going through drug/alcohol rehab? Curious how common this is in this industry. Did they get their medicals back? How long? Or just like like a phine on their medical apps.

 

[Fox-Tree]

I had a Captain paired w/ me at UAL 767 school. Showed up for a 5am sim blitzed. IP called him on it and they had it out. We still flew the sim, then the IP called ALPA. 10 hours later his blood test at the DEN medical center was still .12

He was removed from training and spent 2 years on sick/no pay status in the EAP program. Then he was back on the line.

The scary part was he flew the sim very well.

Hope that helps.

 

[Colonel Savage]

I had a Captain paired w/ me at UAL 767 school. Showed up for a 5am sim blitzed. IP called him on it and they had it out. We still flew the sim, then the IP called ALPA. 10 hours later his blood test at the DEN medical center was still .12

He was removed from training and spent 2 years on sick/no pay status in the EAP program. Then he was back on the line.

The scary part was he flew the sim very well.

Hope that helps.

Just curious...Why did the IP allow him to fly the sim while blitzed? Seems a bad call on the IP's part, since the Capt wasn't legal for regular duty, therefore not legal to train, as some airlines require.

 

[Soverytired]

Just curious...Why did the IP allow him to fly the sim while blitzed? Seems a bad call on the IP's part, since the Capt wasn't legal for regular duty, therefore not legal to train, as some airlines require.

I've always been told and trained that you have to show up for the sim exactly as if you're showing up for a shift.

And for ground school, for that matter. I think it has to do with the regulations surrounding the DOT random drug testing rules.

If you're at a scheduled event (training, shift, whatever), you're eligible to be drug and/or alcohol tested.

I agree though . . . would've been a better call to send him to professional standards or the CP office.

 

[Dave's kid]

I know a couple pilots that have gone through rehab. Neither one showed up for work under the influence (8 hours/.04). They both said they had a problem, took a medical leave of absence and spent some time not flying while they went through rehab. I think the entire process took about a year.

They were flying for a 121 carrier at the time. And after rehab they both advanced to a better 121 carrier and are still flying to this day. From what I've seen, as long as no regs are broken it isn't a career ender.

 

[Jmoney]

Rehab....

I know General Lee MUST be drunk every time he takes a seat in front of a keyboard. No rehab can fix his type of stupid....

What a chowder chugger!

 

[Fox-Tree]

Just curious...Why did the IP allow him to fly the sim while blitzed? Seems a bad call on the IP's part, since the Capt wasn't legal for regular duty, therefore not legal to train, as some airlines require.

Don't know about that. It's not a black and white issue when it's one person's opinion of intoxication against another's. I was just glad to finish the sim and check one more box for training. I think it was partly due to the fact that the IP couldn't "prove" it at the time. Once he got ALPA in the loop, they sent the pilot out to the medical center for a blood test.

Also, UAL's FOM didn't specify sim duty/training as restricted to their "12 hour rule". This was changed immediately after this incident. That may have been inherent in the current regs(not sure), but they spelled it out with no questions after this.

 

[Rally]

I had a Captain paired w/ me at UAL 767 school. Showed up for a 5am sim blitzed. IP called him on it and they had it out. We still flew the sim, then the IP called ALPA. 10 hours later his blood test at the DEN medical center was still .12

He was removed from training and spent 2 years on sick/no pay status in the EAP program. Then he was back on the line.

The scary part was he flew the sim very well.

Hope that helps.

He had to be at a .30 or so at the time of the sim holy moly. That is nuts.

 

[tomgoodman]

Help is available

This union/airline/FAA program has saved many careers, and probably many lives.

http://www.himsprogram.com/

 

[ACL65PILOT]

I agree with Tom. If you have any questions about hims, I worked with ALPA and the hims program. I strongly recommend it.
Also it is a good idea to discuss rehab with ALPA before you return to work. There are some legal issues associated with it.