Talon pilot arrested for being drunk.

Yeah well in that case I guess I'm just glad nobody was hurt. With any luck he'll get through the insanity and find something else to do. Poor bastard. Something has to be seriously wrong if you're trying to pick up the clearance and can't spell your own name.
 
You'd think the captain would've notice there was a problem when the FO showed up and said "hold ma beer and watch this."
 
So, when I see headlines about "omg drunk pilots" my first thought is always, "Was this going through TSA at 0530 and they smell it on him because he wasn't very responsible last night and now blows a .02 still?" Definitely not ok, don't get me wrong, but I can see how that can happen. Or, "Is it one of these cases where it's later in the day and they are legit legally intoxicated?" Again, neither ok, and I'm not even suggesting one is more ok than the other -- but in these more extreme cases I think it can't possible be the first time, and have they flown drunk before? I mean, you'd think yes but how would no one smell it. I know they say vodka is odorless, but as a vodka drinker myself, I know with that much alcohol and once your body starts processing it, you smell it still. That alcohol breath yuck.

I just can't imagine someone being drunk and flying a plane full of people. Any plane, but especially commercial/airline. Wow.
 
KLB said:
Well. The guy's name has been released. I'm not going to post it here. But it has been released.
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Once his name was released, he was crucified on another pilot forum that he participated in.
 
CFI A&P said:
Once his name was released, he was crucified on another pilot forum that he participated in.
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....on a Facebook page also. It has been removed by the administration though. Actually the guy doing the most of the crucifying took quite the lashing also.
 
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KLB said:
....on a Facebook page also. It has been removed by the administration though. Actually the guy doing the most of the crucifying took quite the lashing also.
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Yup, I hear an exorcism was needed.


Sent from my StarTac using Etch A Sketch.
 
KLB said:
....on a Facebook page also. It has been removed by the administration though. Actually the guy doing the most of the crucifying took quite the lashing also.
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PJP is still up to their antics I hear? Lol.

Look at the end of the day, it's unprofessional, deplorable and inexcusable. But this guy was an alcoholic who had a real issue and needed real help. This happens in all industries and it would have been nice to have an avenue at Talon to get some help. I fault the captain more than the FO here. The FO blew a .30 AFTER THEY FREAKING LANDED. There is no way the captain didn't know when they showed up in the morning.
 
Inverted said:
PJP is still up to their antics I hear? Lol.

Look at the end of the day, it's unprofessional, deplorable and inexcusable. But this guy was an alcoholic who had a real issue and needed real help. This happens in all industries and it would have been nice to have an avenue at Talon to get some help. I fault the captain more than the FO here. The FO blew a .30 AFTER THEY FREAKING LANDED. There is no way the captain didn't know when they showed up in the morning.
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I'd be suprised if Talon didn't have a HIMS program. Every operator I've worked for has had one.
 
Inverted said:
PJP is still up to their antics I hear? Lol.

Look at the end of the day, it's unprofessional, deplorable and inexcusable. But this guy was an alcoholic who had a real issue and needed real help. This happens in all industries and it would have been nice to have an avenue at Talon to get some help. I fault the captain more than the FO here. The FO blew a .30 AFTER THEY FREAKING LANDED. There is no way the captain didn't know when they showed up in the morning.
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I think the jury is still out whether it was post flight.
If you listen to the ATC audio provided he's getting a full route clearance.

I have zero reservations to indefinitely suspend certificates. Wanton disregard for safety is inexcusable. Alcoholism or not.
 
KLB said:
I'd be suprised if Talon didn't have a HIMS program. Every operator I've worked for has had one.
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First charter company I worked for didn't have one. Knowing Talons history, if the do have one, you better not use it.
 
Nark said:
I think the jury is still out whether it was post flight.
If you listen to the ATC audio provided he's getting a full route clearance.

I have zero reservations to indefinitely suspend certificates. Wanton disregard for safety is inexcusable. Alcoholism or not.
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Yea I am reading conflicting reports. I love the last line of the article posted on page one though. "The accused pilot is from Florida."
 
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I'm glad we have HIMS.

The good thing about HIMS is that it empowered people that were having problems to seek help BEFORE there was a circumstance like this. I have a colleague that had a pretty nasty drinking problem but was always fearful of seeking help because, at the time, he didn't want to risk being medically disqualified and he also had the impression that he was the only pilot in the world with a substance abuse (alcohol) problem.

Umm. Nope!

So the program enabled him to take the time to take advantage of the resources that were made accessible by the HIMS program and he's doing great the last time I saw him.
 
AAPalmTree said:
Education about the disease/program would help you understand.
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I agree except.

I have no sympathy for this person. Even if the BAC testing machine was off and it was .20 it is still 5 times too high.

After living with an alcoholic for several years I can say that the best thing for them is to hit rock bottom early. That way they might rebuild their life sooner. Earlier I was an enabler, thinking they would get their life together, it did not happen. She was in a car accident early on and when I got there I found alcohol in the car and hid it from the police. If I had not done that and made the police give her a BAC test things might be different.

Four almost five years later we are still trying to rebuild our life's. Five hospital stays and five stays in recovery centers and we are still working on it. I am on my last chance with her, I have said this before. My boss paid to send her to Hazelden, nice thing about a corporate job. They wanted her to stay 3 months but she would only stay 36 days. That was two years ago and she has had two failures since.
 
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