Interview question

[generaltso]

A passenger says he smells alcohol on your breath. You haven't been drinking.

What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?

 

[328dude]

Talk to your crew and tell them what he/she said. Ask their advice and if they have any dought to his claim. If they don't, then speak to a CSR supervisor and relay the passengers concerns to them so they can handle it. If your crew or the supervisor has suspisions, don't fly the plane. It's better to be tested and turn up nothing.

Don't argue with the passenger.

 

[N8Dogg]

Request to be tested immediately! End of story. The last thing the airline wants is some passenger blabbing his mouth about one of the pilots being intoxicated.

 

[generaltso]

How are you suppose to get tested in an airport without delaying the flight? They have breathalizers?

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

A passenger says he smells alcohol on your breath. You haven't been drinking.

What do you do? WHAT DO YOU DO?

Kick him in the jimmy.

 

[vclean]

You must get tested for alcohol, flight delay or not. After you are cleared, have the TSA list the person on the 'Do not fly list' and give them the number to Greyhound and Amtrak.

 

[platinumclub]

Funny story, I actually read a report when I was interning with an airline about a loud mouth that looked into the cockpit as he got on board and yells "I sure hope you guys haven't been drinking". All the precautions as mentioned above were taken, but the flight still did not go. All the passengers were comped new airline tickets, except for the jackas$ that said it, he got a $300 ticket from the cops and was told to go screw himself by the airline!

 

[rumpletumbler]

Kick him in the jimmy.

lol......

 

[TIS]

The answer to this is simple and to the point - GO GET TESTED! The flight will be delayed or canceled and your day just got kicked to the curb.

An accusation of intoxication in this case is a CRIMINAL one. You have been accused of a federal crime by a passenger. That's right! It's a federal crime because it's against FARs! You must take steps to disprove the accusation immediately.

Proving or disproving alcohol intoxication is a clinically medical matter that you cannot undertake by yourself. Someone else is needed to perform objective testing both because you lack the equipment and training, and because a third, impartial party is needed to attest to the result of the testing.

The bottom line is that you will look the passenger in the eye and tell him that he has just delayed and possibly canceled the flight. Contact Customer Service and let them know about the accustation and that the the flightdeck crew will be getting tested at the nearest clinic. They'll handle the rest. I might even consider putting a call into the chief pilot to let him in on the mess.

There is no other acceptable answer to this problem.

TIS

 

[jobear]

I might even consider putting a call into the chief pilot to let him in on the mess.
TIS

I agree with everything TIS said except the above sentence. Not "consider" it's a MUST call item. Remember just as we consider every potential threat seroiusly we must do the same for every accusation of crew inpropreity(SIC). Call the Chief Pilot and your Union Rep. immediately.

Jobear

 

[English]

TIS and jobear are right on the money.

 

[flying4food]

Having a background in law enforcement, TIS is right on the money!! my first step would be to notify the gate agent and dispatch. Next have Airport police contact you at the gate ASAP and explain the accusation to them (not TSA or the dime store security dude). The LEO is trained and qualified to administer a BAT. Ask the LEO to conduct an investigation and make a report on the matter. As stated above, the passenger has accused you of commiting a felony!!! Say you blew it off and flew anyway, the burdon may shift back to you!! Blood alcohol is considered fleeing evidence, and a blood alcohol test(BAT) should be performed in a timely manner!!

These are the steps I would take if I were accused of such a serious offense!!
Just my two cents worth!!!

 

[TIS]

I guess I should elaborate

I agree with everything TIS said except the above sentence. Not "consider" it's a MUST call item. Remember just as we consider every potential threat seroiusly we must do the same for every accusation of crew inpropreity(SIC). Call the Chief Pilot and your Union Rep. immediately.

Jobear

Yeah, I agree with you on a personal level. You'll need to talk to someone. The reason I used the term "consider" is because some companies want you to call a regional chief pilot or the director of operations as a matter of policy rather than the system chief pilot.

