American Airlines pilot arrested [Archive]

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doublesix

8th Feb 2019, 09:25

Apparently an American Airlines pilot was arrested at Manchester Airport yesterday (7/2/19), for preparing to undertake an aviation function whilst under the influence of alcohol. The A330 flight to Philadelphia was subsequently cancelled. Pilot released on bail.

skydler

8th Feb 2019, 14:07

American Airlines Pilot Arrested on Suspicion of Being Drunk | Time.com (http://time.com/5524948/an-american-airlines-pilot-has-been-arrested-on-suspicion-of-being-drunk/)

Airbubba

8th Feb 2019, 14:37

From Sky News
'Drunk' pilot arrested at Manchester airport - minutes before take-off
Friday 8 February 2019 12:50, UK

The arrest happened minutes before take-off to Philadelphia, and the flight had to be cancelled. An American Airlines pilot has been arrested at Manchester airport on suspicion of being drunk - just minutes before he was meant to fly to the US.
Flight AA735, which was scheduled to depart for Philadelphia at 11.05am on Thursday, had to be cancelled.
The 62-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of performing an aviation function while over the prescribed alcohol limit, Greater Manchester Police revealed on Friday.
The force said officers "received a report that an airline pilot may have been under the influence of alcohol".

The pilot, who has not been named, has been bailed.

American Airlines confirmed a member of its crew was detained at the airport on Thursday - adding that affected passengers were rebooked onto other flights.The airline said it is "fully co-operating with local law enforcement" over the incident.

Airbubba

12th Apr 2019, 22:14

Looks like he has entered a guilty plea.

From the Daily Mail:

American Airlines pilot, 62, faces jail after he put 'hundreds of people at risk' by trying to fly a plane while 'drunk' from Manchester Airport to Philadelphia
Pilot David Copeland, 62, was stopped by security at Manchester Airport
American Airlines employee was 'unsteady on his feet' and failed breath test
He admitted being over the drink-fly limit and putting lives at risk at court today
Copeland, of Pennsylvania, US, will be sentenced at crown court next month

By Joseph Curtis For Mailonline (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Joseph+Curtis+For+Mailonline)

Published: 08:57 EDT, 10 April 2019 | Updated: 13:01 EDT, 10 April 2019

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/10/13/12095746-0-image-a-35_1554899338996.jpgAmerican Airlines pilot David Copeland, 62, pictured, could face jail after admitting putting hundreds of lives at risk by turning up to Manchester Airport too drunk to flyAn American pilot could face jail after he admitted putting hundreds of lives at risk when he was caught over the drinking limit for flying.

David Copeland, 62, from Pennsylvania, US, who works as a pilot for American Airlines, was pulled over by security at Manchester Airport in February because they wanted to check his hand luggage.

Security guard Jordan Fletcher found Copeland, due to fly to Philadelphia, was 'unstable on his feet' and he could smell alcohol (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/alcohol/index.html) on his breath.Police were called and he failed a breath test and then a subsequent blood test at a nearby police station.

The court heard he had 27ml of alcohol per 100ml of blood, which is 7ml over the limit - but less than half the drink-drive limit.

He appeared at Manchester Magistrates Court today where he pleaded guilty to performing an aviation task while intoxicated.

District Judge Mark Hadfield condemned Copeland for putting people's lives at risk.

Judge Hadfield said: 'Almost always a jail sentence is passed in these cases, not just because of the inconvenience caused, but because passengers are put at risk.

'He has put hundreds of people at risk. You are going to struggle to convince me to deal with it in this court.'

Prosecuting, Andrew Hey, said: 'On February 7 of this year, Jordan Fletcher was working at Manchester Airport as a security officer. He had reason to speak to this defendant regarding hand luggage.'Mr Fletcher said that, during his dealings, he asked the defendant various questions and he could smell intoxicants on his breath. He said he was acting in a peculiar manner and looked unstable on his feet.
'He informed his manager who called the police. PC Greenfield attended and he spoke to the pilot of the flight from Manchester to Philadelphia which was sat on the runway.

