"In recent years I've seem some of these cases handled very quietly with charges dropped and records sealed pending successful treatment of the drinking problem."
As it should be! A large proportion of cases so handled end up with an expensively trained professional rehabilitated and back at work in 6-12 months.
A life saved, a family saved and a pilot back on the flight deck where he should be.
Mac,
Exactly, alcoholism is a disease, and it is a treatable disease, contrary to what some posters seem to believe.
There are many airlines, along with many industrial companies, that have excellent policies and programs to treat the problem.
The airline I worked for was a pioneer in the field, the company program of confidential treatment and rehabilitation applied to all employees, pilots were not discriminated against, although they obviously could not fly while on the program. As I recall, it commenced in its original form in the 1970's. It has been much developed since, but the basic policy has never changed, it is a disease that, if not treated, effectively costs a normal life.
Overall, in a company with a payroll in the order of 35,000, the success rate was very high, particularly for pilots.