Ugh...this won't be good (Drunk US Pilot)

SurferLucas

SurferLucas

Southern Gentleman
Story just broke on the AJC courtesy of the AP.

AMSTERDAM — Dutch police say they have arrested and fined an intoxicated American pilot who was preparing to take off with a passenger jet.

The National Police Corps has not identified the pilot or his airline, but says he is a 52-year-old captain from Woodbury, New Jersey. He does not fly for a Dutch airline, according to a police statement published Tuesday.

Police say they arrested the man in the cockpit of his plane after an anonymous tip. A breath test found he had a blood alcohol content of 0.023 percent — a hair above the legal limit in the Netherlands.

The pilot was fined €700 ($900) and released, the statement said. The flight was canceled.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/dutch-police-drunk-us-613451.html
 
I can't speak for the Dutch, but the Germans had a very strict drinking and driving policy.

I think that's one of the good things about their policy on alcohol in most of Europe. Absolutely you have the right to drink booze, but they're going to hit you pretty hard when you do something stupid.

Precisely why I don't party as hard as most on overnights. Yeah its fun, but all it takes is being a hair over the limit in the morning and your career is over.

I like drinking as much as the next guy, maybe even more. But I also like having a job.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
Precisely why I don't party as hard as most on overnights. Yeah its fun, but all it takes is being a hair over the limit in the morning and your career is over.

I like drinking as much as the next guy, maybe even more. But I also like having a job.
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:yeahthat:
 
What kind of ramifications could there be for him? Our rules, at least FAA can't speak for his company, are 0.04. So does he just get a slap on the wrists from that country and airline, or could this be a real huge problem for him?
 
Going back to the JAA ground school I taught IIRC the standard for Europe is measured a little different so maybe it is a translation error. I think it is 20 MG per Liter??
From JAR OPS:
(b) A crew member shall not:
(1) Consume alcohol less than 8 hours prior to the specified reporting time for flight duty or the commencement of standby;
(2) Commence a flight duty period with a blood alcohol level in excess of 0.2 promille:
(3) Consume alcohol during the flight duty period or whilst on standby.

I bet it is in line with ICAO requirements. I think he may be toast. Anywhoo, I don't drink on or before trips. For one reason my liver probably doesn't metabolize like it did 20 yrs ago.
 

Delta Air Cancels Newark-Bound Flight on `Unfit' Crew Member in Amsterdam
By Mary Jane Credeur - Bloomberg

Delta Air Lines Inc. said it canceled a flight from Amsterdam to Newark, New Jersey, because of concern that a crew member was “unfit for duty.”

Flight 35 was scrubbed, the crew member was suspended and passengers will be rebooked on an extra plane tomorrow, Anthony Black, a Delta spokesman, said today in an e-mail. Dutch police said a 52-year-old airline captain from New Jersey was arrested on an alcohol charge, without identifying his employer.

Authorities pulled the pilot off his plane after receiving an anonymous tip that he was drunk, said Jos Klaren, a spokesman for the police. A breath test showed the pilot’s blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit, Klaren said.

“Delta’s policy is that pilots shall not report for duty with the presence of any alcohol in their system,” Black said.

The arrest was at least the third involving a U.S. pilot and alcohol in 16 months. In November, a United Airlines pilot was charged with operating an aircraft under the influence after failing a breath test at London’s Heathrow airport. An American Airlines pilot was arrested at Heathrow in May 2009 after he smelled of alcohol before a flight to Chicago.

Klaren said the pilot at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport had pulled away from the gate when police came to meet the plane. Dutch prosecutors fined the man 700 euros ($910), Klaren said.

Delta’s Black declined to elaborate on why the crew member on Flight 35 wasn’t judged to be fit to fly, or to say whether the person was a pilot or flight attendant. U.S. Federal Aviation Administration restrictions on alcohol include a ban on any drinking by a pilot within eight hours of a flight.

Flight 35 was due to depart Schiphol at 2 p.m. local time and arrive at Newark at 4:30 p.m., according to Delta’s website, which showed the trip’s status as “canceled,” without elaborating.

Delta declined to say how many people were on board or to identify the type of plane. The flight was supposed to use a Boeing Co. 767, according to industry website FlightStats.com.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Jane Credeur in Atlanta at mcredeur@bloomberg.net
 
LucasM said:
What kind of ramifications could there be for him? Our rules, at least FAA can't speak for his company, are 0.04. So does he just get a slap on the wrists from that country and airline, or could this be a real huge problem for him?
Click to expand...

I think most airlines have a zero tolerance rule for alcohol (0.00), so legal ramifications aside it could still be a problem for his career. Be careful on those overnights out there!
 
I don't really drink but would .02% even show up in your actions? To get a tip one would think someone noticed him walking funny or talking funny or smelling funny. That just seems like an incredibly low amount of BAC to even have an effect on a normal person.
 
The pilot in question is one of my friends. Pretty tragic situation because he's a solid guy.

On the topic, I didn't think readings under .025 were reliable and required a blood test.

Welp, learn something new every day!
 
Doug Taylor said:
The pilot in question is one of my friends. Pretty tragic situation because he's a solid guy.

On the topic, I didn't think readings under .025 were reliable and required a blood test.

Welp, learn something new every day!
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Anyone I might have known? Do you know the story?
 
Doug Taylor said:
The pilot in question is one of my friends. Pretty tragic situation because he's a solid guy.

On the topic, I didn't think readings under .025 were reliable and required a blood test.

Welp, learn something new every day!
Click to expand...

That sucks man...stuff like this always seems to happen to good people. The D. Bags who need to "learn the hard way" never do.
 
JoelT said:
Anyone I might have known? Do you know the story?
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I really have no additional information.

Apparently, from what I hear from "the street" is that the hotel likes to look at what time you return to your room in AMS and talk to operations if they deem it too late.

THAT'S just the rumor on the street, I have no idea if it's true or not.
 
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