'He called to the defendant discreetly to ask him to leave the cockpit. The defendant said that he had alcohol 12 hours ago and had a coffee in the last 20 minutes.

'A sample of breath was taken which read 'Air Fail'. He was taken to a police station where he blood was taken which read 27mg per 100ml of blood - the legal limit is 20ml.'https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/10/13/12095748-0-image-m-37_1554899344748.jpg+3

The court heard Copeland, pictured, was stopped by security to check his luggage but that they then found him 'unsteady on his feet' and he subsequently failed breath and blood checkshttps://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/10/13/12096768-6907313-image-a-41_1554901044670.jpgHe was due to fly from Manchester Airport, pictured, to Philadelphia in February
Mitigating, Jane Novas-Morell said: 'It's largely unprecedented. This is an extremely low reading, 0.27 in blood, which equates to about 13ml in breath by my calculation.

'This defendant has pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. I would respectfully submit that this is, realistically, a case that could be dealt with by way of a fine.

'He was not largely over the limit, and experts have said he would have past the test if it was taken 30 minutes later. I also think it's unrealistic that they smelt it on his breath.'

Sending the case to crown court for sentencing, Judge Hadfield said: 'You're not going to smell alcohol on your own breath. Given the risk that created, and I imagine on a long haul flight that numerous people would have been put at risk, it's a Crown Court matter.

'David Copeland, you have pleaded guilty to a very serious offence at the earliest opportunity. In my view, it's far too serious for this court, so it's going to be a Crown Court sentence.'

David Copeland will appear at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, on May 8 for sentencing.

Nomad2

13th Apr 2019, 03:55

Seems to happen a lot at MAN. Something special about the night life maybe?

fdr

13th Apr 2019, 04:50

Seems to happen a lot at MAN. Something special about the night life maybe?

the place drives people to drink...

WingNut60

13th Apr 2019, 05:31

No exoneration for the Capt. but ....... "unsteady on his feet" at 0.027??

That seems a bit of a stretch.

crewmeal

13th Apr 2019, 05:37

Seems to happen a lot at MAN. Something special about the night life maybe?

It was back in BOAC days with a 3 day layover at The Grand!

Icarus2001

13th Apr 2019, 05:53

PC Greenfield attended and he spoke to the pilot of the flight from Manchester to Philadelphia which was sat on the runway. Did he get a parking fine as well?

FLCH

13th Apr 2019, 10:23

No exoneration for the Capt. but ....... "unsteady on his feet" at 0.027??

That seems a bit of a stretch.

.'He informed his manager who called the police. PC Greenfield attended and he spoke to the pilot of the flight from Manchester to Philadelphia which was sat on the runway.

Some mystery in the acccuracy of reporting, so the plane was stopped on the runway while the police spoke to the pilot ? Interesting situation.

Radgirl

13th Apr 2019, 12:50

The court heard he had 27ml of alcohol per 100ml of blood, which is 7ml over the limit - but less than half the drink-drive limit.

Err......no. If 25% of your circulating blood is alcohol that is about ten times the amount needed to kill you. Usual rubbish reporting. Oh, sorry, it is the Daily M@@@. Must be true :ugh:

Airbubba

13th Apr 2019, 17:03

Does it appear that the case is being sent to Crown Court because the District Judge feels that Copeland deserves a sentence greater than the six months and a fine that can be imposed in Magistrate's Court? Or is the case sent to Crown Court for sentencing pro forma as a serious offense and the sentence may not necessarily be higher?

Was Copeland an FO on the flight?

rotorwills

13th Apr 2019, 19:39

Was a slf on his inbound flight to Man. If only I'd known .

pants on fire...

13th Apr 2019, 20:14

Was a slf on his inbound flight to Man. If only I'd known .
If only you'd known what?

groundbum

13th Apr 2019, 20:32

FrontSeatPhil

13th Apr 2019, 21:12

David Copeland...could face jail after admitting putting hundreds of lives at risk by turning up to Manchester Airport too drunk to fly.
Too drunk to fly? Does that mean there's an acceptable level of drunk?

