United Pilot Suspended After Screeners at MIA Smell Alcohol

[Airbubba]

One in a continuing series...

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Pilot suspended after screeners at Miami airport smell alcohol

The Associated Press

October 23. 2005 5:15PM

A United Airlines pilot was questioned by police at Miami International Airport on Sunday and suspended from his job after security screeners smelled alcohol as he prepared to board a flight to Washington Dulles International Airport, authorities said.

The United pilot was boarding Flight 1404 for a scheduled 9 a.m. departure when Transportation Security Administration screeners thought they smelled alcohol on the pilot, said Kathleen Bergen, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman.

A screener alerted Miami-Dade police that the pilot appeared intoxicated, and police interviewed him but did not arrest him, said Detective Juan Del Castillo, a police spokesman.

He said the pilot cleared the checkpoint and boarded the flight. Police then boarded the plane and found the pilot in the cockpit.

"The officer noticed what appeared to be an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the pilot and requested that he exit the aircraft," he said.

The pilot was questioned in the jetway. No breath tests were conducted, Del Castillo said.

United Airlines issued a statement saying the pilot had been suspended pending the outcome of a company investigation.

"United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have absolutely no tolerance for abuse or violation of this well-established policy," said United spokesman Robin Urbanski. "Safety is our number one priority and we are cooperating with the authorities and conducting a full investigation."

Bergen said the FAA is also conducting its own investigation.

Three years ago, a drunk America West pilot and co-pilot were arrested as they also boarded a flight in Miami. They were sentenced to prison last summer.

Thomas Cloyd, 47, of Peoria, Ariz., and co-pilot Christopher Hughes, 44, of Leander, Texas, were drunk when they settled into the cockpit of a Phoenix-bound jetliner. The plane had pushed away from the gate and was being towed toward the runway when it was called back after screeners reported smelling alcohol on their breath.

Cloyd, who had been on probation for an alcohol-related offense just months before his arrest, was sentenced to five years in prison. Hughes was ordered to serve 2 1/2 years behind bars.

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051023/APN/510230822

[lomapaseo]

..."United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry

This is not the first airline that, said the same thing after one of their pilot's condition has been questioned. So I'm wondering if those that we read about are the most strict airlines where does that leave us with the other airlines?

[Oilhead]

"This is not the first airline that, said the same thing after one of their pilot's condition has been questioned. So I'm wondering if those that we read about are the most strict airlines where does that leave us with the other airlines?"

Might be worth reading the article again - he was NOT arrested - no arrest= no case so shall we move on chaps?

[boofta]

That does it, next time I pass through security and a smelly
screener looks sideways at me I will report the screener for
suspicion of alcohol abuse.
I wonder if the screener managers will be so forthright as
to immediately remove said suspect from duty.

[Airbubba]

Posted on Mon, Oct. 24, 2005

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Pilot suspected of being drunk booted

A pilot was removed from a United Airlines flight bound for Washington D.C. after security screeners smelled alcohol on his breath.

BY LISA ARTHUR

A United Airlines pilot was taken out of the cockpit by police Sunday after a security screener at Miami International Airport smelled alcohol on his breath as he boarded a plane he was scheduled to fly to Washington D.C., according to federal officials.

The pilot was not arrested or charged because the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office determined at this point there were no grounds for a DUI charge, said Juan DelCastillo, spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police.

''The pilot was in the cockpit, but the plane was not on and not moving,'' he said. ``We notified United Airlines and they were conducting their own investigation.''

United representatives could not be reached for comment.

The pilot, who was the captain on Flight 1404, passed through the security checkpoint around 8:30 a.m.

''One of our employees observed the pilot with behavior consistent with an individual who was intoxicated,'' said Lauren Stover, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration. ``We notified the Miami-Dade Police and the FAA.''

According to the United Airlines website, Flight 1404's departure was delayed from 9 a.m. until 3:40 p.m.

The reason: Schedule change due to crew.

Kathleen Bergen, a spokeswoman in the Federal Aviation Administration's Atlanta office, said the agency was investigating the incident.

She declined to release the pilot's name saying it was against FAA policies.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/12979615.htm


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Published Monday, October 24, 2005

Pilot Is Stopped When Screeners Smell Booze

The Associated Press

MIAMI -- A United Airlines pilot was taken into custody at Miami International Airport on Sunday after security screeners smelled alcohol as he prepared to board a flight to Washington Dulles International Airport, authorities said.

The incident appeared similar to a 2002 incident where a drunk America West pilot and co-pilot were arrested as they also boarded a flight in Miami. They were sentenced to prison last summer.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051024/NEWS/510240346/1004

[MarkD]

So if UA's policy is strict, does anyone know who they were comparing it to? :hmm:

[sikeano]

they are comparing it with ted
you know the saying about UNITED

when they get rid of U and I all they got left is TED

cheers make mine a large one

[Charles Darwin]

Looks like just another TSA cockup. Not the first one, and certainly not their last . What is the case with them? Is TSA evolving into an American Sturm Abteilungen? :*

[Airbubba]

>>Since when are security screeners in a position to question airline pilots? Not even police can interfere with a pilot on a mission.<<

Well, in the U.S. the screeners can certainly report the odor of alcohol on a pilot's breath. In some cases it proves to be a false alarm but in many instances, for example the America West pilots in MIA and the Virgin captain in IAD, the alert is proved correct by further investigation.

