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United pilot arrested at LHR

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twott driver

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Posts
396
I can't be the first to post this, surely???!!!

London - A United Airlines pilot was arrested at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of being over the legal alcohol limit, police confirmed on Monday.
The airline said the pilot, 44, was removed from service, adding that it would co-operate with police inquiries and was conducting its own investigation of the incident.
"At approximately 09:00 (08:00 GMT) on Sunday, officers attended an aircraft at Heathrow Terminal One and arrested a 44-year-old man," a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said.
The spokesperson, who declined to name the man in keeping with force policy, said he had been bailed to return to Heathrow police station on January 16.
"United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for abuse of violation of this well-established policy," United Airlines said in a statement.
"Safety is our No 1 priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are co-operating with authorities and conducting a full investigation."
According to The Sun newspaper, the man was a first officer and was due to fly to San Francisco before he was arrested.
The legal limit of alcohol for pilots is nine micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath, compared to the British drink-drive limit, which is 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. - AFP
 
Search showed nothing today or yesterday about this.
.01% is over the limit in UK. Years ago another pilot got arrested at Heathrow for being over the limit with the breathalizer. Later blood tests showed he had the b/a level of a non drinker. Hopefully this will end up the same way. Mouthwash would probably put you over for a while. Here in US it was .04% was over the limit and .02% was enough to get removed from a flight five years ago when I was flying.
 
Well had it been a few months ago I would call BS but seeing how the pound is down to 1.72 I suppose a proper pint is more affordable now. I hope it was from a cask and not that crappy Carling swill. My advice stick to the Euro.
 
No, this is a new "drunk".

The funny thing is, I think pilots probably are no better or worse than the average population when it comes to this sort of thing. They're held to a higher standard (duh, and rightly so), of course, but if this rates more than just a blip on a 1 time minor interest news story, I'd be surprised.

As for the alleged UAL pilot . . . well, he'll certainly have plenty of time to get the help he needs for alcoholism. Here's to wishing him an eventual recovery of a manageable disease.
 
Unfortunately, it's very recent...


United Airlines pilot arrested on suspicion of being drunk

An airline pilot was arrested in the cockpit of his plane on suspicion of being drunk before take-off.



By Chris Irvine
Last Updated: 3:14PM BST 20 Oct 2008


The 44-year-old man was led off the plane by police following a breath test at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 1 on Sunday morning.
The Boeing 777 United Airlines flight had been scheduled to fly to San Francisco.
It is thought the police moved after being tipped off by a member of the airport's ground staff, who suspected the pilot had been drinking before the 5,300-mile flight.
A Metropolitan police spokeswoman said: "At approximately 9am on Sunday, officers attended an aircraft at Heathrow Terminal One and arrested a 44-year-old man.
"The man arrested is bailed to return to Heathrow police station on January 16 pending further enquiries."
A United Airlines statement said: "United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for abuse of violation of this well-established policy.
"Safety is out No1 priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are co-operating with authorities and conducting a full investigation."
One passenger told The Sun: "We couldn't believe what we were seeing. The pilot was marched off the aircraft.
"A couple of police officers stormed onto the plane as we were all sitting down and went straight for the cockpit.
"We didn't have a clue what was happening and we were kept waiting on the plan for hours."
The passenger added: "It is horrifying to think we were apparently so close to being flown thousands of miles by somebody who could have been drinking.
"It was a horrible start to our trip but if it wasn't for the person who called the cops, our dream holiday could have become a nightmare.
The legal limit for pilots is nine micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - more than three times stricter than the drink-drive limit which is 35 micrograms.
 
The passenger added: "It is horrifying to think we were apparently so close to being flown thousands of miles by somebody who could have been drinking.
"It was a horrible start to our trip but if it wasn't for the person who called the cops, our dream holiday could have become a nightmare.
The legal limit for pilots is nine micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - more than three times stricter than the drink-drive limit which is 35 micrograms.

Oh, the humanity!

Gotta love the Sun. . . . . the equivalent of the Enquirer.
 
As for the alleged UAL pilot . . . well, he'll certainly have plenty of time to get the help he needs for alcoholism. Here's to wishing him an eventual recovery of a manageable disease.

So he allegedly works for United but is absolutely an alcoholic huh?

How about we get the facts before we force him to AA, whaddya think??
 

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