WingNut60

13th Apr 2019, 22:45

Too drunk to fly? Does that mean there's an acceptable level of drunk?

Yes. 0.02 - below which your feet are much more steady.

TowerDog

14th Apr 2019, 01:51

Second time in Manchester for an AA pilot.
The first one got off after some fancy legal work and a good story,
Good luck on this one. :ok:

RoyHudd

14th Apr 2019, 02:11

Airbubba

14th Apr 2019, 02:26

Second time in Manchester for an AA pilot.
The first one got off after some fancy legal work and a good story,
Good luck on this one. :ok:

Yep, the first drunk AA pilot in MAN was acquitted after his brigadier Ohio Air Guard buddy turned up in dress uniform to wow the jury as a character witness.

Jury forgives pilot who 'drank whiskey in sleep'

By Russell Jenkins in London

March 23, 2007 03:19am

AN American Airlines pilot arrested at an airport after reportedly arriving for duty drunk was found not guilty yesterday after telling a jury that he must have consumed a third of a bottle of Irish whiskey in his sleep...

...He claimed a sleeping disorder might have led him to drink from a bottle of Bushmills whiskey the night before.

...He slapped colleagues on the back and grinned with delight when the verdict was announced.

Earlier, the jury was told he had left the Renaissance Hotel in Manchester for a seven-hour drinking session with his two fellow pilots.

He had drunk pints of beer in at least four pubs before retiring for a whiskey in the hotel bar.

Around midnight, he swallowed a sedative to help him to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, after 9am, he could hear his captain banging on the hotel door.

He noticed that about a third of the Irish whiskey he had bought the previous night had been consumed, but he had no memory of drinking it.

It's an eventful layover for one AA flight attendant as well:

American Airlines senior air stewardess, 57, was arrested after being found EIGHT times the alcohol limit while giving pre-flight safety demonstration

Stacy Rosehill was arrested before the flight from Manchester to Chicago
The 57-year-old had been drinking wine and whisky the night before the flight
Police were called after security smelled alcohol on American Airlines attendant
She admitted being over legal limit and must pay a £140 ($178) fine plus costs
She's been suspended on full pay and faces disciplinary hearing in U.S.
By Jennifer Newton for MailOnline (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Jennifer+Newton+for+MailOnline)

Published: 11:46 EDT, 6 December 2016 | Updated: 02:52 EDT, 7 December 2016 Stacy Rosehill, an American Airlines stewardess, was arrested while giving a safety demonstration on a flight from Manchester airport after she was found to be eight-times the legal alcohol limit

An American Airlines stewardess was arrested while giving a safety demonstration on a flight from Manchester airport after she was found to be eight-times the legal alcohol limit.

Stacy Rosehill, 57, from Chicago, was carrying out the pre-flight demonstration ahead of the American Airlines flight to her hometown when officers were alerted to a tip-off by security staff, who could smell alcohol on her breath.

The senior flight attendant was then escorted off the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and taken into custody as around 300 passengers were waiting to take off.

Tests later showed she had 71 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of her breath. The legal limit under aviation rules is 9mg, much stricter than the rules for driving.

Today Manchester Magistrates Court heard that Rosehill had become drunk the night before the flight after going to a 'bring your own booze' restaurant during a stopover in Manchester.

It is thought she had been drinking wine before knocking back whisky from her hotel mini-bar at 2am.

When she reported for duty seven hours later, she was still under the influence.

At the hearing today, Rosehill admitted performing an aviation function while over the prescribed limit under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003.

She was fined £140 ($178) and must also pay £85 ($108) legal costs and a £30 ($38) victim surcharge.

I suspect the current pilot's fine will be more than £140 with his increased responsibility on the crew.

Like the Isleworth Crown Court near LHR and the Paisley Sheriff's Court in GOW, the Manchester Magistrates' Court probably needs to consider adding a crew lounge.

Another in a never-ending series... :ugh:

WingNut60

14th Apr 2019, 05:31

.........
He was below the FAA limit, and was 1/3 the previous UK limit. A reasonable limit would be 0.03, as most AME’s agree.

