Originally Posted by
Radgirl
IMHO his aviation 'crime' was taking any drug without declaring and grounding himself initially - it matters not to me whether it was penicillin or ecstacy. But that should be what he is punished for. To remove someone's career when another person might get away with a warning is not appropriate.
Might be useful to note that he was not caught for an "aviation crime" as such, he was caught by police who were investigating a drug dealing ring, due to him telephoning a dealer complaining about side effects of ecstacy in the cockpit. And because it was part of a drug dealing investigation the chap ended up in front of a High Court (Tribunal de grande instance) and they promptly convicted him for "mise en danger de la vie d'autrui" which translates into "endangering the lives of others". And as part of that they have the power to prevent the convicted from exercising the profession in which he's endagered the lives of others. If he'd been a bus driver he'd been banned from driving busses. But he was NOT convicted under whatever French law bans pilots from doing drugs or alcohol X hours before flying...