Some more details emerge from the arrest report:
Air Tran Pilot Fired for Drinking
Adrian Arambulo, Reporter
(Jan. 14) -- An airline pilot who was arrested at McCarran International Airport for being drunk just before he was about to fly has been fired. The incident, though, is raising concerns about passengers' safety.
Eyewitness News has learned that the pilot, Captain Oliver Reason, was fired this morning. An investigation is being conducted to determine whether his pilot's license will be suspended. But even if it were, he would have a chance to get it back.
The Metro police arrest report gives more insight into Oliver Reason's arrest at McCarran. The documents show officers contacted Reason aboard the plane he was set to fly and that he blew a .091 on a breathalyzer. That is nearly twice the legal flying limit. The report states that he was cooperative despite smelling strongly of alcohol.
"We have never had a pilot fail the Breathalyzer test until this episode in Las Vegas," said Tad Hutcheson, AirTran Airways.
Until Friday, Reason was a pilot for the Atlanta based AirTran Airways. "We pulled his badge, took him off airport property so he no longer works for AirTran Airways." It is up to individual airlines to conduct random sobriety tests on their pilots and then report the results to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The F.A.A. says last year eight pilots failed the random tests. However, there are no numbers available for pilots who are are randomly caught by screeners or other airport personnel, as is the alleged case with Reason.
"We immediately begin an investigation. If it turns out he is intoxicated on the job then we revoke his or her license," said Donna Walker, F.A.A. Authorities with the F.A.A. can revoke a pilot's license for being drunk. However, pilots can eventually get their licenses back if they pass an extensive rehabilitation program.
"The skies are dangerous enough and the planes can malfunction without someone being intoxicated to make it happen," said Richard Enusa, a pilot.
"The guy had no business doing what he did. He has no right to fly commercial any more," said Jeff Brooks, an airline passenger.
Reason was also a federal flight deck officer, which means he was allowed to carry a gun when he flew. A gun was removed from the cockpit when Reason was arrested. The T.S.A. is conducting an investigation into whether or not that license might be revoked as well.
http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story....0&nav=168XVE2Y
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AirTran Fires Pilot Accused of Drinking
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 15, 2005; Page E01
AirTran Airways said it fired one of it pilots yesterday after he allegedly showed up for work in Las Vegas smelling of alcohol and carrying a government-issued firearm in a lockbox.
The pilot, Oliver Paul Reason Jr., 37, was trained by the federal government to carry a gun in the cockpit under a program passed by Congress in response to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The Transportation Security Administration said it was the first incident since the program's inception in April 2003 in which an armed pilot was reportedly under the influence of alcohol on the job.
Tad Hutcheson, an AirTran spokesman, said the airline does not believe arming pilots is a good idea, even though some of its employees have volunteered for the program. "We want the pilots to focus on flying and not on guns or security or anything else," Hutcheson said. "That's always been our position."
The TSA has trained thousands of pilots to carry .40-caliber semiautomatic pistols in a lockbox under a voluntary program. The agency won't disclose the exact number of members but says that commercial airline pilots must first pass rigorous background and psychological tests and training in order to carry a weapon. Pilots transport the guns in a lockbox to the cockpit.
The incident raised fresh concerns about arming pilots with lethal weapons at 30,000 feet. Doug Laird, former director of security for Northwest Airlines, said he does not think airline pilots receive adequate training to carry weapons. There will be incidents like this, Laird said. "There are incidents with police."
But an airline pilot who pushed Congress to authorize the program argued that the pilot's use of alcohol was more dangerous than his gun. "The issue is making sure a pilot who is irresponsible with alcohol is never, ever given access to an airplane," said Tracy Price, an airline captain. "Between the airplane and the gun, the airplane is many times more dangerous."
Police at Las Vegas's McCarran International Airport said Reason showed up for a flight scheduled to leave for Atlanta at 11:45 p.m. Wednesday. A security screener detected alcohol on his breath and alerted police, who met him on the plane, questioned him and conducted a breath test for alcohol.
A police officer on the scene said Reason "did not appear impaired, however there was an odor of alcohol on his breath," according to police records. Reason allegedly told police that he had not had a drink in 10 hours, but he failed the breath test. Police officers arrested Reason on a charge of operating an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol, according to police records.
AirTran canceled the flight and rescheduled its 60 passengers on other flights to Atlanta.
Reason was held by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in Clark County Jail and released Thursday. He flew to Orlando as a passenger on Thursday, where his manager told him that he had been terminated for violating company policy. The airline said he had been with the company for about 10 years. A representative from the union representing AirTran pilots declined to comment. Reason could not be reached for comment. A person who answered the telephone at his house but declined to identify herself said the family had no comment.
Nico Melendez, a TSA spokesman, said the agency recovered Reason's weapon from Las Vegas police and Reason was dropped from the armed pilots' program. Federal rules prohibit pilots from operating an aircraft within eight hours of consuming alcohol, known as the eight-hour "bottle to throttle" rule, and they may not have a blood-alcohol level above 0.04 percent. Violating the rules could result in the FAA revoking a pilot's license.
The FAA said it could not comment on whether Reason's license had been pulled, citing privacy reasons.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Jan14.html