ANA captain drank alcohol 9 1/2 hours before flight

[armchairpilot94116]

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/420496


ANA captain drank alcohol 9 1/2 hours before flight

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 06:59 EDT
TOKYO — All Nippon Airways Co said Tuesday a 38-year-old pilot flew an Airbus A320 after drinking alcohol nine and a half hours before a flight in September last year in violation of its in-house rules that prohibit crew members from drinking within 12 hours of a flight. ANA has suspended the captain from flying. Although the airline did not detect alcohol from the captain during its pre-flight inspection, it plans to severely punish him, ANA said.


According to ANA, the captain drank two jugs of beer and three cups of shochu and water with an acquaintance in Nagoya at night on Sept 3 last year even though he was scheduled to fly the next morning. He also drank beer until 10 p.m. that night at the hotel he was staying in, the airline said. On the following day, he flew four flights including one from Chubu airport in Aichi Prefecture on 7:25 a.m. to Niigata airport in Niigata Prefecture. On the advice of his acquaintance, the captain told the airline in this January that he had drunk before the flights, but later retracted the statement. But he then admitted to violating the rules following the airline's investigation after his acquaintance reported the incident, ANA said.

[TRY2FLY]

Sounds like his acquaintance shafted him:hmm:

[AA717driver]

Never break the rules in the presence of someone junior to you... TC

[HotDog]

Never brake the rules, period!

[Agaricus bisporus]

For those with short or selective memories it was until very recently considered 8, that is EIGHT hours from bottle to throttle.

OK, company rules say otherwise, but surely no big deal if no alcohol was detected. Just airing someone else's slightly used washing, and publicising some poor sod's embarrassment in public, and serves no constructive purpose here.

Moderators? Please!

[cpt]

......For those with short or selective memories it was until very recently considered 8, that is EIGHT hours from bottle to throttle....
I even remember times when we were not talking about "hours" but "meters" instead...
This poor pilot has nice acquaintances by the way !

[GearDown&Locked]

...after his acquaintance reported the incident...

Serves him well! ANA should now be looking at received resumes for "Proficiency in finding the right acquaintances for the right occasion". :E

[TAC inop.]

'...and water'
Ha...love it...where can I buy the video?
Gotta love the guys at Zen...its like the borg collective

[ILS 119.5]

The old 8 hour rule was a load of rubbish, even company 1 hour rules are tosh. You should work out when your body is free of alcohol before you fly to be sure. i.e. if you go out at 1800 and drink 6 pints of Stella you are not free of alcohol until 1200 the following lunchtime. I think all aviation people who come under the railways act for alcohol should attend some type of course for alcohol awareness. I actually know somebody who does these courses for drinking and driving offenders. PM me if interested. It would be far more beneficial for companies to make staff aware rather than having to dismiss a valuable staff member who would cost far more to replace.

[Finals19]

It wasn't that long ago that the implications were far less considered than they are being here....most shockingly (or not!) the major flag carriers were often the worst offenders...

Judging by the late night fun and frolicking that used to go on at The Truck in NRT, I would agree with the poster who used meters as opposed to hours for alcohol consumption!

Mind you, of all the things that used to go on at The Truck, drinking was by far the least eye brow raising of them...! :eek:

[overstress]

Finals 19, thanks for pointing the Channel 4 team in the right direction... :hmm:

[lomapaseo]

This doesn't sound right.

How reliably can you out someone 9.5 hours before a flight?

It seems to me that this requires a validated time stamp on both the consumption of alcohol vs a nonalcoholic bevearge as well as knowledge of the exact flight time.

Is the suspicion alone enough to cost you your job?

[White Knight]

No Smoking within 8 hrs of flying and No Alcohol within 50' (or 15m) of the aircraft - works for me:}:}:}

[Hotel Mode]

Finals 19, thanks for pointing the Channel 4 team in the right direction...

They'll struggle to find anyone there dont worry!

[Basil]

Finals 19, thanks for pointing the Channel 4 team in the right direction...
Oh bugger, didn't ought to have said that did Oi? :}:}
Mind you, of all the things that used to go on at The Truck, drinking was by far the least eye brow raising of them...!
conservative FO: "What on earth do these people tell their wives when they go home?"
Basil: WTF??!! "Er, um, I don't think they say anything, old boy."

[GOLF_BRAVO_ZULU]

I think all aviation people who come under the railways act for alcohol should attend some type of course for alcohol awareness. I actually know somebody who does these courses for drinking and driving offenders.

If I remember correctly, the subject is adequately covered in the Human Performance and Limitations syllabus.

An abject lesson in choosing ones "acquaintances" more carefully. Are the Japanese still rather strong on punishment?

