Oliver Paul Reason Jr. Drunk & Fired

[CarjCapt]

You are correct they are indeed trained to do this for that very reason. I don't
talk to them.[/QUOTE

I never talked to them from the beginning. Because you don't talk to thoes you disrepect.

 

[75M]

They're just trying to do their job. Let it go.

 

[jetguy]

Oliver Paul Reason Jr., 37 of Airtran Airways. You failed your breath test and showed up drunk. Your dumba$$ should have called in sick. How can anybody feel for such an idiot! Your a disgrace to the uniform and profession. At least they caught the guy. Good heads up TSA for weeding out a bad seed.

Hey, I know Paul! In his defense I'd just like to say he's not a "bad seed". He's always been a good hard working guy that has in the past stood up for pilots in our own union in an effort to make things better for all of us. Yes he screwed up. But believe me, when a guy has a Wife and kids, as Paul does, he doesn't need any reminders.

He has made a mess of what most people would consider great life and career. After ten spotless years with the company he stumbled. As tragic as this is for him and his family, we as pilots can at least learn from it.

In one sense, your quote is well taken. As of late, this kind of thing is happening far to often in our industry when a simple phone call can nip it in the bud. There gunnin for us boys, please be carefull out there and save us all the embarrassment.


CALL IN SICK!!! It's that simple.

 

[EMBATP]

here's a thought..

hey since he was packing, maybe he should have strted blasting his way out when the cops came? what do you think FN FAL?

 

[G4G5]

Pilot Facing Intoxication Charge Is Fired
Saturday, January 15, 2005 7:02 PM EST
The Associated Press


AirTran Airways has fired a pilot who was arrested and charged with operating an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol.

A breath test found that pilot Oliver Paul Reason Jr. had a blood alcohol level of 0.091 when he was arrested Wednesday, according to a police report. The legal limit for driving in Nevada is 0.08, and federal regulations prohibit flying at 0.04 percent or higher.

After being released from the Clark County Detention Center on Thursday, Reason, 37, was flown to Atlanta, where company officials fired him for violating a policy against flying with a blood-alcohol level higher than 0.04 percent, said Tad Hutcheson, an airline spokesman.

"He won't be flying for AirTran Airways," Hutcheson said.

Reason did not return a message left at his home in Newnan, Ga., near Atlanta. The National Pilots Association, which represents AirTran pilots, would not comment on the case.

Reason could lose his pilot license if a Federal Aviation Administration investigation finds he violated regulations. Besides the blood-alcohol limit, federal rules also prohibit pilots from drinking alcohol less than eight hours before a flight.

Reason told officers he had not had a drink in about 10 hours, according to the arrest report.

Las Vegas police were called late Wednesday after a security checkpoint screener smelled alcohol on Reason's breath.

The pilot was checking in with the screener because Reason was part of a program allowing certain pilots to carry guns in the cockpit.

The officers escorted Reason from the plane. Police said Reason's breath smelled of alcohol, but the pilot was coherent and cooperative and did not appear impaired, according to the arrest report.

 

[gadawgsjetgirl]

Quick to judge...

You know reading all the threads, its a shame that we are all so quick to judge. Any other field, it wouldn't have been front page or national headline news. He would have been taken aside and sent for help. But we instead crucify him in the news and within our precious little circle. Instead we should (Air Tran) should have helped him to get help and to salvage his life and career. I know this guy. He's a good man. A family man. We should be thinking "but for the grace of God, go I..." So think about that when you condemn him. Who among us is worthy to judge?

 

[SWA/FO]

You think bring up a thread over a year old helps? In what way?

Do you have an update...what has happened to this guy in the last year? Has he fixed/addressed his problem?

 

[81Horse]

Doesn't AirTran have a HIMS program? All the union carriers do.

 

[gadawgsjetgirl]

Last I heard and I am sad to say that I haven't heard anything in the last few months is that he is still not flying. He is a great pilot. I know the charges were ALL dropped and he has addressed his drinking. The FAA is pretty rigid about reentry and you apparently have to follow the program they set forth to the letter. All I know is that this guy had only one dream as far as career (just like the rest of us) and that was he wanted to fly. I hope he gets back in the air. I'd fly with him. I only bring it up because low and behold another pilot is in the hot seat, but imagine that, the brits didn't release his name to the media. Maybe the brits are more civilized than the Americans where we fed this poor guy to the wolves then left him to fend for himself. Innocent until proven guilty only applies to pedofiles in this country.

