JAL pilot over the limit in London

[msbbarratt]

Japan Times (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/11/01/national/japan-airlines-pilot-temporarily-detained-london-drinking-alcohol-tokyo-flight/)

[msbbarratt]

Nikei Shimbun is reporting that he was 9 times over the limit. Apparently JAL pilots are routinely breathalysed before the flight, which he passed, but a bus driver (taking them out to the plane?) had smelled booze and called the police. Questions are now being asked about the reliability of the breathalysers JAL uses before boarding.

[slfool]

Questions are now being asked about the reliability of the breathalysers JAL uses before boarding.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46062122

He was arrested by the police so he will have been breathalysed by them. And he pleaded guilty. So the questions would indeed seem to be reasonable...

[Doors to Automatic]

That is well over twice the legal drink driving limit. What on earth was he thinking? I hope they throw the book at him.

[SMT Member]

1,89 is 2,5 times over the limit for driving in the UK, almost 9 over the limit for committing aviation. Raises serious questions about the individuals ability to make sound decisions, a decision which in this case should have been to call in sick, lock the hotel door and ride it out. An even sounder decision would have been to stay off the juice in suck quantities, as to blow a 1,89 when you report for duty. That's well and truly legless for the majority of people.

[Pinkman]

If JAL routinely breathalyse and he passed, and then blew that massive score, its consistent with having a swig of duty free after the test e.g. in the loo but before boarding the crew bus/aircraft. It would explain the massively high result as typically BAC breath readings are falsely high for the first 20 minutes or so then settle down.

[RoyHudd]

According to many of our non-pilot "experts" on this website, the job is so easy that it would not matter one bit if the operator/pilot was drunk.

According to other "experts", the book should be thrown at him.

Make up your minds.....and remember that the average long-haul pilot landing after a transatlantic flight with no sleep is estimated to think and react at the equivalent of 160 mg/100ml. Just a bit short of the JAL First Officer.

[Buswinker]

I’m more interested by this part of the story

Japan Airlines said the flight was delayed more than an hour and had to be operated by the remaining two pilots.

[msbbarratt]

If JAL routinely breathalyse and he passed, and then blew that massive score, its consistent with having a swig of duty free after the test e.g. in the loo but before boarding the crew bus/aircraft. It would explain the massively high result as typically BAC breath readings are falsely high for the first 20 minutes or so then settle down.

Nikei Shimbun reported an extensive list of beverages apparently consumed 2 nights earlier...

[Tokyo Geoff]

Nikei Shimbun reported an extensive list of beverages apparently consumed 2 nights earlier...

One night wasn't it? Started drinking from 6pm Saturday before being due to take off at 7pm Sunday

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-to-tighten-rules-after-JAL-pilot-s-arrest-over-drinking

JAL said the co-pilot was found to be more than 10 times over the legal limit set under British aviation law after he drank two bottles of wine and more than 1.8 liters of beer over six hours from 6 p.m., the night before the flight on Sunday.
...

Due to the arrest, the flight's departure for Haneda airport scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday local time was delayed by 1 hour and 9 minutes.


japan Times reports this:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/11/01/national/japan-airlines-pilot-temporarily-detained-london-drinking-alcohol-tokyo-flight/#.W9wF3FUzbmU

JAL said the level of alcohol in the 42-year-old copilot’s system sharply exceeded the legal limit in Britain after drinking two bottles of wine and five cans of beer for six hours from 6 p.m. the night before the flight to Haneda airport.

[ImageGear]

In my much earlier experience of working with the Japanese, there will be considerable loss of face and standing in their community, to the point at which their own existence may become irrelevant and require drastic action. I wonder if the culture is still as prevalent today.

What a way to end a career, he will be feeling the pain for ever.

IG

[EternalNY1]

If JAL routinely breathalyse and he passed, and then blew that massive score, its consistent with having a swig of duty free after the test e.g. in the loo but before boarding the crew bus/aircraft. It would explain the massively high result as typically BAC breath readings are falsely high for the first 20 minutes or so then settle down.

