Airline Says Pilot Did Not Take Blood-Alcohol Test

dbaker · 08-02-2003, 12:26 AM

Airline Says Pilot Did Not Take Blood-Alcohol Test

Quote:

An AirTran Airways pilot who federal screeners stopped in the Dayton airport because they thought he might have been intoxicated was never given a blood-alcohol test before he was allowed to fly.

jetmech717 · 08-02-2003, 09:14 AM

Quote:

The federal Transportation Security Administration in June fired Fader, screener Debra Cummings of Troy and their supervisor, Robert Phelan of Dayton, because of the pilot case. The TSA alleged Fader and Cummings were rude to the pilot and Phelan notified airport police of the alcohol allegation before verifying it.

Quote:

AirTran officials said last week that they complained to TSA officials about the screeners’ treatment of the pilot, but didn’t call for the screeners’ firings.

Sounds to me like this was handled wrong by everyone invloved, I dont know if the pilot had been drinking or not. I certainly hope not, but I guess we'll never know.

NWgoldelite · 08-02-2003, 09:22 AM

Here's one where a Continental pilot was on cocaine when the airplane crashed. So I guess we shouldn't fly Continental because history will repeat itself.

http://www.health20-20.org/how_high.htm

andrewonline · 08-02-2003, 11:04 AM

Quote:

MIAMI -Airport checkpoint screeners prevented a drunk America West crew from piloting a flight to Phoenix on Monday, police said.

Quote:

America West pilots are prohibited from consuming alcohol within 12 hours of flying "This is obviously very disturbing news," said America West spokesman Jim Sabourin. "Anything that jeopardizes safety will not be tolerated."

Quote:

Cloyd's blood alcohol content registered .091 on the test and Hughes, .084, police said. In Florida, a .08 reading is considered legally drunk. Passengers were told the flight had been canceled "due to unforeseen circumstances," police said. Sabourin said they were transferred to other airlines.

It's obvious that America West and AirTran are responsible for what happped.

jetmech717 · 08-06-2003, 06:58 PM

I dont see AirTrans name anywhere on your post? are you being sarcastic?

Nugget · 08-25-2003, 03:13 PM

I'm sure that andrewonline was referring to the original post referencing the AirTran incident as well as his reference to the America West incident.

While I wouldn't say that the two airlines were /to blame/ for the incidents, it's clear that the airline bears the responsibility for taking reasonable and effective measures to prevent this sort of thing from happening.

Based on frequency of media-reported events, it seems that America West has a higher incidence of intoxicated pilots, which leads me to think that their internal policies and enforcement might be insufficient. Beyond that, it's the fault of the pilots and I would hope that the industry has zero tolerance and even less forgiveness for such behavior.

jetmech717 · 08-26-2003, 11:10 AM

I agree nugget, No matter what anyone thinks, a large company with thousands of employees is going to have some bad apples, or they could be good people who are just having a bad time in their life right now, either way they have to remember there job and that hundreds of people depend on them for a safe flight (whether their the pilot, mechanic, flight attendant...) Its hard to stay professional all the time but I guess thats part of the challenge also.

08-06-2003, 06:58 PM	#5
jetmech717 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Atlanta Hartsfield Int. Airport Posts: 171	?????????????? I dont see AirTrans name anywhere on your post? are you being sarcastic?

08-26-2003, 11:10 AM	#7
jetmech717 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Atlanta Hartsfield Int. Airport Posts: 171	i agree I agree nugget, No matter what anyone thinks, a large company with thousands of employees is going to have some bad apples, or they could be good people who are just having a bad time in their life right now, either way they have to remember there job and that hundreds of people depend on them for a safe flight (whether their the pilot, mechanic, flight attendant...) Its hard to stay professional all the time but I guess thats part of the challenge also.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

08-02-2003, 09:22 AM	#3
NWgoldelite Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Seattle,WA (SEA) Terminal S, and CO B gates. Posts: 238	Here's one where a Continental pilot was on cocaine when the airplane crashed. So I guess we shouldn't fly Continental because history will repeat itself. http://www.health20-20.org/how_high.htm

08-25-2003, 03:13 PM	#6
Nugget Senior Member Business Class Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: AUS [Austin, TX, USA] Posts: 611	I'm sure that andrewonline was referring to the original post referencing the AirTran incident as well as his reference to the America West incident. While I wouldn't say that the two airlines were /to blame/ for the incidents, it's clear that the airline bears the responsibility for taking reasonable and effective measures to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Based on frequency of media-reported events, it seems that America West has a higher incidence of intoxicated pilots, which leads me to think that their internal policies and enforcement might be insufficient. Beyond that, it's the fault of the pilots and I would hope that the industry has zero tolerance and even less forgiveness for such behavior.