Pilots & Alcohol
 

Can anyone familiar with the aviation industry tell us how common it is for pilots to be flying their planes under the influence of alcohol?<BR><BR>Gerry K

Watch out, your local AOPA (Airplane Owners and Pilots Association) representatives will be at your backdoor with cudgels -- or at the very least I GUARANTEE you will all start seeing letters to the editors in a campaign to persuade us what upstanding good guys all pilots are and how we shouldn't take this incident as anything other than a dreadful exception.<BR><BR>But I'm here to tell you that while I doubt that there are many occasions on which commercial airline pilots would take this kind of risk, the number of occasions is not 0 -- as a passenger, I have had at least 2 trips where I had reason to wonder. <BR><BR>Moreover, I have known a number of pilots in general aviation who joked with others about the condition in which they flew a plane after a football game or similar event. AOPA will officially deplore and condemn such things and deny that their members behave that way. But every pilot knows of at least one other pilot who pushed the envelope with alcohol or drugs.

Perhaps you'd be interested in a program begun 15 years ago to bring the driving records of pilots into their periodic reviews. Pilots' DWI violations were deemed relevant to their flying status. A number of pilots were found to have DWI convictions.

Glad these pilots don't have guns!

Well to start there were the two Delta pilots caught intoxicated earlier in the year.

You idiots have nothing better to do than troll this pathetic site, bashing pilots who are 99.9999999% perfect. First, if your goal is to chip away at their confidence and make air travel less safe, then I spit on you. Second, you have a much greater chance of being killed in a fiery car wreck driving by the corner pub of your pathetic country-ass one horse town on any given day of the week by the town drunk. So get a freaking grip.

Youreall, your second point is well taken. But otherwise we have a decent, civil discussion of a situation which may or may not be a problem. Like anything, it deserves to be discussed and your fascist attempts to squelch are unappreciated.

I figure if the subject can be the #2 story on NBC Nightly News tonite, and these same questions asked, it is quite fair and appropriate to discuss it here.

Please, let me apologize for over-reacting. My comments were ill-advised and far out of proportion to the issue at hand.<BR>It's just that ever since I was a kid, I've always loved flying and airplanes, and I've always wanted to be a pilot. I've always thought of them as pure, clean, and above reproach.<BR>I guess I was lashing out because part of my idealized world came crashing down on me when I read the report os those 2 men.<BR>I'm just so disappointed. I....I...I can't go on. My eyes are filled with tears and I can't see the keys anymore.<BR>I'm so sorry if I hurt any of you with my comments.

Your chances of getting killed in a plane crash with impaired pilots are considerably higher than if the pilots had stayed straight and clean. <BR><BR>The chances of being in a plane crash are, PER FLIGHT HOUR, much higher than your chances of being in a car crash, PER ROAD HOUR. There are fewer planes and fewer people-hours in the air than on the ground. Moreover, while the 3000 crashes per year of general and civil aviation may "only" include about 1600 fatalities (see 2001 NTSB stats), the far-fewer number of commercial airline crashes are almost always fatal to everyone. <BR><BR>There's a reason that pilots pay very high premiums for their life insurance. On the other hand, those two will probably never get their pilot's license back, anyway. Even if the heavy-handed AOPA behaves as if the air and the airports belonged to them exclusively (they are currently fighting all attempts to improve screening of pilots and security at small airports), they have all had to meet very stringent requirements to get and keep their licenses, and substance abuse is at the top of the "NO NO NO not now not EVER" list.

While on our honeymoon a couple of years ago, wife and flew a Mexicana poodle jumper from Cancun-Cozumel the pilot was drinking a can of Modelo beer while flying over to Cozumel.

A 'poodle' jumper........were you transporting dogs? PUDDLE JUMPER.

No, I meant poodle jumper. We flew so low, he had to climb to get over dogs.

Actually I know an American pilot who bragged he partied right up until he took off. I think it happens more than we think....

This morning on the TOday Show, a woman cam eon saying that she was thrown off a flight for making a joke that asked if everyone was sober up front. I thought it was funny but apparently the pilots did not. I hope she sues that crappy airline.

Frankly, I am glad they tossed the woman off the plane. The last thing I want when I am flying is to hear some lame passenger who wrongly thinks they are funny make a "joke" about the condition of the people who I am about to entrust my life to. The worst part is that this pathetic woman cum comedian passenger will probably sue and win, thereby driving the cost of MY airline ticket up.

Well the airline overreacted as she did not pose a security or safety threat to anyone. THe pilots were way out of line and I hope she gets her dues and her upgrades!

Hmm, given the news today, perhaps we should bring up this convo again??? I understand the pilot was 4x the legal limit yesterday. Thoughts?<BR>Laura<BR>

I think that it is reasonable to assume that some pilots, like members of the general public, have addiction problems whether it be drugs or alcohol. To assume something else would be questionable. This issue exists in the transportation industry as a whole-rail, road, and sea. The real issue is what do the carriers do to identify potential problems and resolve them and what penalites do they impose on other crew members for failure to report any suspect behaviour. Collegues who enable this behaviour by covering up or failing to report are also a significant challenge to the industry.

Read in the paper this morning another pilot (Delta?) was caught by the screeners as having booze on his breath and tested over the legal limit...

Here are a few thoughts about this...<BR><BR>Pilots get drunk more frequently than the rest of us because of their lifestyle (different cities...away from home...).<BR><BR>Pilots are also risk takers. They think that they are aboce the laws of physics. Many of them sky dive, mountain climb, ride jet skis, etc... I am a nerdy utility employee and don't do anything risky.<BR><BR>I can defend against drunk drivers by checking out who is at the wheel when I am a passenger, by driving the largest SUV around, and by not driving between Midnight and 5 am.<BR><BR>I cannot defend against drunk pilots. I cannot even ask them whether they have been drinking or not. Who do they think they are?<BR><BR>This causes fear in me and many other people. When so many lives and so much fear is at stake why don't they simply test pilots for alcohol and drugs BEFORE an accident happens?<BR><BR>Quite frankly, I am happy to see the monopolistic airlines losing money and their bigshots, snooty stewardesses, jackass gate attendants, thieving baggage handlers all lose their jobs...<BR><BR>Ha Ha I'm working. You're not. Too many years of bad service, poor security, and shoddy mechanical repairs caused you to go out of business.<BR><BR>Ha Ha Ha.... Get a real job.

To the above poster, how do you defend against someone else driving drunk? Despite your best intentions you can't prevent other drunk drivers from taking to the road. And you don't even need to be in car to be hit by a drunk driver. They plow down those on sidewalks, drive into stores and houses and of course, they are never the ones hurt or killed.<BR><BR>I was even in a car accident once caused by a drunk walking down the middle of the highway. Another car tried to avoid him and hit my car head on.<BR><BR>I have absolutely no sympathy for drunks period.