The fact that the Miami-Dade officer didn't arrest the UAL captain after noticing "what appeared to be an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the pilot" was probably due to that fact that the officer has to observe the suspect operating the vehicle under Florida's DUI laws. However, this doesn't mean the the pilot was proved innocent. United would be obligated to investigate and administer an alcohol breath test under their stated no tolerance policy.

Based on other cases I am familiar with, under FAA rules the captain is operating the flight when he or she reports for duty. A signed dispatch release or logbook page has been used as evidence of being on duty as a captain in some recent cases. Computer logons have been used to document start of duty in other cases.

United, like most U.S. carriers, has a HIMS (http://www.himsprogram.com/index.php) program to help pilots recover from substance abuse issues.

Like bodies in the wheel well, some of these cases make the news, others are handled quietly between the company and the feds.

[bjcc]

Frozen Turtle

Wong!

[Ignition Override]

AIRBUBBA- thank you very much for posting this situation! You are certainly a gentleman and a scholar, always enlightening, and entertaining, at least for those who tolerate news from the "colonies" (but what do WE know about aviation....:hmm: is it 4 or 20 Joule ignition...many here can't elaborate on how the 2.4% etc. clearways are actually engineered-as useful as medieval scholasticism, or even know the Latin plural for 'forum'...).

HUCK: Your information is also enlightening.


I had forgotten to check the ingredients on "Chlorhexidine Gluconate" (NDC 0093-0014-16, made by TEVA), prescribed after minor periodontal surgery this week ( cause: not nearly enough brushing, little flossing-a Mountain Dew drinker in the c0ckpit, and candy at night). This is a rinse, swished around for 30 seconds and spit out-but, to my total surprise, it has about 11.8 % alcohol and it smells a bit like a sweet liquor. :uhoh: A local council rep. told me that this is legal.

:confused: My original question is this: under our crazy patchwork collection of US jurisdictions (federal, state, county, city and airport...there must be more, so some pompous local "Napoleon" can hold court...i.e. New York Port "Authority" and District Attorney's comments to the press after USAir 737 tragedy) and law enforcement agencies, who can force a pilot or anyone else to submit to a breathalyzer?

Is the employee/staffmember allowed to request any legal counsel first, or assume that any false reading can be checked against a prescription?

Never forget, if you are unsure about when your last beer etc and are not yet in the c0ckp1t, you can suddenly feel ill and go back to the hotel.

If your career is in serious danger, then you should feel a bit sick! Except for other pilots, nobody out there, literally nobody, has any solid incentive to protect your career, unless it is a family member, a still-thriving romance (not a family member?) or a creditor.

[bjcc]

Ignition Override

I can't comment on the legislation parts of your question.

But on the mouthwash part, it will have no effect on a breath test.

In the UK, a person (be that car driver, train driver or pilot) will be asked if they have drunk any alcohol in the 20 mins preceeding a test. If they say yes, we would wait for 20-30 minutes before giving the test. This is so that any acohol in the mouth can dispurse. Mouthwashes as you say are spat out, not swallowed, so it will not be absorbed into the blood.

[Paradism]

UK law is interesting in that Article 75 of the Air Navigation Order 2005 states

"1. A person shall not enter any aircraft when drunk, or be drunk in any aircraft

2. A person shall not, when acting as a member of the crew of an aircraft or being carried in any aircraft for the purpose of so acting, be under the influence of drink or drug to such an extent as to impair his capacity so to act".

Para 2 is interesting in that it uses the phrase "when acting as a member of the crew", when does that acting as a member commence?

[aiming point]

During the past 30 years of reading reports, many times fatigue has been cited as a factor in airliner accidents or incidents but I cannot recall one occasion in which alcohol or drunkenness was listed as a cause or contributing factor.

If only airlines had such stringent measures in place to prevent pilots operating when tired or fatigued.

How often do the obviously safety conscious security staff have pilots and flight attendants removed from flights because they looked too tired to safely operate an aeroplane.

A matter of avoiding tackling the real issues and simply making a fanfare out of the near irrelevalent just to be seen to be so safety conscious.:yuk:

[G-CPTN]

The screener reported ''One of our employees observed the pilot with behavior consistent with an individual who was intoxicated,'' perhaps like the chap we saw in Newcastle last night who was having problems navigating along the pavement (sidewalk for the Colonials), or was just chatting-up an otherwise unattractive screener ;)
Surely, behaviour isn't an absolute judgement of intoxication (unless 'navigating' is difficult), so there has to be a measure of control by breath-test or blood-test (or maybe an aptitude test - walking along the runway centre-line or touching your nose with eyes closed).
Is it suggested that the pilot in this instance was 'warned-off'? This doesn't sound like ..."United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry" - or maybe it IS and others are more lenient?