That was my immediate assumption too, it explains both the passed test as well as the high reading.

[Capt Scribble]

Or someone else somehow took the test for him.

[wideman]

I’m more interested by this part of the story [that the LHR-HND flight was operated by 2 pilots]

JL requires 3 pilots on flights >12 hours. HND-LHR is 12h15m, while the return LHR-HND is 11h45m. So, it would've been within company rules to have only 2 crew for the return flight.

[Buswinker]

JL requires 3 pilots on flights >12 hours. HND-LHR is 12h15m, while the return LHR-HND is 11h45m. So, it would've been within company rules to have only 2 crew for the return flight.
yes. I don’t doubt it’s legal but it seems not a good look to me

[Rated De]

wondering why the post was deleted?

[exeng]

Whatever happened to the Pilot from BA who was reported as being 'drunk' before departing ARN about 10 or 15 years ago? Apparently he was sacked. Was there a prosecution - and if so what was the result?

It's a long time ago but it seems that at the time all the press were reporting that the pilot was drunk - and yet I can find no news of a prosecution. Is it possible that the authorities found that blood test results indicated the pilot was not actually 'drunk', or was it possible that the authorities somehow 'messed up' or 'lost' the tests.

If not prosecuted, or if prosecuted and found not guilty then it would seem unjust that the pilot was sacked.. I believe that because of the uncertainty the pilot was sacked because he had 'brought the company into disrepute'. Is that so?

Interesting stuff.


Kind regards
Exeng

[hitchens97]

So from you older pilots what do you do if you suspect your colleague has drunk alcohol?

Do you say "call in sick or I turn you in"?
Do you just turn them in?
Ignore?

What I find shocking is that it was the driver who reported it and not one of his colleagues. Is there some Omerta here that us SLF need to be worried about?

[Airbubba]

Whatever happened to the Pilot from BA who was reported as being 'drunk' before departing ARN about 10 or 15 years ago? Apparently he was sacked. Was there a prosecution - and if so what was the result?

It's a long time ago but it seems that at the time all the press were reporting that the pilot was drunk - and yet I can find no news of a prosecution. Is it possible that the authorities found that blood test results indicated the pilot was not actually 'drunk', or was it possible that the authorities somehow 'messed up' or 'lost' the tests.

If not prosecuted, or if prosecuted and found not guilty then it would seem unjust that the pilot was sacked.. I believe that because of the uncertainty the pilot was sacked because he had 'brought the company into disrepute'. Is that so?

Probably this 2003 case below, maybe he copped a walk if the Swedes didn't prosecute but one of the posts in the OSL thread linked below said he was indeed sacked by BA. I don't know what happened, some of these cases make a splash in the media but these days are quietly resolved with a plea bargain and a secret squirrel rehab deal.

With the case in OSL around the same time, the BA captain was sober but allowed his drunk FO to show up for the flight. The OSL BA captain got sentenced to six months in prison.

BA pilot 'fails breath test at airport'

A British Airways pilot is facing the sack after allegedly being caught over the alcohol limit as he prepared to fly a passenger plane to London.

It is understood that the pilot was held by Swedish police after failing a breath test he was asked to take before the flight was due to leave from Arlanda airport near Stockholm.

A British Airways spokeswoman said the pilot, who has not been named, has been removed from flying duties while a full BA investigation was carried out, in addition to the inquiry by Swedish police.

"We are extremely concerned to hear of this alleged incident," the spokeswoman said.

She said BA had "very strict rules governing the use of alcohol" which amounted to a "zero tolerance" policy.

"It's a disciplinary offence for an employee to report for work impaired by alcohol and it is deemed to be gross misconduct, which can result in dismissal.

"A full investigation has been launched."

The spokeswoman said the pilot had been flown back to the UK, where he was "helping" with the investigation.


Story filed: 21:40 Saturday 25th January 2003

Translation of the swedish newspaper article.