So let me say it this way: Plan on getting stright on the phone with the individual in operations managment that your company designates as the fielder for situations like this - whoever that may be.

TIS

 

[DoinTime]

All good action items should you ever be accused of this while on the job, however, being on the job and being in an interview telling them how you would deal with it are different things. This is a good opportunity to show the company that you can deal with interpersonal problems in a calm, professional, and complete manor.

Imediately calling the airport police in an issue like this will almost for sure cause the cancellation of the flight (at least history has shown this to be the case). Instead try talking in private to the accuser to see if there is any way to assure them that you haven't been drinking. Offer them another whiff of your breath, or whatever else it may take for them to feel comfortable with you being at the controls. If they still are not satisfied of your sobriety after all reasonable measures have been exhausted then inlist the help the airport police for a breathalyzer.

Explaining these steps will show your prospective employer that you employ rational into your decisions and pursue the least obtrusive answer to sensitive problems. This approach to problem solving is not the most appropriate for all of aviation's problems though so be careful when you use it.

Like the others were saying though, once your on the line and become as disgruntled as us by all means call the airport police first and kick that jacka$$ off your airplane!

 

[flying4food]

Instead try talking in private to the accuser to see if there is any way to assure them that you haven't been drinking. Offer them another whiff of your breath, or whatever else it may take for them to feel comfortable with you being at the controls.

I would have to disagree with you on that one!! If this person has already made the above accusation, what else will they do or say?? Would not attempt to engage them in a private conversation, you want as many witnesses as possible, especially those that know you, who will be able to say, "he was acting normal as always." Also there would be witnesses to both your actions as well as any conversations that may take place!! Next this accuser will be saying you pulled them aside to convince him/her not to say anything!! Then it's your word against theirs!!! Given this situation, If it where my future on the line, I would definately want someone with some knowledge of this subject to look into it.

Again, my two cents worth!!!

 

[DoinTime]

I would have to disagree with you on that one!! If this person has already made the above accusation, what else will they do or say?? Would not attempt to engage them in a private conversation, you want as many witnesses as possible, especially those that know you, who will be able to say, "he was acting normal as always." Also there would be witnesses to both your actions as well as any conversations that may take place!! Next this accuser will be saying you pulled them aside to convince him/her not to say anything!! Then it's your word against theirs!!! Given this situation, If it where my future on the line, I would definately want someone with some knowledge of this subject to look into it.

Again, my two cents worth!!!

Sorry.....I meant private to mean out of the view or hearing range of the other passengers. Debating a passenger on whether or not your drunk or not is not to be done in front of the other passengers. Otherwise you won't have anyone willing to get on your plane. Bring them down to the plane with your crew and/or a gate agent to talk things through.

Once again the above display of paranoia is also not a good thing to show a company official during an interview.

 

[Blueridge]

I think my first response to the question would be that I would follow the guidance of my airline's operations manual. At ACA/FlyI we have a card that is kept in the cockpit that is given to the accuser in such an event. It basically spells out to them how serious of an accusation this is and gives the person an opportunity to retract their statements. If they do, great, we go fly, if they don't want to the whole crew gets tested - end of story.

BR

 

[a-v-8er]

I think my first response to the question would be that I would follow the guidance of my airline's operations manual. At ACA/FlyI we have a card that is kept in the cockpit that is given to the accuser in such an event. It basically spells out to them how serious of an accusation this is and gives the person an opportunity to retract their statements. If they do, great, we go fly, if they don't want to the whole crew gets tested - end of story.

BR

I was just about to say the same thing, however, our airline doesn't have those nifty cards onboard. I'd make sure the person who's accusing you understands what he/she is in fact implying. If they are indeed convinced (and not joking) that you or anyone else part of the crew is intoxicated, the whole flight crew would go and get tested. If this was a joke, I'd think this person would reconsider his/her accusations once they know the seriousness and testing required. If the person is being sincere and actually think you or another crew member has been drinking - no questions asked, you all go and get tested! This will disrupt the schedule for many people, but as mentioned before there are higher priorities than the schedule at hand at that point!