He was below the FAA limit - irrelevant. As a professional pilot he, and you, should know the applicable limit.
and was 1/3 the previous UK limit - irrelevant. See first comment.
A reasonable limit would be 0.03, as most AME’s agree. - Thanks for the opinion. All you need do now is convince the UK authorities to revise the regulations, retrospectively.

rotorwills

14th Apr 2019, 09:35

If only you'd known what?

Well I would have taken him up another drink. 🤗

Auxtank

15th Apr 2019, 08:08

the place drives people to drink...

My grandmother was from Manchester and she used to say;
"The fastest way out of Manchester is a bottle of whisky."

DCP123

17th Apr 2019, 02:07

Err......no. If 25% of your circulating blood is alcohol that is about ten times the amount needed to kill you. Usual rubbish reporting. Oh, sorry, it is the Daily M@@@. Must be true :ugh:

It's a pretty humorous typo. 27 ml of alcohol per 100 ml of blood would be about 54 proof and would be instantly fatal.

In defense of the reporter or lawyers who mixed this up, the units for measuring blood alcohol content are a bit bizarre.

In the US, we take the number of grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and state it as a percentage even though neither alcohol nor blood weigh 1 gram per milliliter, so the percentages have real units associated with them, not the sort of unit-free numbers/ratios that percentages are generally used for. If your BAC is 0.02%, that does not mean that 0.02% of the weight of your blood is alcohol or that the volume that the alcohol in your blood would take up if it were somehow removed from your blood is 0.02% of the volume of you blood. It is a weight to volume ratio stated as a percentage, presumably for historical reasons. 0.02% actually means that you have 0.02 grams of alcohol per hundred ml (one deciliter) of blood or .0002 g per ml, which is mathematically the same as 0.02% g/ml, but nobody uses percentages that way. In more standard units, it would just be called 0.2 grams/liter, or for chemists, some number of mmol/l.

In the UK, apparently they refer to the number of milligrams per 100 ml, so our 0.02% (0.02 g/100 ml) becomes 20 mg per 100 ml. All the lawyer or reporter had to do was confuse the "mg" with "ml" and our guy suddenly has about 1000x as much alcohol in his blood.

And, I agree with those who said that it would be odd for someone to be unsteady on their feet due to 0.027% BAC. People are allowed to drive in most states with levels about three times that. I suspect the security guard smelled alcohol and convinced himself the guy was unsteady on his feet as a result of the alcohol he smelled.

WingNut60

17th Apr 2019, 06:32

.....
And, I agree with those who said that it would be odd for someone to be unsteady on their feet due to 0.027% BAC. People are allowed to drive in most states with levels about three times that. I suspect the security guard smelled alcohol and convinced himself the guy was unsteady on his feet as a result of the alcohol he smelled.

My thoughts too.
I think that the person concerned made a bad call or pushed his luck a bit too far; one or two too many before he went to bed.

Without knowing the time-frame for when the 0.027 was actually recorded it is not hard to imagine that his BAC may have been somewhat higher when he was first noticed by the security officer.

B772

18th Apr 2019, 04:32

Depending upon what he had been drinking it could have been a case of just one too many.

Gove N.T.

18th Apr 2019, 07:08

There’s another thread about how pilots are perceived. I expect most of us think ourselves responsible intelligent and alert; We should know the rules. Knowing the ramifications, surely 1 day without an alcoholic drink is the responsible intelligent thing to do.

golfbananajam

18th Apr 2019, 15:50

Maybe he just had one too many hot cross buns
https://twitter.com/i/status/1118878823737589760

Trav a la

8th May 2019, 10:03

In court for sentencing today.

Trav a la

8th May 2019, 10:49

From the Manchester Evening News....

Copeland handed six-month sentence, suspended for a yearThe judge says it is so serious that a custodial sentence must be passed, but that he has decided, in all the circumstances, he can suspend the sentence.

Copeland is sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for a year. He was ordered to pay £400 prosecution costs.