Svenska Dagbladet
1-2-2003

Unclear if drunk pilot will be charged

The BA captain who was stopped just before start at Arlanda last sarurday, was under the influence of alcohol. The result of the blood test that came in yesterday shows 0.59 promille.
But Björn Frithiof, the public prosecutor who leads the investigation, has not decided if he will or will not bring charges.
- Off the cuff, I feel that the action is so serious that charges are indicated. But here is a possibilty to refrain from bringing charges, since the pilot concerned is not swedish and lives abroad. One can also require him to be charged in England.-
Aviation rules do not state any promille limits and the concept of of "drunk flying" does not exist. But someone who is so much under the influence of alcohol or other substances when working on a flight deck that he "can not execute his duties in a safe manner" can get up to two years in prison, or be fined when the transgression is of a lesser nature.














Contemporaneous PPRuNe discussion of the ARN incident:

https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/79415-ba-pilot-arrested-arn.html

and of the OSL incident:

https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/108603-ba-crew-test-positive-alcohol-sentences.html

[FL11967]

In my much earlier experience of working with the Japanese, there will be considerable loss of face and standing in their community, to the point at which their own existence may become irrelevant and require drastic action. I wonder if the culture is still as prevalent today.

What a way to end a career, he will be feeling the pain for ever.

IG

Has it been confirmed he is local and not expat?

[Doug E Style]

So from you older pilots what do you do if you suspect your colleague has drunk alcohol?

Do you say "call in sick or I turn you in"?
Do you just turn them in?
Ignore?

What I find shocking is that it was the driver who reported it and not one of his colleagues. Is there some Omerta here that us SLF need to be worried about?

Just saying, “call in sick” ought to be enough.

[RHSandLovingIt]

Has it been confirmed he is local and not expat?
The BBC article linked in Post #3 certainly thinks so...

A Japanese pilot who was arrested at Heathrow Airport for being drunk has admitted being more than nine times the legal alcohol limit.

Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, 42, who works for Japan Airlines, was arrested on 28 October after failing a breath test.
​​​​​

[parabellum]

and not one of his colleagues.
I wouldn't expect a colleague to 'turn him in' unless the pilot under suspicion, when challenged by his colleague, refused to go sick.

[Nightstop]

You certainly cant ignore your suspicion that a colleague is over the limit, otherwise you yourself can be charged with a crime:

A person charged with aiding and abetting or accessory is usually not present when the crime itself is committed, but he or she has knowledge of the crime before or after the fact, and may assist in its commission through advice, actions, or financial support.

[SigWit]

So from you older pilots what do you do if you suspect your colleague has drunk alcohol?

Do you say "call in sick or I turn you in"?
Do you just turn them in?
Ignore?

What I find shocking is that it was the driver who reported it and not one of his colleagues. Is there some Omerta here that us SLF need to be worried about?


Have him call in sick, and report to the alcohol and drugs program incorporated by our company so the colleague can receive proper support and keep his job.

If he refuses to call in sick, turn him in. No way he is flying.

[Australopithecus]

Suspicion is not knowledge. That’s why the authorities have breathalysers. And, you know, the entire system of justice.

[A and C]

This is a very difficult subject, in flight recently I was told that the cabin crew suspected one of their number had been drinking but was acting normally, I had not noticed anything unusual about this person when we checked in for the flight and getting the information just as we are on the final approach resulted in me deciding to go ahead and land ASAP.

I asked for the person to come to the cockpit after the Pax has left the aircraft and their breath did smell suspicious, I put this matter in the hands of the company management.

[A Squared]

So from you older pilots what do you do if you suspect your colleague has drunk alcohol?

Do you say "call in sick or I turn you in"?
Do you just turn them in?
Ignore?

What I find shocking is that it was the driver who reported it and not one of his colleagues. Is there some Omerta here that us SLF need to be worried about?

