Once upon a time many years ago
2 regular customers we were contracted to transport rode right off the cliff one evening and were completely hors de combat the next morning. They were good fellows with good reputations, were not known for such behaviour and from description of events there was some suspicion that they had been drugged in perhaps an attempt to rob them. In the morning the aircrew, after phone calls and hard knocking on doors had to gain entry to their rooms, there was no smell of alcohol and it was very, very difficult to wake them. EMS was very nearly called such was the level of concern. Also they were in each other’s rooms and one of the room keys was never found.
The aircraft returned them direct to base and the client took them to the hospital as they were still groggy and had no recollection of events after about 2100 hrs the evening before until they were finally awaked at 1000 hrs.
However the client sent them for mandatory assessment and put them on paid leave for a week. They had a very good drug and alcohol program. They were cleared and returned to work the next week.
The Helicopter company also had a new program, recently rolled out, “Think you have a problem…self report..we will help”.
One of the pilots asked a visiting very senior, very old school pilot, in the crowded crew-room what they would do if a similar event happened to one of our crews. He was expecting to learn how the program worked as we had not had any training yet aside from a short 2 page memo lacking in any detail.
His reply “We would get rid of them immediately.”
Needless to say there was no great initial rush to seek help within the program after that statement got around.
Things got much better soon afterwards, The program, its aims and implementation were reinforced, training carried out and complied with.
People were helped and careers saved.