Boozing in sleep?

[Kirks gusset]

https://aviationsource.news/general-news/norwegian-flight-crew-member-must-have-drunk-in-her-sleep-sentenced-to-prison-for-alcohol-level-in-blood/

O Dear!

[MCDU2]

Moral of the story...Don't drink in Norway with their ridiculosly low alcohol limits.

[Ancient Mariner]

If you think so, just stay away from us. Problem solved.
Most of us living here are OK with these limits, we don't see the need to drink alcohol before driving a car, a boat, an aircraft or anything else for that matter. We feel safer this way.

[fatbus]

I thought the .2 was used in many CAA's

[Smooth Airperator]

How did she get caught out?

[aterpster]

Was she a pilot or FA?

[Pugilistic Animus]

When I first saw this report I thought that she was a pilot but now I'm not sure.
​Edit: I looked at the article again and now realize that she was indeed a FA as her position in the company.

[DIBO]

CC member
https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/norwegian-air-shuttle/norwegian-purser-sentenced-to-prison-for-alcohol-level-in-blood-she-says-she-must-have-drunk-in-her-sleep/

[clark y]

Do I read this as .02 maximum and her blood alcohol content was .037? If so she would still be able to legally drive a motor vehicle in many countries and I would not call that too impaired. Just trying to figure out if she was rolling drunk at work or just a bit too happy. The article mentions health issues and pressure to got to work. I wonder if sleep medication was involved. Ambien/Stillnox?

[king surf]

I made it a rule of mine 20 years ago, I don't drink any alcohol in any of the Scandi countries on a night stop. Anywhere else if I fancy a beer, then I have only one.

[hoss183]

That level can be found with auto-brewing syndrome Auto-brewery syndrome - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-brewery_syndrome)

[OvertHawk]

MCDU2

0.02 is the legal maximum stipulated by many countries for aircrew ( no distinction between flight or cabin in most cases) including the UK!

By comparison, most EU countries have a 0.05 limit for driving ( England/Wales have 0.08 as do most US States).

[cheese bobcat]

When I was flying commercially, I spent around 200 nights per year in hotels. To help me sleep, I consumed a couple of pints of beer before bed.
I don't know anything about these alcohol figures, but if that placed me over some limit, tough. If there is anything they can shove into your mouth that says you've had a lousy night's sleep, do tell. As a passenger, I know who I'd rather fly with.

[Ancient Mariner]

So you were a commercial pilot and knew nothing about "these alcohol figures"? Amazing.
Then let me assure you that a couple of pints before bed, provided a normal nights sleep, would leave you with no alcohol in your blood the next morning.

[Loose rivets]

A while ago I posted with the heading, Every pilot in the world should read this book. Something like that. It was Matthew Walker's 'Why We Sleep'. There was a LOT said about Ambien. Now I see:-These instances are sometimes called Ambien blackouts (http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20060315/ambien-linked-to-sleep-eating#1): The person performs activities after they have taken Ambien, although they do not remember them. The clinical term, however, is parasomnia (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2762721/) – an activity like walking, eating, talking on the phone, and others, which occurs after a person has gone to sleep.

There are certainly reports of sleepwalking, sleep-eating, and sleep-driving that do not involve Ambien and other prescription sleep aids, but the addition of Ambien appears to induce these behaviors in people who do not normally have them and may potentially make them worse in people who do have parasomnias.

If she takes any form of Zolpidem, I rather think she should be released from jail while the defence can be advised. It might be she'd then be guilty of another crime, but rather a lesser stigma perhaps.

Some of the facts in that book are utterly jaw-dropping.

[cheese bobcat]

Twenty years ago, we didn't have all this fuss about alcohol. I seem to remember some Japanese cargo captain at Anchorage being reported for being drunk but he was plastered. There was another one somewhere in the States, but we never had all this fuss about the tiniest amount of alcohol in your blood.

I think it was assumed that we were responsible aircrew.

Rant over.

[Juan Tugoh]

Just to pour a little cold water on the “twenty years ago we didn’t have all this fuss about alcohol” nonsense. Note the date of the report.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2000/oct/06/transport.world

[fox niner]

MCDU2

the limits are exactly the same as in the whole EU. The imposed sentences however, are something else.

[Ancient Mariner]

I think we can assume that you were not. May I remind you that twenty years ago was 2001, not the year of the Wrights, or T Rex for that matter.

[Pugilistic Animus]

Jail time seems excessive in this case, definitely not worth the risk to have a bit of fun at the expense of a criminal record and job loss. Always think twice before reporting for duty if sick or impaired.

There was a case where a NW 727 Captain, Lyle something, blew a positive test and was arrested, sentenced to 6 months in federal prison. The captain was pardoned by Reagan, afterwards he got treatment and got rehired by NW. But he had to start from the beginning, of course he had more than enough hours, PPL CPL, and ATPL. He retired from NW as a 747 pilot

[iome]

Ancient Mariner

She, a Norwegian citizen, begs to differ clearly

[Ancient Mariner]

Hence, most of. She like other limits, fine. Go see your preferred politician.

[draglift]

This pilot got away with the excuse of boozing in his sleep in 2007.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-443872/Cleared-The-pilot-claimed-got-drunk-sleep.html

[sonicbum]

It’s all down to common sense really. In my opinion you shouldn’t report for duty with any level of alcohol in your blood, no matter what the allowance is. We have more than enough time to enjoy food and drinks whilst being on days off and well before any duty. If somebody needs alcohol to cope with stress and sleep disorders, than it’s better to go and seek some medical expertise which doesn’t automatically mean being denied a medical as there are loads of medications accepted by EASA and FAA for those conditions.

[parabellum]

My first flight to a Scandinavian country would have been about forty years ago and even then it was not uncommon for officials to board an aircraft and carry out random breathalyser tests on the crew. It was common knowledge these random checks were always a possibility in Scandinavia, no grog 24 hours before was the usual protection applied by crews.