I wasn't there, so can't really comment directly on the incident at hand, but I can say that it can be pretty difficult to detect when a full-time career alcoholic is intoxicated. Chronic continual alcohol consumption changes the way it affects you physiologically. I can think of 2 individuals with whom I worked fairly closely, (not as flight crew) whom I later came to know were pretty much drunk, all the time. Yet they never appeared outwardly to be drunk in the sense of slurring words or staggering or other typical signs of intoxication. "drunk" was simply "normal" for them. Point being, it's not always obvious and certain that someone is intoxicated, and accusing them of showing up intoxicated is a pretty big "no-turning back" step, one that would go badly for the accuser if it turned out that he was mistaken and the accusee was stone cold sober. At the very least, you're now known throughout the airline as the guy accuses co-workers of drinking when they haven't been. So it's understandable that someone might be a little hesitant to ring the "You're drunk and I'm reporting you" bell unless they're pretty confident their suspicions are correct. Would you summon the authorities for a fellow crewmember who wasn't showing outward signs of being drunk and smelled of aftershave and breathmints? What it it turns out he just likes aftershave and breath mints?

[Sal007]

He had been due to be part of a crew flying a Japan Airlines (JAL) flight JL44 to Tokyo but failed a breath test 50 minutes before the departure time.
The Boeing 777 aircraft took off after a 69-minute delay.
- Maybe he went to the toilet on the way to the plane, BUT fair play to the Bus Driver should be promote.

[Elephant and Castle]

Whatever happened to the Pilot from BA who was reported as being 'drunk' before departing ARN about 10 or 15 years ago? Apparently he was sacked. Was there a prosecution - and if so what was the result?

It's a long time ago but it seems that at the time all the press were reporting that the pilot was drunk - and yet I can find no news of a prosecution. Is it possible that the authorities found that blood test results indicated the pilot was not actually 'drunk', or was it possible that the authorities somehow 'messed up' or 'lost' the tests.

If not prosecuted, or if prosecuted and found not guilty then it would seem unjust that the pilot was sacked.. I believe that because of the uncertainty the pilot was sacked because he had 'brought the company into disrepute'. Is that so?

Interesting stuff.


Kind regards
Exeng

Come on! you had a serious drinking problem, didn't you? You admitted as much.
You lost your job at BA but kept your licence and kept flying, quite a result if you ask me. I would be thanking my lucky star if I was you. You where treated with a LOT more compassion and consideration than many people would advocate in this site

[A Squared]

Whatever happened to the Pilot from BA who was reported as being 'drunk' before departing ARN about 10 or 15 years ago? Apparently he was sacked. Was there a prosecution - and if so what was the result?

It's a long time ago but it seems that at the time all the press were reporting that the pilot was drunk - and yet I can find no news of a prosecution. Is it possible that the authorities found that blood test results indicated the pilot was not actually 'drunk', or was it possible that the authorities somehow 'messed up' or 'lost' the tests.

If not prosecuted, or if prosecuted and found not guilty then it would seem unjust that the pilot was sacked.. I believe that because of the uncertainty the pilot was sacked because he had 'brought the company into disrepute'. Is that so?

Interesting stuff.


Kind regards
Exeng

There are a number of aspects to your question. One is that a lack of a criminal conviction is not proof of innocence. A verdict of "Not guilty" does not mean that the court found that the defendant was innocent, just that his guilt wasn't proven" beyond a reasonable doubt". That's a pretty high standard (intentionally so) and it's a long way from having been shown to shown to be innocent. A company making a decision to retain or dismiss an employee is not a court, nor is it a criminal issue, so the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard isn't applicable. If anything it seems like a company would be more guided by the "preponderance of evidence" standard used in civil matters. I would assume that would be the standard which would apply if their decision were to be contested in court (but I may be assuming too much) It also may be that the company's decision to dismiss someone is informed by information not available to a criminal court. Just as a purely hypothetical example, criminal defense counsel might have a blood alcohol test result of 0.12% suppressed, because a piece of lab equipment had missed a mandatory calibration date by a day, so a jury might never see that result. Meanwhile a manager might have seen that report, and might (reasonably) conclude that there's a fairly low probability that the equipment went that badly out of calibration in 24 hours, and choose to be guided by that BAC test result that the jury never saw.

In sum:

Neither the lack of a conviction nor the lack of a prosecution is proof of innocence.

A company is not a criminal court, so employee infractions do not have to be proven "beyond a reasonable doubt."

