It's one thing debating the rights and wrongs of the way the security man handled the situation but I won't have anyone try and use this forum to instigate any kind of vigilante action against him. Srjumbo's post has been removed as it had nothing to do with this issue except as self gratification for some worrisome need for his own expression of anger.
Maybe the security man should have taken the Captain aside and given him an opportunity to resolve any percieved problem but he was not trained in any way to handle that kind of situation. We all know, despite our reservations about the effectiveness of the cosmetic security that is in place, the people who man it are not paid, heaven forbid, to use their initiative. They have their SOP's to detect and confiscate pointy objects and that's it. He wasn't the one that called the police either. He called the Airline's handling agent and the airport management. It was one of them who called the police.
As was mentioned, the Captain had every opportunity to leave the flight deck and call in sick when he was informed about what was happening. Whilst his mitigation that he honestly didn't believe that he was over the limit was mentioned, it would appear that he really should have known better and the judge, in my opinion, was correct when he pointed that out. You don't have to be an expert on human anatomy and biological functions to know that regular, heavy drinking on an empty stomach isn't a clever thing to do at any time. To then be informed that you have been reported to the police because someone had smelled alcohol on your breath requires even less imagination as to the possible consequences.
This captain has paid a very heavy price for his lack of common sense. There was obviously no intent of criminal behaviour and I for one cannot understand the need for a custodial sentence in this case. I was under the impression that prison was meant to be a form of rehabilitation rather than exclusively as punishment. I would have thought that this man has paid a very high price already by losing his job and the associated publicity which is likely to prevent him from ever working as a pilot again, especially at his age. I think that most of us are aware of the consequences of being under the influence, whatever the arbitrary limit, when reporting for duty. Is the threat of a custodial sentence likely to make you any more aware or likely to abstain from alcohol?
The British, though not exclusively, seem to have a culture of heavy drinking. You only have to read many of the profiles of PPRuNe members to see the references to drinking. For some people it would appear that unless you are able to quaff several pints of beer or knock back 'chasers' of hard spirits then you are not worthy of being a part of their social group and therefore somehow inferior'. Strange that, especially from people who consider themselves to be professional aircrew with such huge responsibilities. I just don't understand how some supposedly intelligent people can consider alcohol intoxication to be in any way beneficial to their health or careers.
This case, as well as other recent ones, only serves to highlight that there is a problem with alcohol consumption by aircrew who are unable to determine the residual amounts left in their system. Whilst we can agree that there have been no alcohol related accidents for many years, do we know how many crew members are reporting for duty with enough alcohol in their system that would fail a test? Perhaps there needs to be a study to see how widespread the problem is... or isn't.
Does anyone know if there are any reports of the number of aircrew who have failed tests in the US where testing is mandatory? I am specifically looking for aircrew only and not all workers in the industry. From what I remember, anecdotally, the numbers are very small indeed. With the reputation of the British culture of alcohol consumption and the highlighting of this case, perhaps those who have a habit of being fuzzy headed after a night out downroute should indeed invest in a testing device. I am fairly sure that some of you would be surprised at the results. Perhaps as surprised as the Royal Brunei Captain was when he got his result.
You have a choice. Use it.