“I very much doubt you will commit any further offences,” the judge adds, before allowing Copeland to leave the dock.

That concludes the hearing.

aterpster

8th May 2019, 13:34

B2N2

8th May 2019, 13:48

The word “drunk” simply does not apply to a level of .027.

The many idiotic and critical comments on this thread demonstrate how ill-informed the non-pro pilots are, the ones who infest this site.

He was below the FAA limit, and was 1/3 the previous UK limit. A reasonable limit would be 0.03, as most AME’s agree.

And the answer to that is.....

Security guard Jordan Fletcher found Copeland, due to fly to Philadelphia, was 'unstable on his feet' and he could smell alcohol (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/alcohol/index.html) on his breath.

Timmy Tomkins

8th May 2019, 13:55

No exoneration for the Capt. but ....... "unsteady on his feet" at 0.027??

That seems a bit of a stretch.

My thought exactly. Over is over but I can't see him being unsteady at that llevel.

silverwood

8th May 2019, 13:59

Seems to happen a lot at MAN. Something special about the night life maybe?
no its just Manchester

Airbubba

8th May 2019, 15:48

Now, he can go about reading the help wanted ads back home.

He's probably going back on the line after coming down to the HIMS altar to confess his transgressions.

From the American Airlines HIMS Handbook:

American Airlines Group pilots have available to them the premier substance abuse agreement in the aviation industry. The goal is to protect the pilot’s career, regain the pilot’s medical certificate, and return the pilot to the cockpit.Time and again the HIMS program has proven effective, fair, and protective of a recovering pilot’s career. The individual airlines within American Airlines Group all have a process for making sure pilots with alcohol and/or drug abuse problems can maintain their careers. The companies encourage treatment, allows time to participate in treatment, and cover treatment under the provisions of the American Airlines Group medical plans when coordinated through the EAP.

Despite the myriad of conflicting issues that arise between the company and labor, the HIMS program remains above the fray. The EAP representatives for the unions and the company work collectively. Use HIMS to save your own life, or recommend it to a friend or co-worker. We have a terrific group of volunteers who are in recovery themselves, or have worked years in this program and are more than willing to assist you. Give us a chance to help. We are very proud of our record.

Admission into the American Airlines Group HIMS program is a privilege, not an entitlement. American AirlinesGroup will pay, by way of your insurance, 85% of the cost of your 28 day treatment. The out-of-pocket amount you pay may be even less if you use one of the facilities with which AAG Medical has negotiated the rates. AAG Medical Department will cover the cost of your psychological and psychiatric evaluation if you use one of the FAA qualified psychologists and psychiatrists with whom AAG Medical has negotiated reduced rates. AAG Medical will cover the costs of your continued monitoring, including follow up drug and alcohol testing. Your AME will be part of the AAG Medical Department and therefore cost you nothing. Your yearly flight physical, performed by your AAG AME, will be no cost to you. American Airline Group’s senior managers of Flight have looked beyond the surface expense and seen the advantage of this policy in improving flight safety and lowering overall costs to the company, and their support has been strong and enthusiastic. However, there are limits. Following discovery of a second undisclosed relapse, the Quad may ask you to pursue medical recertification with an Independent Medical Sponsor outside of AAG Medical, at your own cost.

Auxtank

8th May 2019, 18:52

After the great unwashed have finished shooting the sh!t out of him...

Not sure of the AA policy on pilots in distress with personal probs/ addictions, etc.

Hope he seeks/ gets the help he needs. Clearly he was overwhelmed by things we'll never know about.

After all, who would throw it in (the career, money, kudos, etc) for a few drinks.

I wish him well in his recovery.

The Old Fat One

8th May 2019, 20:04

Residual alcohol from a bevvie, 12 hours previously and very marginal fail - stow the outrage bus, could happen inadvertently to all sorts of people in all sorts of professions.

'fessed up at the first opportunity and took it like a man.

62 years old...

Sir, I hope your pension fund is sufficiently full. If so, stick two fingers up to the world, dust down your golf clubs and fishing rods and enjoy a happy, slightly early, retirement.