A company is not a court at all, a court's rules of evidence do not apply, so a company's decision may be based on information which a court wouldn't be allowed to consider.

Stack those together and it's neither remarkable nor outrageous that an employee might be dismissed in an incident that did not result in a criminal conviction.

[paradoxbox]

Par for the course in Korea and Japan.

This happens a lot more often than is reported. It is a serious problem and I've tried to do my part in reducing it through some of the training I do for those that utilize my services.

East Asia has a serious drinking problem and when you mix it in with the Korean and Japanese culture of "Whatever the boss says and does is never wrong" it is a recipe for disaster.

[msbbarratt]

Par for the course in Korea and Japan.

This happens a lot more often than is reported. It is a serious problem and I've tried to do my part in reducing it through some of the training I do for those that utilize my services.

East Asia has a serious drinking problem and when you mix it in with the Korean and Japanese culture of "Whatever the boss says and does is never wrong" it is a recipe for disaster.

My Mrs. (who is Japanese) reports that this is less of a problem amongst younger generations; bosses are less able to "insist" these days. Does still happen though. Intervening in someone else's private affairs is a big taboo, even if the need to do so it pretty stark. This is a big problem for safety.

Japan tends not to have rules / regulations / laws for things where there is a belief that everyone involved will naturally do the right thing. That's great, right up until they discover it isn't true. And so now we hear that the Japanese government is rushing in new regulations concerning enforcement of pilot sobriety...

[LookingForAJob]

Originally Posted by exeng https://www.pprune.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/614974-jal-pilot-over-limit-london-post10300148.html#post10300148)
Whatever happened to the Pilot from BA who was reported as being 'drunk' before departing ARN about 10 or 15 years ago? Apparently he was sacked. Was there a prosecution - and if so what was the result?

It's a long time ago but it seems that at the time all the press were reporting that the pilot was drunk - and yet I can find no news of a prosecution. Is it possible that the authorities found that blood test results indicated the pilot was not actually 'drunk', or was it possible that the authorities somehow 'messed up' or 'lost' the tests.

If not prosecuted, or if prosecuted and found not guilty then it would seem unjust that the pilot was sacked.. I believe that because of the uncertainty the pilot was sacked because he had 'brought the company into disrepute'. Is that so?

Interesting stuff.


Kind regards
ExengIf I recall correctly, the incident happened in early 2003 and the pilot was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing. Whatever the grounds for dismissal, if an employee deviates from the employer's standards or contractual requirements I guess the company can terminate employment - assuming disciplinary procedures are applied correctly. The law regarding limits on breath/blood-alcohol levels for aviation workers in the UK was introduced around mid-2003, hence at the time of the event no law was broken (well, not as a result of specific alcohol levels in the body, anyway) and so nothing to prosecute.

[parabellum]

Some regulatory authorities, but not all, won't specify a cut-off time for drinking, only that it is an offence to report for duty when unfit due to alcohol or drug consumption, so a real bender at lunchtime can still leave you unfit for most of the following day. Companies can/do give a cut-off time for drinking in their OM, eight to twelve hours seems the most common and even if no state, federal or country laws are broken, (so no prosecution), an individual can still be dismissed for breaching the company OM.

India is one country that has a countrywide law forbidding drink within twelve hours of reporting for duty and I remember a case where the hotel were asked to produce the room service receipts to establish just what time last drinks were ordered. Moral of that story is pay cash and tip well!

[Elephant and Castle]

Ordering a drink is not proof that one drank it. I have, very occasionally, bought drinks for others....

[SigWit]

If I recall correctly, the incident happened in early 2003 and the pilot was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing. Whatever the grounds for dismissal, if an employee deviates from the employer's standards or contractual requirements I guess the company can terminate employment - assuming disciplinary procedures are applied correctly. The law regarding limits on breath/blood-alcohol levels for aviation workers in the UK was introduced around mid-2003, hence at the time of the event no law was broken (well, not as a result of specific alcohol levels in the body, anyway) and so nothing to prosecute.

He was caught in Sweden, so Swedish criminal law would apply.