[BelArgUSA]

Difficult case...
Apparently this ANA captain (according to reliable or - unreliable - witnesses) would have taken some beer and other alcoholic beverages some 9 1/2 hrs before his flight. Yet he was subject (was he...?) to an alcohol test probably when reporting for duty, which turned to be negative.
xxx
Most countries have the 8 hrs rule for flying privately, and many commercial airlines and operators policies increase this limit to 12 hrs. I have seen some company rules making the 12 hrs limit "prior to flying" (so, actual departure time), or some others say 12 hrs limit "before reporting time for duty"...
xxx
Agree with me that the rules are applied to prevent pilots to be drunk before flight.. A pilot who has a blood test showing 0% alcohol is not drunk. The other thing is, amount of consumption of alcohol, versus body mass, and probably metabolism as well. I am a skinny guy of 60 kg (135 lbs), and I am certain another person with twice my weight can drink twice as much as I do to be equally as drunk as I would be.
xxx
I indulge in drinking a glass or two of red wine for dinner at 9pm... I was once subject to a drug/alcohol test at 8 or 8:30am and showed no traces of alcohol, for a flight scheduled at 9am... On layovers, I am not concerned by my colleagues who do the same, but I would be if they indulged in volume drinking of apéritifs, wine/beer with dinner, and a few liquors after dinner, if they are to report 12 hrs later.
xxx
I am a widower, who lost his wife because a car accident due to her drinking, so I am first to be against people who drink and drive (or fly). I remember my wife (same weight as I am) joining me often for wine for dinner, equal amounts as I did, yet she showed much to be "under the influence" with more than a glass of wine, while a glass or two or wine does not affect me at all.
xxx
This ANA captain deserves, say a suspension of 6 months because the 9 1/2 hours if he is subject to a 12 hrs "no drinking" rule, yet, I would give leniency due to the fact that he was "sober" when reported for duty.
xxx
Maybe ANA has "designated flyers" policy...!
What is your opinion...?
:)
Happy contrails
And cheers, I am not flying today or tomorrow, so let me enjoy a beer.

[Finals19]

Finals 19, thanks for pointing the Channel 4 team in the right direction...

Ha! Like they need pointing anyway!!!!!

And as I said, things that used to go on...times have changed for the better in more ways than one...

BelArgUSA...all valid points indeed - the reality is (as you rightly said) that what applies to one person - with regard to legal levels of alcohol in the blood - does not apply to another.

People outside the aviation industry might argue zero tolerance due to the immense responsibilty placed on the crew of a 200K Kilo plus a/c with hundreds of pax onboard. In an ideal world I couldn't agree more, however those of us in the industry know the stresses and strains of multi day tours, and realistically it would be unsustainable - after a 12hr+ duty day, a beer or two in the bar helps many people relax. That will not change IMHO.

Capt ANA broke the rules and got caught (so it seems) Guilty as charged so suitable punishment as mandated. Caveat? Don't break the rules, or at least don't get caught doing so! (as with everything in life)

[airman13]

ANA captain involved in could be punished for the infrigement of his comp.rules and not for beeing drunk as the tests were negative.Cheers!

[Shot Nancy]

I thought the Japanese Regs state no consumption within 24hrs of duty?
Can someone current in the region please explain?

P.S. If someone does not comply with the rules and no incident occurs, no I not going there!

[Green Guard]

I thought the Japanese Regs state no consumption within 24hrs of duty?
Can someone current in the region please explain?

...because some countries' drinking habits are different.
For example what is a difference if a friend tells you "let's go for a drink"
or "let's go to get drunk"

PS
By this I did not mention neither Finland nor Japan.

[GrumpyOldFart]

lomapaseo said:

This doesn't sound right.

How reliably can you out someone 9.5 hours before a flight?


More to the point, how can you out someone 13 months after a flight?

There's no blood or sobriety testing that can be done, so how can there be a case to answer - or a defence mounted - after so long?

Something certainly doesn't sound right.

:confused::confused:

[Whiskey Zulu]

Jerry, I think you missed the quote stating that the pilot 'allegedly' "admitted to drinking 9.5 hrs before duty, but later withdrew the admission."
The world's gone mad.

[armchairpilot94116]

pretty harsh punishment for him:

ANA punishes pilot for drinking alcohol before flight

Tuesday, November 6, 2007 at 04:00 EST
TOKYO — All Nippon Airways Co said Monday it has disqualified an Airbus A320 captain from flight duties for drinking nine and a half hours before a flight in 2006 in violation of its in-house rules that prohibit crew members from drinking within 12 hours of a flight.


The 38-year-old captain was moved to ground duties Monday, ANA said, adding that it has given demotions, pay cuts and other punishments to three of his superiors, including Mitsuo Morimoto, executive vice president in charge of flight operations. ANA said that in September 2006 the captain drank alcoholic beverages at a hotel and other locations in Nagoya until around 10 p.m. one evening before flying the following day on a 7:25 a.m. flight from Nagoya to Niigata. He flew a total of four flights that day.


© 2007 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/421090

[mavrik1]

Im glad I'm an Engineer! Cheers to the next drink, see you in the morning!

[ILS 119.5]

Couple of things, I did not do the Human Performance and Limitations syllabus so the drinking thing was not covered during my training.
Secondly for mavrik1, you are lucky to be in OZ, unfortunately the Uk railways act which governs pilots in the Uk also governs engineers so it might catch up with you one day. Take care buddy and happy drinking while you can.

[MaxThrust]

Rule One: if you are going to break the rules, don't do it in Public.

Rule Two: Be carefull who you drink with:

Rule Three: If you think you think you are stilled pissed prior to going to work, go sick. A nasty email from the boss is better than losing your job, or worse!

[NSEU]

"Secondly for mavrik1, you are lucky to be in OZ, unfortunately the Uk railways act which governs pilots in the Uk also governs engineers so it might catch up with you one day. Take care buddy and happy drinking while you can."

I think Mavrik is pulling your leg. There are strict rules about engineers coming to work under the influence of drugs and alcohol (at least in our company). We are not even supposed to come to work if we are overtired, let alone drunk/drugged. If we are involved an incident/accident, depending on the severity, we are escorted straight to the medical centre for blood tests.