Very correct IOS 331, BUT you should follow the SOP's and not just try and sort things out yourself!
Yep, pilots with drug abuse and serious fatigue problems have been responsible for a number of major accidents.
I even had one P2 turn up so drunk that he could not use the radio. The only reason I did not notice until it was too late to replace him was that he had reached the flight deck before I did and swallowed enough mints and mouthwash not to smell of alcohol.
He did get a serious verbal warning from me after the flight and I reported the occurence to the Ops manager. Oddly enough he gave up drinking after that incident, as the company we were working for paid well, with lots of time off and good hotels etc.
I had another P2 turn up so tired he fell asleep just after take off and slept for the rest of a long night flight. I even had difficulty waking him up just before landing.
Part of the reason why we get such incidents, apart from bad pay, insecure contracts and miserable working conditions, is that most companies have no effective pilots association.
A good pilots association does not get involved in anything pay related, as that would define them as a union, BUT they sure do get involved in taking action against any pilot who has a drug abuse issue or who needs to be retrained. Many of you might think that the Ops manager, EASA inspectors or even the Police should stop a pilot under the influence of drugs (Or serious fatigue) from flying, but in many airlines or Biz jet operations, the system fails. Sometimes the managers just don't care or can't do anything because they do not have a spare pilot available.
A good pilots association will also guarantee that if a pilot reports in as unfit for duty due to fatigue, that the "Yes men" who often get senior positions such as Ops manager don't fire them. In fact the one I was in some years ago was very effective and sacked a few chaps who the senior management thought were good (The senior pilots sure didn't). Ultimately a good association should be able to call a one day strike, but only over safety related matters, including poor training standards and I do remember a one day strike over tech log defects lists and another threatened walk out over a new training captain who needed more training himself.
The "Old boys" I flew with when I was a lot younger understood just how important a good pilots association was, the newbies don't and that is one reason why they are treated as virtual slaves.
Last edited by skyship007; 3rd Sep 2015 at 17:34.