banned username 1
Banned User
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2001
- Posts
- 412
I don't have my flight ops manual with me so I have to go by memory. As I recall, you don't have an option to refuse- well, you DO, but if you do, it is taken as a admission of guilt (or no contest). At a large station like MIA, there are certainly UAL personnel who are responsible to handle both the employee and the situation and get the proper tests administered and monitored. It's only fair to all participants. As far as breath tests go, it was informative (as well as funny) to see "MythBusters" try to fool the breathalizer (they couldn't).
You are all correct when you state that you'd WANT the test to establish your innocence. Also, as we're all aware, very seldom does any news reporting agency get the entire story entirely correct. There are a lot of places here where factual errors are possible- one glaring one is that UAL "suspended" the pilot. They didn't "suspend" anybody.
As Eagleflip said, statistically, there are going to be pilots who have problems with alcohol or drugs. The amazing thing is that in this day of being "kinder and gentler" with numerous intervention and confidentiality programs, that pilots will endure the lifestyle and it's inherent risks by continuing down a dead-end street.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this whole story.
Oh, as an interesting aside, a fellow pilot once told me that a flight attendant came to the cockpit telling of a passenger who was concerned about the safety of the flight because "they had seen the pilot drinking a beer". You can imagine the captain's response and all of the emotions. He went back and met with the passenger and told them that it was a pretty serious accusation (and other passengers had heard the charge) they were making. How did they come to that conclusion? The passenger was steadfast. "I know you were, because I saw you myself as I got on the airplane. I looked right through the window and saw you had a beer on your table." The captain proceeded to tell them that they were looking at the first class section of the aircraft- NOT the cockpit! Then he demanded to have a breath test, which was negative, and went on to fly the trip- after throwing the passenger off the plane.
You are all correct when you state that you'd WANT the test to establish your innocence. Also, as we're all aware, very seldom does any news reporting agency get the entire story entirely correct. There are a lot of places here where factual errors are possible- one glaring one is that UAL "suspended" the pilot. They didn't "suspend" anybody.
As Eagleflip said, statistically, there are going to be pilots who have problems with alcohol or drugs. The amazing thing is that in this day of being "kinder and gentler" with numerous intervention and confidentiality programs, that pilots will endure the lifestyle and it's inherent risks by continuing down a dead-end street.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this whole story.
Oh, as an interesting aside, a fellow pilot once told me that a flight attendant came to the cockpit telling of a passenger who was concerned about the safety of the flight because "they had seen the pilot drinking a beer". You can imagine the captain's response and all of the emotions. He went back and met with the passenger and told them that it was a pretty serious accusation (and other passengers had heard the charge) they were making. How did they come to that conclusion? The passenger was steadfast. "I know you were, because I saw you myself as I got on the airplane. I looked right through the window and saw you had a beer on your table." The captain proceeded to tell them that they were looking at the first class section of the aircraft- NOT the cockpit! Then he demanded to have a breath test, which was negative, and went on to fly the trip- after throwing the passenger off the plane.
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