 

[phishn@daves]

What if you drank the night before, but had ensured you had enough gum in your mouth to hide it?

Do you chew more gum?

 

[100LL... Again!]

Interview answer:

1) Follow company procedure, if specified

Otherwise-

2) Call your chief pilot.

 

[TIS]

Sorry, but I just can't agree

Sorry.....I meant private to mean out of the view or hearing range of the other passengers. Debating a passenger on whether or not your drunk or not is not to be done in front of the other passengers. Otherwise you won't have anyone willing to get on your plane. Bring them down to the plane with your crew and/or a gate agent to talk things through.

Once again the above display of paranoia is also not a good thing to show a company official during an interview.

I understand that you're talking about what to say in an interview as opposed to line operations but I don't think you need to **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED**-foot around with this one. The simple fact is that whether or not you are drunk shouldn't be debated at all! With anyone! Anywhere! Anytime!

The trouble is that arguing a case of denial is a bit like telling the judge in court that you didn't run the stop sign like the traffic citation says you did. The judge will ask you to prove your case - AND YOU CAN'T. Simply saying it's so won't make it so. Without a test you cannot prove your claim and you simply must prove your innocence, for a variety of reasons.

First, as I pointed out previously, this is a criminal accusation that carries some EXTREMELY serious ramifications if proved. The FAA will revoke your certificates if you test positive for alcohol in the context of being on duty when any sort of test is warranted. The FAA makes four situations regulatory for drug and alcohol testing: pre-employment, random, accident, and cause. An accusation by a passenger is cause in nearly every book there is. That ACA has gotten around this to some extent in no way relieves the captain of his responsibility to himself and his crew to clear the matter up as definitively as possible. It's not just about the company once the ball is rolling.

And none of this addresses getting the company involved. They will not want this guy getting off the plane at the other end and going straight to the press raving about how the flight crew on ABC airlines was drunk. Call it paranoia or call it once bitten, twice shy - the airlines have good reason lately to fear the late night antics of some of their flight officers.

Now, if that explanation doesn't satisfy the doubters try this on for size. What are you going to do if you're accused of being drunk one week and you pass out your little card, or have a little heart-to-heart with the guy, or whatever you like, and it works? You still need to let the company in on the matter. Keeping the whole thing private between just the two of you or even letting the gate personel in on the matter isn't going to stay that way for very long. If you DON'T call the chief pilot or the director of operations one of them will be calling you sometime soon - when they get wind of it.

So anyway, you've let them in on the mess and everyone agrees that a passenger recantation of the charge solves the problem. The passenger recants, and you're on your way, right?

Next week the very same thing happens. Not your week at all is it? Twice in one week you're accused basically of the greatest evil a pilot can be accused of in this business. A conincidence? Perhaps, but from the look of things that's a lot less likely now and a lot less the appearance of things on the mind of anyone examining the record on the matter.

And where are you in all this? Well, you're in some deep do-do. The first time it happened you didn't get tested and you didn't refute the charge conclusively. You got off of a criminal accusation basically on your good word. No proof. That will make this strike two in the minds of many - pretty much automatically. You'll need to disprove this second time for sure, but you're now faced with the fact that no one wants any possibility of the strike-three pitch ever being thrown - let alone having a bad call send you to the bench. Even if you do test negative, there'll always be a question - in someone's mind about what really happened the first time around.

In conclusion, if you think this can't happen, I have two things to say. First, I have been drug tested three times in one week - at random. Shouldn't have happened by probability, but it did. Second, I have learned in this business that the moment you dismiss something as too unlikely to expend mental energy on, that will be the moment the matter will rise up to smite thee.

