U. S ARTCC controller fails alky test, on duty

[stepwilk]

Well, at least he wasn't smoking.

Inebriated air traffic controller? Denver Controller Dismissed After Testing Positive for Alcohol - ABC News

[Ditchdigger]

The controller was six hours into an eight-hour shift at the Denver Center, which oversees aircraft flying in more than nine states, when the Federal Aviation Administration officials entered the center and administered a drug and alcohol test to the controller, whom co-workers believed had a substance abuse problem.

Which would lead one to believe that this particular controller was singled out, presumably because someone had noticed he was a problem in need of correction, yet in the video, the reporter states that it was a "random" test. I wonder which is the true story?

[stepwilk]

"...whom co-workers believed had a substance-abuse problem."

That's what it SAYS.

[Lonewolf_50]

The test revealed that the controller was above the legal limit for blood-alcohol content, a limit that is lower for air traffic controllers than for automobile drivers.
The controller has since been removed from duty and is in an alcohol rehabilitation facility, KMGH reported.

This makes "dismissed" in the headline a false statement. He was removed from his duty.

We used to have a thing in the Navy called "a fitness for duty" drug test, which was under certain conditions adminstered when one had reason to believe that a sailor was unfit for duty based on chemical impairment.

Not all drug tests need be random.

Hopefully, this experienced controller can be brought back into the fold via rehab/substance abuse remedy. It may or may not be possible. Each case has its own quirks.

[con-pilot]

From the headlines of the link.

Inebriated Air Traffic Controller? Denver Employee Dismissed

From the article in the linked story.

The controller has since been removed from duty and is in an alcohol rehabilitation facility, KMGH reported.

Don't they read their own stories?



Oops, sorry Wolf, didn't see your post, well that and I type slow.

[Spitoon]

Hard to tell who has done what as the FAA employs both controllers and 'officials'. And who knows how much of the story we have here.

However, if co-workers thought the controller had a problem it would be good to think that they - or the local management - might offer some help rather than wait for/tip-off the regulatory people in the FAA.

Whatever happened, I hope the controller concerned gets any help he needs to deal with any problem he has. Even if it turns out that working live traffic is not for him any more, I sincerely hope that his wealth of experience is not lost to the business for no other reason that he is made a scapegoat or that his local colleagues and managers didn't have the b@lls to handle the situation.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Yep - it happens. I knew 3 during my career. They're all human - just extremely stupid.

[Tourist]

" I sincerely hope that his wealth of experience is not lost to the business for no other reason that he is made a scapegoat or that his local colleagues and managers didn't have the b@lls to handle the situation."

Erm, I can think of one other reason......

HE WAS DRUNK!

Whatever happened to personal responsibility for ones actions?

Turn up pi55ed, get caught, get hung.
Seems reasonable to me.

[Lonewolf_50]

He was drunk?

Well, maybe.

It appears that he was six hours into a shift (looks to be a fact) and he had a drug test that indicated a breach of blood content > FAA rule < driving rule.

If he showed up pissed and six hours later finally did a piss test ... OK. Most likely showed up drunk.

If, on the other hand, he snuck a quick nip a few minutes before the test (as in, a "sly" addition of some rum to his tea or coffee, and a co worker saw it) then he'd still be in serious professional breach, but probably not drunk.

It does not look good, no matter how you slice it.

@ Heathrow Director

Yep - it happens. I knew 3 during my career. They're all human - just extremely stupid.

You knew three what during your career?

a. Air traffic controllers
b. Drunks
c. Drunk air traffic controllers
d. People with drinking problems

[Herod]

If the colleagues believed he had a problem, what the h*ll were they doing in the six hours he had been on shift before the testing? I'm sure glad I don't have "friends" like that.

[stepwilk]

HE WAS DRUNK! Whatever happened to personal responsibility for ones actions? Turn up pi55ed, get caught, get hung. Seems reasonable to me.

Spoken like somebody who's never had a drink in their life.

His b/a was above .02, forgodsakes. Maybe it was way above, it doesn't say, but if it was anywhere near .02, trust me he wasn't "drunk."

Just about every day of my life, I have a good-size Scotch after work and usually half a bottle of wine with dinner, and I'm sure my b/a is well above .02. No, I wouldn't go out and drive, but I'm certainly not "drunk."

[green granite]

His b/a was above .02, forgodsakes. Maybe it was way above, it doesn't say, but if it was anywhere near .02, trust me he wasn't "drunk."

That was 6 hrs into the shift, it would have been much higher at the start of the shift.

[stepwilk]

Good point, but as was pointed out above, he could have been nipping in the men's room during his shift. We don't know. But to me, "drunk" means knee-walking, wearing lampshades and stumbling around.

[xcitation]

1 serving of aunty Gladis' sherry trifle would do more than .02 to his blood alcohol. Not condoning it but there could always be an accidental explanation.

[Harry Spotter]

Denver Center, which oversees aircraft flying in more than nine states

Not more than eight states ? No Sir , more than nine states !

Sensationalism , Mr. Journo.

[fmsion]

If he came intoxicated to work, I believe that is a serious issue. The liver breaks down alcohol at a rate of about 0.015 per hour if memory serves me right, so at the beginning of his shift that could mean close to 0.1% in a healthy male. The other consequence is 1 hour later he may not have tested positive at all.
On the other hand, people with some kinds of diabetes have been known to test false positive in breathalyzer tests.

Last, for a healthy adult weighing around 160lbs it takes more than a full beer or a shot of 80 proof alcohol to develop 0.02. Sipping he wasn't.

[Lon More]

not condoning it, but medecine or mouth wash can provide a false reading.

I've known a few with alcohol problems, one became a Head of Ops.. Others went into treatment. FWIW the Sabena Staff restaurant in EBBR sold alcohol. It was normal for ATC and many pilots to have a couple of glasses with their meal back in the 60s/70s.

[PeltonLevel]

Does LFBB still have its wine cooperative?

[WetFeet]

Remember the days when there was a bar in the staff restaurant on the ground floor of the control tower building? Bar in the staff restaurant at Gatwick? Wine and beer sold in the staff restaurant at Eurocontrol?

They don't make it easy!