 

[PCL_128]

Doesn't AirTran have a HIMS program? All the union carriers do.

Airtran does have a union. They are represented by the NPA. I would certainly prefer that they were ALPA, but they are not non-union.

 

[gadawgsjetgirl]

Air Tran didn't even offer him help. They just fired him as soon as his feet hit Atlanta soil. Its a shame. I understand ZERO TOLERANCE and if he had flown it would be different but there should be some assistance given the individual. Who is to say that he wouldn't have realized his mistake and walked off the plane on his own?

 

[Ty Webb]

Air Tran didn't even offer him help. They just fired him as soon as his feet hit Atlanta soil. Its a shame. I understand ZERO TOLERANCE and if he had flown it would be different but there should be some assistance given the individual. Who is to say that he wouldn't have realized his mistake and walked off the plane on his own?

You know, you're really getting into something you don't need to be getting into here, and in a public forum.

Before you get up on your soapbox, maybe you ought to talk to the passengers of the flight he showed up to fly . . . or talk to the crew that had to go out there and fly the empty airplane home, or talk to any of us who have had to put up with the additional scrutiny and stupid comments from passengers.

I could say more, but I'll leave it at that.

 

[A350]

No union is going to help someone who shows up drunk to work.....it is a cardinal sin in the aviation business.

HIMS programs are in place everywhere, not just union carriers. If you knew squat, you would know that a HIMS program is no good to anyone who shows up drunk. It only is available to those who ask for help licking the bottle, not those who have emptied one, shown up for work, gets caught, and then screams help.

A350

 

[gadawgsjetgirl]

You know, you're really getting into something you don't need to be getting into here, and in a public forum. Before you get up on your soapbox, maybe you ought to talk to the passengers of the flight he showed up to fly . . . or talk to the crew that had to go out there and fly the empty airplane home, or talk to any of us who have had to put up with the additional scrutiny and stupid comments from passengers. I could say more, but I'll leave it at that.

But what scrutiny would you be under if they hadn't hung him out to dry and crucified him in the press. I fly. I don't feel any added pressure because of what happened to him. I do feel that what happened to him was uncalled for. Any other profession would have found a way to allow him to get help. You know I use to have the attitude, you know the one, strolling through the airport with your head up in the clouds, "Yep, pilot." Actually I was mistaken for flight attendant more than pilot. But there is an attitude that we have, the better than attitude. I don't have that anymore. I am blessed to be doing something I enjoy and get paid for it. I am grateful for the opportunities that God has given me and the support of my family. I can't tell you what the other crew members felt "flying an empty plane." I can't tell you what the passengers felt. I just know the way the whole thing played out left a BAD, BAD taste in my mouth.

 

[radarlove]

"At no point was the flight under the captain's command," said Tad Hutcheson of AirTran Airways

Uh...then who was the captain?

 

[Ty Webb]

Captain Morgan . . . . .


.

 

[gadawgsjetgirl]

And you think that is funny? I am trying to seriously discuss the shortcomings of our profession. And just like a man, negate the issues and try to make a joke. I think we would all benefit from more women in our field. The scrutiny you feel is of your own making with attitudes like that.


Moderator reviewed.

 

[CA1900]

And you think that is funny? I am trying to seriously discuss the shortcomings of our profession. And just like a man...

Ohhhh, the irony....

 

[crosscut]

But blah blah blah left a BAD, BAD taste in my mouth.

Please don't tell me you expected some kind of meaningful & sincere exchanges to follow your suspiciously concerned post. Thanks for thinking of Paul but your public confession of a BAD mouth taste a YEAR after the fact leaves me questioning your true & thinly veiled motive here. I know Paul doesn't appreciate it as if it even mattered to ya. Please go away.

 

[PCL_128]

And just like a man, negate the issues and try to make a joke. I think we would all benefit from more women in our field.

Just like a man? Alright, she asked for it:

Go fetch me a sandwich!