[Two's in]

Unfortunately the behavior of a small minority has alerted the rest of the world to the fact that that some Pilots are quite capable of piloting, or attempting to pilot, an aircraft under the influence of alcohol. This gives anybody in the position of exerting authority and influence (e.g. TSA) over those people that they would not routinely have under their control, the opportunity to do a number of things either:

1. Uphold the legal and safety requirements demanded of a Pilot before operating a commercial aircraft.

or

2. Protect the travelling public from drunken pilots.

or

3. Act like a member of the Waffen SS and take positive pleasure in jerking around the (in their view) the "Sky Gods".

You know which courses of action they prefer to take, but that can only be effective if you give them any grounds to do it. There are plenty of legal responses to a false accusation of being under the influence, and despite the legal nausea, counter suing for false arrest or slander would be an effective deterrent, assuming the union helps you out.

You may have to suspend your disbelief of the rationale behind the security organization to believe that this is ever done from a genuine concern for the well being of everyone on board, but under closer scrutiny what is really happening here? Individuals are providing grounds (reasonable or otherwise) for others to suspect that they may not be fit to fly. It is then ascertained whether further action is required, however unpleasant having Florida's finest board the aircraft may be, and the matter is closed or resolved. Either way, a hundred or so pax who don't get to vote on this have had their immediate health needs catered for.

No it shouldn't happen the way it does, and yes, an aviation professional should be above suspicion, but your anger should be directed at Thomas Cloyd and Christopher Hughes
(plus all the "there but for the grace of God" colleagues who think they were simply unlucky) rather than the hapless government drones at the TSA.

[wingview]

It's pretty simple. Don't drink and drive, and don't do it when you have to fly. Not even with a hang over!!!

[the_hawk]

Do I understand correctly that there is no proof that the pilot in this case was intoxicated? i.e neither breath test nor blood test?

[G-CPTN]

>Do I understand correctly that there is no proof that the pilot in this case was intoxicated? i.e neither breath test nor blood test?

>The screener reported ''One of our employees observed the pilot with behavior consistent with an individual who was intoxicated,''

>Police then boarded the plane and found the pilot in the cockpit. "The officer noticed what appeared to be an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the pilot and requested that he exit the aircraft," he said. The pilot was questioned in the jetway. No breath tests were conducted, Del Castillo said. police interviewed him but did not arrest him,

A diplomatic withdrawal?

[Green Guard]

"The officer noticed what appeared to be an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from the pilot and requested that he exit the aircraft,"

Hm, Ý would like to know how many brother Arabs should have been checked for the smell of alk..
oops smell of parfumes.. that surely contain lot of alkohol

[lowlimit]

I wonder what lead them to test the guy?

[Oilhead]

The TSA of late have started putting the homeliest women imaginable at the crew line, certainly at KIAD. I mean we're talking ones that fell out the ugly tree and landed in the TSA recruiting office on the bottom branch....

It's a cunning trap. When the manager sees the poor defenceless pilot start to smile, then leer at her, wink, then attempt to chat her up, they nab him on probable cause........works every time.

Cruel Swines!

:ok:

[bjcc]

Barndweller

Sorry, having re read what I wrote it didn't make it clear, in the UK there would usualy be a gap of 20 mins, IF the driver/pilot/train driver claims he has used it.

In reality, I have given a test to someone 2 minutes after they took a mouthful of mouthwash, and it was a big fat ZERO. In any event even if it wasn't, by the time an evidential test has taken place (A test conducted on a calibrated device at a Police Station) or a blood/urine test the mouth wash would be long gone. Unless of course the person had drunk the bottle, in which case they commit the offence anyway. The offence is alcohol in body, not liquor.

the_hawk


None that I have ever heard of, nor pickled onions/eggs or anything else,

[Big Jan]

Considering that the captain on board an aircraft is the highest authority on board said aircraft and has the powers of arrest it would make for an interesting situation if this pilot had instructed police who had boarded to remove themselves under threat of arrest if they did not comply.I personally wouldn't like to try it, but it would certainly open a can of worms regarding jurisdiction.

[stilton]

Aiming point, you make a very accurate and relevant observation, that, unfortunately is obscured by political correctness.

I could not agree more.

[Airbubba]

>>Considering that the captain on board an aircraft is the highest authority on board said aircraft and has the powers of arrest...<<

Maybe on the Love Boat, not on a U.S. airliner. Contrary to popular belief, he can't perform marriages for the duration of the layover either.

[RevMan2]

Stilton, aiming point

Well, yes, but......

Both issues are relevant, but do we REALLY want to tolerate FUI (Flying Under the Influence).
I'm frequently disturbed by a laissez-faire attitude in some of these forums, along the lines "It hasn't hurt anybody yet, so what's the deal"
Performance-degrading substances and the operation of machinery don't mix. Same goes for fatigue.

This isn't a trade-off and I can't for the life of me understand the significance of the reference to political correctness.
If you've been following the Ryanair thread, you'll see that the forced tolerance of fatigue is driven by shareholder value......

[UAL Furlough]

United's policy until not too long ago was 24 hours bottle to brief. They changed it a while back to 12 hours bottle to brief. I think they are saying it is strict as it is much more strict than the 8 hours prior to flying that the FAA mandates or the same here in Australia of 8 hours prior to flying.