Coffin Corner
Ridiculous?
You asserted that statistics never tell the whole story.
I agree.
Why then, in a discussion about pilots and alcohol, is it ridiculous to ask what you have or have not seen during your career?
Your answer(s) would not tell the whole story but snippets of information can sometimes contribute towards building a picture.
Of course a remote chance does not (by definition) mean it couldn't happen. I'm sorry you didn't understand my response to your point; perhaps I should have expressed myself more clearly. I'll try again.
You mentioned (post 46) the possibility of either both or one pilot being impaired by alcohol. The reason I don't give that a thought when I board an aircraft, far less worry about it, is that I regard both possibilities as extremely remote.
I take the same approach to the catastrophic scenarios you mentioned in post 60 (wing falling off, pilot committing suicide etc). ie Possible but extremely unlikely.
You raised the issue of a 'tipple before flying' so why is it ridiculous to ask if that is common practice in your experience?
No, I have not witnessed anyone drinking before flying. I am aware of one PPL who, according to several reliable sources, was in the habit of doing so but I did not witness it.
What do you want me to say?
I hoped you'd say what you have observed as an F/O and more recently as a captain with a lo-co European carrier flying a Q400 about (I estimate) 500-600 hours annually.
The experience of long-haul pilots, or even pilots with other European carriers, might be different; I don't know and would be interested to learn.
A culture change? In which direction? Would you care to elaborate your experiences?
I'm happy to elaborate what I meant but my comment was based upon what I have learnt through working closely with the industry for many years not upon personal experiences. (I hold fixed-wing and rotary licences but I am not a professional pilot.)
Even if some pilots were inclined to take a chance years ago (I'm sure many of us have at least heard anecdotes), my impression based upon discussions with current and former professional pilot friends is that the attitude towards drinking/flying has changed significantly in the past twenty years or so – beginning long before (Police) breath-testing was introduced into UK aviation. If that is correct, it would be consistent with the change in attitude towards drink-driving. ie A significant reduction in instances coupled with a significant increase in peer disapproval of such behaviour.
The creation of a new offence in 2003 meant that flight crew had to be even more careful because abiding by the old rule/adage, variously expressed as 8 or 12 hours between bottle and throttle, would not necessarily ensure that their blood/alcohol level would be below the very low prescribed legal limit if they were to be tested by police when reporting for duty.
(I represented the first pilot to be prosecuted under the new law – December 2004.
http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/1...ml#post1639296
I do not suggest that every pilot over the limit has been, or will be, caught. However, I believe that the vastly overwhelming majority of professional pilots conduct themselves responsibly and professionally; that includes abiding by the restrictions relating to alcohol.
If you consider my views to be ridiculous, no doubt you'll say so - again.
sharksandwich
Thank you for explaining what you meant.
I agree.