Maat, I understand your point but we're talking about risk reduction. Of course pilots shouldn't be tired/jet lagged when they are flying, I fly to Oz and know it takes me three days to become anything more than a zombie after arriving there, so how pilots cope is beyond me. However I think we would be living in na na land if we thought we had a perfect world and it didn't happen, but that's for the regulatory bodies and pilot's unions to sort out (and sort it out they should IMO). I have every sympathy for pilots who have to work under draconian regimes that don't allow them any meaningful rest and I think that any company that forces inefficient timetabling of their pilots should be in court and the directors jailed.
Flying whilst under the influence however is entirely avoidable, it is the personal choice of the pilot. I fully understand that it may not be a personal choice to be an alcoholic but it is a personal choice to continue to fly knowing full well you have a problem. Pilots are well payed, rightly so, they are highly trained professionals, but with that comes a duty to your passengers.
Edit: rcsa, just read your post. I think there's a difference between having a couple of sherberts to relax yourself before 8 hours kip and getting totally trashed to get to sleep. No one should have to do that in an attempt to be compos mentis to do their job the next day and as I said operators should be held to account.
Looking at an earlier post I think there maybe some degree of 'can do' in the make up of a pilot, of not wanting to appear to be failing the company, of not wanting to be seen as less able to hack it than fellow pilots. I'm not a psychologist, I don't know the answer to that. I do know however that your primary and absolutely over riding duty is to see that the 300 or so souls in your charge are transported as safely as possible to their destination, and part of that duty is to reduce risk. Some risks it would appear are forced upon you, others aren't.
Last edited by thing; 6th Feb 2011 at 09:57.