ASRAAMTOO

8th May 2019, 20:51

There are a number of airports around the world (and the UK is particularly bad in this respect) where security is sufficiently brusque to be considered rude. A cynic might suggest that any crew who argue the toss with security (over things like the size of their plastic bag or if lip balm constitutes a liquid or a solid) are considered to be unsteady of gait.

I wonder how many crew are tested in similar circumstances but dont make the press as the test is negative.

maxxer

8th May 2019, 21:06

Why not do a check on every atc also and see how much alcohol is in their system.
Or we check all other staff working airside if there is cocaine in there blood.

bafanguy

8th May 2019, 21:25

FYI:

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-american-airlines-flight-attendant-drunk-bac-4x-legal-limit-20190508-nhplvxj5gvgqrjykgwpeyeix44-story.html

The AvgasDinosaur

8th May 2019, 21:52

Dog Star

9th May 2019, 03:20

Seems to happen a lot at MAN. Something special about the night life maybe?

I've been in the business a few years now night stopping in the UK everywhere from Scatsta in the Shetland Islands to Guernsey in the Channel Islands. In the UK I've been based in GLA, BHX, LGW and MAN. Not bragging but internationally I've been based in PHL, LAS, KEF, AMS, MXP, ICN, VTE, MNL, SIN, as well as Malaysia and Japan. Night stopped many, many other places.

NOWHERE in the world have I seen a more virulent form of unpleasant, in your face security (reserved for air crew) than at MANCHESTER, UK. The recruiting seems to be from local ethnic communities in the notorious Moss Side of Manchester's teaming inner city. These folks would like nothing more than to add you as the latest feather in their cap. Air Crew beware!!!

To answer the question above there isn't much nightlife in Manchester, it's a god-awful boring place unless you're a Man U player or a MAN security guard about to drop a western air crew member in a pile of deep kimchi.

(BTW while enjoying a bevy or two myself at times we must agree that it is long past the bygone days when it was acceptable to drink hard and fly hard. The world wars are behind us, fly sober - completely sober)

Meester proach

9th May 2019, 07:38

Seems to happen fairly regularly.I don’t think all these pilots need help in so much as they may be “ alcoholics “, but I think a lot more could be done to address the sheer loneliness and social isolation of long haul work , there I think , lies the real reason.

marchino61

9th May 2019, 08:31

When I was a serving police officer and intoxylizer operator/trainer alcohol was ‘a colourless, oderless substance liquid at normal ambient temperature’ the security personnel who can smell alcohol on anyone’s breath hasn’t been born yet. Or this ones evidence has been miss reported. Given a regular drinkers accumulated tolerance over time I seriously doubt such a low level would actually be discernible.
still it has no valid place in the bloodstream of flight crew on the, or intending to be on the, flight deck any time soon.
be lucky
David

When people talk of smelling "alcohol" on the breath, it usually isn't actually alcohol. It is more often a metabolic product of the breakdown of alcohol by the body - an aldehyde or ketone. That said, alcohol (ethanol) is most definitely not odourless. I work in a lab and we have 99.5% pure ethanol here. It has a distinctive smell, not unlike vodka.

aterpster

9th May 2019, 13:10

He's probably going back on the line after coming down to the HIMS altar to confess his transgressions.

From the American Airlines HIMS Handbook:
That applies if intervention occurs off-duty. Showing up for flight duty at the airport is quite different.

flyboyike

9th May 2019, 22:21

Sir, I hope your pension fund is sufficiently full. If so, stick two fingers up to the world, dust down your golf clubs and fishing rods and enjoy a happy, slightly early, retirement.

He's probably ex-USAir, so no pension fund. Probably why he was still flying at 62 in the first place...

TURIN

9th May 2019, 22:46

Seems to happen a lot at MAN. Something special about the night life maybe?

To answer the question above there isn't much nightlife in Manchester, it's a god-awful boring place unless you're a Man U player or a MAN security guard about to drop a western air crew member in a pile of deep kimchi.

)

Blimey when was the last time you went to the North west? Manchester United are not top dog any more by the way.