Hotel van driver reports CHQ pilot as drunk.

We need to do a much better job of disciminating the information Doug was referring to. Everyone knows the 8 hour bottle to throttle rule (or 12 if your company chooses). I think some are under the impression that the 8 hr rule protects them from .04 BAC (or even .00). As others have already stated, this couldn't be more incorrect. It seems that it 's only been in the last year or so that this info is finally getting attention.

You have to be careful out there and look out for one another. The number of pilots with problems are not any different than any other profession, they might even be less, but the consequences are severe. Losing your job and possibly going to prison are very real possibilities if someone is even just slightly hungover. I'm not going to lie, I get a little nervous flying with someone who seems to have no other goal on an overnight than to find a bar. I actually wish the 12 hr rule was adopted by more carriers.
 
mshunter said:
Yep. Sounds to me like you're calling him an alcoholic. As for Gonzo's statement, I have no Idea what HIMS is, educate me.
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I'm not calling him an alcoholic at all. I'm not qualified to judge if someone is an alcoholic. If indeed this individual put the uniform on and had every intention to go to work while having a hint of alcohol in his system then he indeed has a problem. The HIMS program is exceptional and helps to get to the root of the problem. I'm sure others on here have much better knowledge than I so I'm not going to get into details. I'm sorry if I seem short, this is a program I have seen first hand help many individuals.
 
The HIMS program is a first step in the right direction. I like a drink or ten as much as the next guy, but I am stone when it comes to obeying regs and being fit for duty. OTOH, I've seen some guys who can't be rational once they've had a few. I'm not sure they're "alcoholics" (not for me to judge), but I can think of at least one who, while a fine pilot and a decent human being, has some serious trouble saying "when" (and no, sorry, it's not anyone here). When there's a genuinely non-punitive way out that doesn't threaten having a Job or a Future, I think you'll see a FLOOD of guys come through the door. But that's the key, it has to allow them to get help without it going "on the record". Fat chance, I suspect. Until alcohol problems are treated like STDs ("hush hush and on the QT", if you will) this will continue to happen. And the self-righteous choirs will continue to warm up in the wings to toss the addict under the bus because they themselves are SOOOOOOOO Perfect. Rinse, wash, repeat. Shame.
 
darrenf said:
The police don't really care what the company guidelines are.
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The police aren't the issue, they don't generally have jurisdiction in aviation matters as it is federally regulated. The police may care as some states do have laws about operating aircraft intoxicated, but even if you within those laws, but are still breaking the company policy in the FOM, you could be held legally responsible by the FAA as the FOM is a regulatory document approved by the FAA.

Either way, illegal or not, explaining why you were let go from your former employer at your next job interview will probably end the interview.
 
We need to police ourselves more effectively. We're one accident or high profile event away from adding a preflight checklist item that says "Breathalizer Test....Complete." Now something like that would not alter my actions one bit because I, like the VAST majority of pilots, am not the problem. But we better police ourselves and accept accountability or it will be forced upon us. I think we can all agree that that wouldn't be a good thing.
 
Alcohol, depression & sleep issues... they affect more pilots than you could ever imagine, and it's hidden like being gay in the 50's.

I wish there was a way for pilots to get the help they NEED for these issues, without an axe over their heads for admission and/or being out of work for months or years to clear the red tape from OKC.
 
MQAAord said:
Alcohol, depression & sleep issues... they affect more pilots than you could ever imagine, and it's hidden like being gay in the 50's.
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Very true.

The airline biz's dirty little secret. We're largely self-medicating zombies.
 
Doug Taylor said:
We're largely self-medicating zombies.
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Quite so. The rub is where we ask the sympathy any other human being would get. We're all pulling down six figures (at the minimum) and working six days a month! I read it in the newspaper, so it must be true. Let's face it. We're all just a bunch of button-pressing primadonnas drinking like fish and expecting to be treated like royalty. What we need is more "nose-to-the-grindstone" 300 hour "experts" who treat booze like herpes and just want to fly something bigger or cooler. Those are the dudes in whose hands you really want your life to be. God forgive me, but I'm liable to CHEER when the first airliner eats dirt at the hands of an ambitious, doesn't-know-poop-about-poop 250 hour wonder. Oh, wait, that already happened.
 
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