Crash microlight pilot was drunk

[OpenCirrus619]

A microlight instructor killed while flying with a pupil in Hertfordshire was nearly seven times over the legal blood-alcohol limit.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/beds/bucks/herts/7339563.stm

AAIB report here: http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources/Airborne%20Edge%20XT912-B-Streak%20III-B,%20G-CEHH%2004-08.pdf

OC619

[S-Works]

Unfortunate. Seems that the pilot had a drink problem looking at the toxicology and postmortem details.

Cost him his life and nearly that of his student. No doubt there will be the usual legal scurry for compensation.

[Genghis the Engineer]

oh *(&*((**.

The pilot killed was somebody I knew and got on well with, and had a reputation as an able instructor - I'd heard a rumour that this might have been part of AAIB's findings but hoped it wasn't true and been careful not to discuss the rumour further.

What can one say - he should have known better. Much better.

And perhaps the rest of us could and should have noticed he had a problem and been more forceful about it.

The lessons are obvious and distressing.

G

[gingernut]

I suppose we could argue the rights and wrongs of this case all day, and night, a quick look at the AAIB report suggests that this was an ill man.

I'm not sure if that makes him a bad man.

[oldmog]

Certainly an ill man. There are lessons to be had by all. First don't drink and fly, that seems simple? Second if you know a pilot who is drinking and flying it is better to have a word whilst he is still alive than it is to wish you had after the accident. If you read Robb Metcalffe's article in Flight Safety it says much the same.

I hope we shall all take a lesson from this, we don't have the time to make all the mistakes ourselves.

oldmog

[Flyin'Dutch']

I'm not sure if that makes him a bad man.

Pretty bad in my books, and no different to someone who with a similar amount of alcohol in his system takes to driving a car/lorry/bus.

That does not make it less regrettable that he has paid the ultimate price. Just hope that his student has made or will make a full recovery.

Anyone who has this amount of alcohol in their system rieks of alcohol, pretty badly.

I don't know the circumstances of the field/club where this happened but if it was in an environment where others were around that would beg the question whether anyone was aware of this.

[rusty sparrow]

I had a trial flight with him just over year ago from the same strip and (I think) the same flexiwing.

From the state of his liver he had been abusing drink for a long time - you should never fly, especially with passengers, when over the limit. There are no excuses.

[Flyin'Dutch']

You can get fatty changes in your liver without drinking regularly or too much so not sure if you can make any fast conclusions of that.

Ditto the amount of alcohol in the various tissues. They may have been coming down from the day before or going up from drinking prior to the flight.

Agree, of course, that you should not drink and fly.

And if people have a drinking problem then that should be dealt with. Alcoholics are not just unsuitable for the flight deck when under the influence of alcohol.

[gingernut]

I've assumed one of two things, this man was either drinking an awful lot the night before, or drinking first thing in the morning.

Either way, that makes him ill in my books. Guess if I was in the back seat, it also makes him bad, (but I think this is a subjective term.)

Guess this case rases a few questions, least of all, when do we intervene?

I'm sure we've all been there, including you F.

[Flyin'Dutch']

I'm sure we've all been there, including you F.

Yup and that requires courage and broad shoulders, but ultimately it is the only thing that will stand the test of time.

[cats_five]

Just to clarify: obese folks can get fatty liver without touching a drop, just as geese raised for their livers do.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I'd love to give him that excuse, but I'm afraid that he was thin as a rake.

Regarding the student - I understand that she has no recollection of the accident but I believe that she was also very close personally to the instructor, so I doubt that she'll get over it quickly if at-all.

The whole thing really is incredibly distressing; I can only hope that the lessons are learned thoroughly enough that such a thing never happens again. I suspect however that these lessons are as much for those who don't drink but might be able to intervene, as for those who have this problem.

Not making excuses for anybody, there are/have been other alcoholics in aviation - I can think of at-least one I've worked with, and I'm sure that there are others. If we see this, do we do enough?

G

[cats_five]

Sorry, wasn't meaning to give him 'an excuse', just pointing out that being tee-total doesn't guarantee protection...

[S-Works]

Sorry, wasn't meaning to give him 'an excuse', just pointing out that being tee-total doesn't guarantee protection...

I don't think the liver was the cause of the accident rather things point to the excessive amount of alcohol in his system. I am no Dr and I am sure frank will comment but the fatty liver and the extreme amount of alcohol could indicate a longer term problem than a heavy session the night before.

It seems clear that alcohol was the route cause and for a professional pilot to be that far over the limit would indicate ether a problem or a total disregard for the rules. Either way an accident waiting to happen.

[Bluebeard]

Many moons ago this man very generously offered to take me up for a circuit in order to show this (now sadly lapsed) PPL (SEP) what microlighting was all about. Whilst it scared the sh!t out of me I was struck by how this guy point blank refused any offer of payment, so happy was he to share his enthusiasm.

Although I barely knew him I was aware of his reputation and his experience and so was very shocked to learn of his demise..if it could happen to him it could happen to the best of us, right? I was therefore equally saddened to read the AAIB report and find out that alcohol was involved. Did this directly cause the accident, or did it prevent him from recovering from a situation that he might otherwise have walked away from? Or perhaps neither. Either way I am not sure whether to be strangely relieved that the cause of the crash may have been something we could all easily avoid, or whether it was something else that we could not.

At the minimum, this is extremely tragic for all involved, at worst this was an accident that perhaps should never have happened.:(