May
19
stuttgart asked:
‘Drunk’ crew claim cancels flight
This is the most recent incident. There have been many others.
How many incidents are there that we never hear about?
The time and expense of a breath test are both low. No doubt some pilots will resist the proposal but pax safety should take priority. Pilots need to be 100% alert and sober.
TOMMIE
‘Drunk’ crew claim cancels flight
____________________________________________________________________
This is the most recent incident. There have been many others.
How many incidents are there that we never hear about?
The time and expense of a breath test are both low. No doubt some pilots will resist the proposal but pax safety should take priority. Pilots need to be 100% alert and sober.
TOMMIE
Comments
15 Responses to “Should airline pilots take compulsory alcohol breath tests before a flight?”
ELISEO
Absolutely. I also vote for a drug test also.
CARLOS
duh. no drunk pilots.
ALBERT
yes they should and get done for speeding
ALEX
You are absolutely right! When I first started hearing about piots and alcohol, I could not believe my ears! Yet nothing seems to be in place to keep this from happening.
DUDLEY
yes..they should do it randomly.
GABRIEL
Yes they should. And so should school bus drivers. I can remember a few times when our bus driver was either high or on something and driving like a maniac and swearing at the kids who got rowdy.
JOSH
In aviation medicine until the early 1960s the idea that pilots would fly while under the influence of alcohol was taboo. In the United States of America, the taboo was broken when it became known that 30% of fatally injured pilots in general aviation had been under the influence of alcohol Since then the rate has declined to 10%. No fatal accidents involving alcohol have been recorded in airline passenger transport. The prevalence of pilots flying under the influence of alcohol is unknown. The lowest studied blood alcohol concentration with impaired flying skill today is 0.025%, effectively suggesting that the permitted level should be zero, but many aviation authorities have not yet translated such findings into rules and regulations. In the early 1970s the US Federal Air Surgeon began to re-issue licenses for rehabilitated alcoholic pilots. Previously alcoholism had been a reason for mandatory permanent grounding. The possibility of returning to the cockpit first opened the way to early recognition of alcoholic pilots on a larger scale. Today many airlines have their own alcohol programs - to what extent I don’t know.
But It totally agree with you. Pilots and crew should be 100% alcohol and drug free in their jobs.
RUBEN
Absolutely. It can’t be too hard or expensive to administer test. Police do it all the time. Pilots union probably objects … their jobs might be put in danger, as well they should be.
Pilots are human and they, like all of us, will make mistakes but they are in a position to destroy a lot of lives. The bar should be higher for them.
DAMIAN
Let’s test the truck drivers too. Don’t forget the bus drivers and taxi drivers, oh the ups guy and the mailman, get that soccer mom while you are at it. Did I mention the guy driving the train, the cops and firemen also. Those darn school teachers need it too, and the worse bunch, those polititions. Did I forget anyone? How about any sap that is going to operate anything? No! Let’s just ban alcohol from the world.
WALLACE
“Eight hours from bottle to throttle” is the term pilots use as a basis for their drinking before flying.
I am uncomfortable with a pilot being under the influence of ANYTHING at anytime.
FELIX
You say the incident involved the “cabin crew”–not the flight crew.
BRUNO
I belive that that this will have benefits and problems.
One, it may be ruled as a uncontitiunal for unwarrated searches, but with airline safety, can probaley get approved as long as the Airlines in charge of this, and not the governement. Second is that the equipment would have to be purchased, and people trained, which is an unneccessary cost to already struggling airlines, as they have problems with pilots drinking, but not on a large enough scale to warrant the added costs.
Also, the majority of airline pilots will not allow another pilot to fly if they are drunk, or under the influence. I know a few pilots, and the position they take, is either your calling in sick, or i am, and if i do, i will report why.. so the pilot that has been drinking is forced to call in sick, and not fly. And every pilot i know, will submit to a breath test if any one blames them of being drunk.
PAUL
It is exceedingly rare for a commercial pilot to be drunk while on duty. Although at first thought this may sound like a decent idea, it is fraught with problems. Pilots may fly several flights per day into and out of various size stations. Licensed personnel would have to be on hand at all hours of the day and night to test dozens of pilots. Conversely, at small stations, someone would always have to be on hand and paid a salary even though maybe only a few crew come in throughout a 24 hour period. Pilots have to have time to buy food and eat between flights - can you imagine having to also find time to report to a testing facility clear across a huge terminal? Also, there is always the case of false positives causing innocent people to lose their jobs. A simple thing such as mouthwash may cause this. If you’re going to test pilots, then you may as well start testing everyone before they do anything that requires leaving their house in a vehicle ! And how about cab drivers, bus drivers, ambulance drivers, doctors, nurses, truck drivers — there would be no end in sight.
Pilots and crewmembers are already subject to random, surprise drug and alcohol testing. Just that thought alone is enough for almost all to avoid alcohol and even cold and allergy medications.
LOREN
Although public safety certainly is of paramount importance here, realistically speaking, the resistance of pilots’ unions and the perception that a “slap in the face” has been dealt to the other 99.9% of dedicated professional pilots who would never violate the regulations regarding alcohol, would lead to serious problems administering a program like this. I would, instead, suggest putting into place a program that the Japanese use. I was very fortunate to have gone to Japan to fly for the Japanese after my first airline went bankrupt and I was greatly impressed by their gentle, polite manner in all of their dealings……however, they never allowed their gentle, polite ways to stand in the way of what had to be done, and this was how they handled the drinking problem: In every flight operations office, in plain sight of every flightcrew member, on the counter where we had to sign the flight release, was a “breatholyzer”. It would not be used unless there was reason to believe it HAD to be used. Refusal to take the test, if requested, would have resulted in the individual being taken off the flight. The more I thought of all the unspoken implications of that instrument……just lying there…..the more I was convinced that the person who thought up that solution was a genius. In all the years I was in Japan, I never heard of it having to have been used.
LEONARD
they should hook them up in a plane like they do to people in new jersey for example to be able to start the plane both pilot and copilot if they have been drinking the plane will not start even if one of them is sober so my answer is hell yes