Drunk United Airlines Pilot Arrested on Heathrow

Drunk United Airlines Pilot Arrested on Heathrow

news.scotsman.com

A PILOT has been arrested on a passenger jet on suspicion of being drunk. The 44-year-old man was arrested following a breath test as the plane waited at Terminal One of Heathrow Airport yesterday.
The man, a first officer for United Airlines, was due to embark on a flight to San Francisco. He has been bailed until January.

(visit the link for the full news article)

It's the third pilot in a year time that was arrested for being drunk. This idiot wanted to fly the United Airlines Boeing 777 from London Heathrow to San Francisco. Luckily enough for the crew and passengers, ground handling employees warned the local authorities about him.

Seriously, how the [SNIP] could a pilot get drunk while having the responsibility over more than 300 passengers?

news.scotsman.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.


[edit on 20-10-2008 by Gemwolf]

Yeah that's crazy, I can only assume he wasn't very drunk, maybe a couple of drinks. So he assumed he would be ok getting away with it. But a pilot with 300 passengers! I would be scared even if pilot simply had just a headache while on the job lol.



[edit on 20-10-2008 by _Phoenix_]

Devil's advocate response:
I bet he was really not very drunk at all, and it is probably not so hard to fly those planes once you're used to it...

Yea well thats what the First Officer is for, to fly the airplane and do most of the work. The Captains job is to drink coffee and sober up and look important. The darn jet can fly itself and land itself with a Cat III approach.

Originally posted by Gamechanger
Devil's advocate response:
I bet he was really not very drunk at all, and it is probably not so hard to fly those planes once you're used to it...

but that puts alot of lives in the word "probably"

would you be comfortable knowing that your pilot had been drinking? I know I wouldn't.

reply to post by Gamechanger



EXCEPT he signed a contract avowing he would NOT consume alcohol within 24 hours of a flight.

Didn't honour the contract

Sacked, fired, out on the kerb ... no excuses, no more chances. Done.

Aparently pasenger jets are BOOOORRRRING to fly. Mostly automated anyway, all a pilot is there for is if something goes wrong.

I do agree tho, pilots should not be drunk when they fly.

So I know just a little about this, and nothing about this guy. First, there are three pilots LHR-SFO. Second, the more likely story is not obviously inebriated but having consumed too much the night before, too close to check-intervention time. In other words, blood alcohol limit exceeded ... probably barely, but enough to have crossed the line. Third, I suspect the pilot (and I don't know whether it is he or she, Captain or first officer at this point; but age suggests F/O) acted aloof, kept to himself, and did everything to disguise the fact he thought he "may have been drinking too close to the limit." Fourth, a pilot who does drink too much too close to departure time has a real option: call in sick. Yeah, I know this would inconvenience the passengers if he (or she) couldn't be replaced in time BUT it creates no hazard for the jet and further an interval, and opportunity, for identification and intervention. BY THE WAY: yes, it does TOO require skill to fly that jet, and the 747-400 and any of the Airbuses, and it still the COOLEST JOB you'll ever fantasize about and it has NEVER BEEN SLIGHTLY BORING! Peace out, dudes.

Not a big deal for the commercial pilots. I hear from a reliable source (ATS) that those plans are flown by remote control anyway. The pilots are there just to look cool.

A lot of times it's the night before that gets these guys. If you have 10 drinks and try to "sleep it off", you'll still have the smell and blow positive if the limit is low enough. The culture is that when you land, you go to the bar and have some drinks, then to the hotel to sleep. Sometimes the drinking gets a little crazy. Most airlines have time rules such as 12 hours between drinking and flying, but if you booze it hard enough, you're toast.