Pilot arrested at Manchester
Hello all PPRuNes!
I decided to join this forum after having followed it since the Finn got arrested a few months back.
I am a close relative of an airline pilot who has managed to fly almost 30 years whilst being a serious alcoholic. By serious I mean someone who spends most of their time on the ground being heavily drunk (not to mention domestic violence, disturbed sleep, loss of memory and lack of deep relationships) and who reports-in under influence or hangover.
All this is tolerated year after year. No-one reports the pilot: family, fellow pilots, cabin crew, dispatch, wx office, ramp, crew bus driver, mechanics, passengers. Not to mention crew rostering who know the ones with this disease. Not to mention the annual / bi-annual medical check.
There are a lot of people who know who these people are. Yet hardly anyone dares to interfere.
I think that instead of pilots saying "NO" to routine breathelizer checks before reporting-in, there should be suggestions from the pilots themselves on how to make sure that one is fit to fly at least when it comes to being sober, or free from drugs. (Over)tiredness is also an important matter, but I won´t deal with it now, since I find it deserves its own thread.
Greetings from
Air Sober