[Fratemate]

And so now we hear that the Japanese government is rushing in new regulations concerning enforcement of pilot sobriety...

No, what we're now hearing is the usual Japanese knee-jerk reaction and being seen to be strict guardians of the Right Way.......when we all know how far from the truth that is.

The rules were/are already in force. It's not a matter of doing things because it's the right thing to do. The rules and regulations concerning alcohol and flying duties are there in black and white and this pilot disobeyed them. Will it be just him who is punished? Of course not; that is not the Japanese way.

The Japanese seem absolutely incapable of dealing with the actual trouble-makers and, instead, apply blanket punishments and restrictions to everyone......just in case. The recent ANA manager is a very good case in point. He'd had a few wines and accidentally sat on a woman who was asleep in her lie-flat bed, believing it was his seat. Nothing deliberate. He wasn't wandering the place legless, just a genuine mistake. But, of course, he was considered 'drunk; and instantly fired and now ALL ANA Group employees are banned from consuming alcohol on ANA flights, including in the lounges, even if they are on full fare commuting tickets. All of this just so ANA can turn round and show how they have dealt with such disgraceful behaviour as shown by the manager for sitting in the wrong seat :rolleyes:

[Airbubba]

I've heard the HIMS (Home (http://www.himsprogram.com)) people talk about some internet device that can be used to demonstrate compliance with flightcrew alcohol restrictions at international outstations. Not sure if it can be used for random tests overseas for U.S. crewmembers not in the HIMS program though. Traditionally you couldn't be tested randomly by the airline outside the U.S. However, the airline or airport staff could report you to the local authorities for testing if you showed up drunk. Unfortunately, that press-to-test has been done many times. :ugh:

Japan Airlines pilots failed alcohol tests 19 times since since August 2017 causing 12 flight delays

By
AIRLIVE contributors (https://www.airlive.net/author/airlivenet/)-

November 15, 2018Japan Airlines pilots have failed breathalyzer alcohol tests on 19 occasions since August 2017, causing 12 domestic flight delays due to pilot switches, JAL officials have revealed to the Mainichi Shimbun.

The major airline introduced a new type of detector for in-house checks that month. The revelation comes on the heels of the arrest of a JAL co-pilot in London by British police in October (https://www.airlive.net/breaking-drunk-japan-airlines-pilot-of-boeing-777-300er-arrested-at-london-heathrow-airport-prior-flight-to-tokyo/) this year for allegedly arriving for duty on a flight to Haneda Airport in Tokyo with alcohol levels above the legal limit.

As the co-pilot had never failed an alcohol check on the old type of breathalyzer, it is possible that deceiving the device was rampant among some pilots at the airline.

According the company, the cause of the 12 delays was announced as “crew health conditions,” and no mention was made about their breath alcohol levels. JAL, which is scheduled to have a press conference on Nov. 16 to reveal countermeasures to curb excessive drinking by pilots, will be hard pressed to explain the delayed flights in detail.

Current JAL regulations ban drinking within 12 hours of a flight, and obligate pilots to undergone breathalyzer tests before flying. In August last year, the airline introduced a new type of detector that checks breath blown through a straw, and records data via an internet connection.

In response to the London incident, JAL checked the stored data to find that 19 cases exceeded the alcohol limit of 0.1 milligrams per 1 liter of exhalation, resulting in 12 flight delays.

(Japanese original by Norihito Hanamure, City News Department)



https://www.airlive.net/japan-airlines-pilots-failed-alcohol-tests-19-times-since-since-august-2017-causing-12-flight-delays/

[aox]

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46231780

This also has the above statistics of 19 infringements and 12 delays, and later:

Japan Airlines will implement a series of measures as a result of the recent breaches.

These include new breathalyser systems at overseas airports and introducing penalties "for flight crew violating the regulated alcohol concentration level".

The new systems are already in place at Heathrow and domestic airports in Japan, the spokesperson said.

They will be introduced at other airports on 19 November.

Pilots will also be prohibited from consuming alcohol in the 24 hours prior to reporting for a flight from Japan, the firm said.