Do whatever you feel is best for you, I suppose. I'm going to go get tested because the company isn't looking out for my personal welfare any further than they can throw me. An accused drunk never vindicated is stained for his entire career - like it or not. An accused - but vindicated - drunk has a story to tell down the road.

TIS

 

[WhiteCloud]

Imediately calling the airport police in an issue like this will almost for sure cause the cancellation of the flight (at least history has shown this to be the case). Instead try talking in private to the accuser to see if there is any way to assure them that you haven't been drinking. Offer them another whiff of your breath, or whatever else it may take for them to feel comfortable with you being at the controls. If they still are not satisfied of your sobriety after all reasonable measures have been exhausted then inlist the help the airport police for a breathalyzer.

I have to respectfully disagree with this approach. Once accused of a federal crime you need to go to the appropriate person within your company AND union. Those individuals know which civil authorities to go to and many OPS manuals require it of a crewmember prior to contacting authorities. Who knows what this individual will say after the flight and what will he/she say you talked about in private. Big can of worms. Be polite and talk ONLY to your legal representative who will handle the authorities. Good thread here.

 

[English]

Why are there people on this thread that are scared of cancelling a flight? You'd rather put your flying career and the company's reputation on the line instead? It took me a long time and a lot of money to earn my certificates. I come first in a situation like this. And, sorry, I'm not going to let a passenger "take a whiff" of my breath to dispel any concerns they have of me being possibly drunk or under the influence. This is about respect, something we as pilots should not be lowering ourselves below.

If enough flights get cancelled, you can bet the flying public will not make irrational accusations against flight crews. The peer pressure alone from other passengers will prevent those few that think they are jokesters from making these disruptions.

 

[Resume Writer]

I agree that the answer in the interview is the same as in "real life." If a passenger accuses you of drinking, I guarantee someone else heard it. The seed of doubt is immediately planted and you have to do what is necessary to clear yourself AND your airline. Further, the other passengers would not want to fly having that seed planted in their head, and the airline would lose money, at the very least, and probably have a passenger tell the media that their pilot was accused of drinking and "blew it off."

The answer then becomes, that you would follow company polcy, which would most likely include notifying appropriate authorities and management, getting tested and then taking the flight once cleared, if possible.

Most likely what the airline would do (or has done because this has happened) is cancel or delay the flight if in an outstation, or call a reserve crew to take the flight if in a hub city.

As English said, passengers need to learn not to make uncalled for comments. We had a guy say the "bomb" word on a flight when we were still on the ground at the gate. We had no idea whether he was kidding or not. This was prior to 9/11 and we still took it seriously. We called the authorities, and he was removed from the aircraft. We had the bomb dogs come out, and delayed the flight till it was cleared.

I believe since 9/11, when a threat is made like this, they tow the a/c to a remote location to have the dogs come out. Not sure on this, as I have not flown in 2.5 years.
The last thing the interviewers want to hear is that you took the passenger aside, out of view of other passengers; looks like you are making a "secret" deal with the passenger and you appear guilty. That scenario fits when you get the question about thinking your "captain" has been drinking. You discuss the situation with him/her in private, out of view and earshot of the passengers. Totally different scenario.

Kathy

 

[Blueridge]

TIS,

I think you bring up some valid points. I think the system we have in place is good in the sense that it avoids unnecessary cancellations and delays for the casual smartass remark by a passenger. For example, a guy who sits down next to his buddy on the plane and says "I sure hope the pilots haven't been drinking today" is a lot different from the guy who says "Captain, I saw you boozing it up at the bar 20 minutes ago". Case #1, the card comes out. Case #2, the hell with the card, we're going to get tested.

Further, a call to the CP and a written report when you get back are no- brainer CYA actions if this were to take place. No secret side deals for me. That's only begging for problems IMO.

 

[TIS]

Yup...

...yup, yup!

Nothing else to say! Amazing isn't it?

TIS