[PPRuNe Towers]

10 month sentence in court earlier today for the Japanese pilot. 9 times over the limit.

Rob

[gtseraf]

I'm devastated, the company I work for has cancelled the 2018 Christmas party due to the recent alcohol incidents. I kid you not!

[Sailvi767]

Just saying, “call in sick” ought to be enough.

All that does is kick the can down the road.

[Hotel Tango]

What I want to know is what drives a guy to kill off his career like that? I'm not defending his actions but I do feel sorry for him in respect of whatever made him take that road to professional suicide!

[Sailvi767]

Alcoholism is a addiction. That is why the constant posts about just telling someone to call in sick are the worst possible advice. The only way to have any reasonable chance of solving the problem is to get the individual into treatment. Alcohol is the drug of choice for getting high in most parts of the world. Those with a addiction to it lose all rational ability to understand what it does to their families and careers.

[paradoxbox]

Japan has a horrible alcohol problem. Binge drinking after work is extremely common and almost mandatory at many companies. Combine that with the males of the society being viewed as ATM's for the family and you have a recipe for alcoholism. Anyone who's walked through a busy area of Tokyo in the evening, or better yet ridden a train there at night, has seen it.

[gtseraf]

add to the problem, a society which shuns any admission of suffering from alcoholism, depression, etc. and you get people painted into corners by society, resulting in things like this and worse happening

[tdracer]

Alcoholism is a addiction. That is why the constant posts about just telling someone to call in sick are the worst possible advice. The only way to have any reasonable chance of solving the problem is to get the individual into treatment. Alcohol is the drug of choice for getting high in most parts of the world. Those with a addiction to it lose all rational ability to understand what it does to their families and careers.
Not everyone who shows to work under the influence is an alcoholic/problem drinker. Sometimes it's simply a mistake, or the result of a severe trauma in an individuals live that temporarily gets the better of them. In those cases, 'calling in sick' is an appropriate short term solution. I went through a period like that ~30 years ago, after getting dumped by my (former) fiance. I don't think I ever showed up drunk for work, but I was pretty hungover a few times...
However if it's happening on a regular basis - then you're correct, the person needs help.

[Frequent_Flyer]

I was a flight attendant for one of the large airlines in Japan and never experienced drunk pilots or colleagues in the 2.5 years of flying long-haul. Although paradoxbox is completely right about drinking culture of Japanese business men and office workers (in the worst case, you find them lying around the streets and subway stations, unable to go home and just returning back to work in the morning) but all the crew members I worked with did the exact opposite. It is all about "fitting in" in Japan. You drink with your colleagues to fit into the office culture, but you do not drink more than a glass at dinner to fit in with your pilot cohort. So they can very much behave responsibly. This individual must have had a personal issue to break the rules.
The Japanese culture definitely distributes the responsibility amongst the colleagues, so presumably the other two pilots knew that this guy is intoxicated and would have set him to crew rest for the duration of the flight without reporting it, thus covering for him but also themselves. (Same for cabin crew who might get very ill shortly before a flight back home)
Now that it became a big public issue, the other pilots are probably going to be held responsible for not better supervising their "younger" colleague. I agree that heavy and repeated drinking is an illness, but from my experience this is a minority within the cockpit and cabin crew. Japanese crew proud and overly meticulous in their approach to work and my time felt very much like I was in the military - so strict and diligent! Hai!

[Tokyo Geoff]

I was a flight attendant for one of the large airlines in Japan and never experienced drunk pilots or colleagues in the 2.5 years of flying long-haul. Although paradoxbox is completely right about drinking culture of Japanese business men and office workers (in the worst case, you find them lying around the streets and subway stations, unable to go home and just returning back to work in the morning) but all the crew members I worked with did the exact opposite. It is all about "fitting in" in Japan. You drink with your colleagues to fit into the office culture, but you do not drink more than a glass at dinner to fit in with your pilot cohort. So they can very much behave responsibly. This individual must have had a personal issue to break the rules.
The Japanese culture definitely distributes the responsibility amongst the colleagues, so presumably the other two pilots knew that this guy is intoxicated and would have set him to crew rest for the duration of the flight without reporting it, thus covering for him but also themselves. (Same for cabin crew who might get very ill shortly before a flight back home)
Now that it became a big public issue, the other pilots are probably going to be held responsible for not better supervising their "younger" colleague. I agree that heavy and repeated drinking is an illness, but from my experience this is a minority within the cockpit and cabin crew. Japanese crew proud and overly meticulous in their approach to work and my time felt very much like I was in the military - so strict and diligent! Hai!

Unfortunately the facts don't line up with your assessment.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2018/12/06/editorials/airlines-must-tighten-alcohol-rules-pilots/

According to data from the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry shown to an experts’ panel called to discuss the issue, there have been 37 cases since 2013 in which airline pilots were found to have been drinking alcohol beyond the company-set limits before their scheduled flights, 20 of which led to either the cancellation or delay of the flights. Such cases took place in seven of the 25 domestic airline firms, with JAL accounting for 21 of the 37 cases, followed by eight cases involving All Nippon Airways.

And these are just the guys that were caught. I would imagine the vast majority go undetected.

[Frequent_Flyer]

I left the airline in 2011, so the incident measurement starts 2 years after that. Still, 21 drunk JAL pilots between 2013 and 2018 would equal 0.71 cases per calendar year.

"According to data from the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry shown to an experts’ panel called to discuss the issue, there have been 37 cases since 2013 in which airline pilots were found to have been drinking alcohol beyond the company-set limits before their scheduled flights, 20 of which led to either the cancellation or delay of the flights. Such cases took place in seven of the 25 domestic airline firms, with JAL accounting for 21 of the 37 cases, followed by eight cases involving All Nippon Airways."

But if you want to believe that all JAL pilots are constantly drunk, it's your choice!

[jolihokistix]

So how far will this go?

All Nippon Airways Co said Saturday a co-pilot at its Air Japan Co subsidiary was prevented from flying after testing positive in a pre-flight alcohol check, the latest in a string of similar incidents among Japanese carriers. The co-pilot, in his 40s, had planned to fly without telling his company about his alcohol consumption the night before, ANA said. On Thursday night he consumed between two and three times the limit set by the company, which is equivalent to two mid-sized bottles of beer, or about 1 liter. But he did not tell the company this when he was asked to fly to Yangon, Myanmar, from Narita airport near Tokyo, on Friday, ANA said. He was not initially scheduled to be working on that flight. The pilot started drinking vodka at home before 5 p.m. and the company contacted him around 7:40 p.m. to request that he be on the flight. The company prohibits drinking in the 12 hours before a flight, and the pilot said he had not breached this regulation. The flight to Yangon was scheduled for 11 a.m. He was replaced by another pilot after breathalyzer tests before the flight detected 0.25 milligram of alcohol per liter. The transport ministry on Friday urged another subsidiary of ANA, ANA Wings Co, to improve operations after one of its pilots tested positive in a pre-flight alcohol check. Japan's airline sector has been mired in similar incidents, prompting the ministry to urge airlines to review their alcohol rules and introduce mandatory alcohol tests for pilots.

© KYODO
https://japantoday.com/category/national/air-japan-pilot-bumped-off-flight-after-failing-breath-test

[punkalouver]

A freind of mine at a foreign carrier told me that about 18 months ago, an expat Japanese pilot at his airline was fired for failing a test as well.

[Timmy Tomkins]

According to many of our non-pilot "experts" on this website, the job is so easy that it would not matter one bit if the operator/pilot was drunk.

According to other "experts", the book should be thrown at him.

Make up your minds.....and remember that the average long-haul pilot landing after a transatlantic flight with no sleep is estimated to think and react at the equivalent of 160 mg/100ml. Just a bit short of the JAL First Officer.
And this has been known for years but is in the too difficult/inconvenient box for companies & regulators to deal with. Much easier to nail individual pilots who may have a drink problem in an environment where you can't own up and say so. ALPA sorted this out years ago