Drunk US pilots jailed for 'horrendous' act
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Drunk US pilots jailed for 'horrendous' act
Two former US pilots convicted of operating a packed passenger plane while drunk were sent to prison by a Florida judge, who called their crime "outrageous and horrendous".
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge David Young sentenced Thomas Cloyd, 47, to five years behind bars - the maximum term - and Christopher Hughes, 44, to two and a half years in prison for trying to fly from Miami International Airport on July 1, 2002, after a night of guzzling beer.
"What you did was absolutely wrong, outrageous and horrendous," Young said before passing down the sentences.
"... If there was an emergency, if something horrendous happened, you're talking about not only your lives but the lives of the passengers, the lives of the stewards, the lives of the people who would have been hit by an aircraft if the aircraft would have ... crashed into homes, into neighbourhoods."
They were charged under Florida state law prohibiting operating an airplane while intoxicated.
The America West pilots' Airbus 319 aircraft was being towed to the runway for takeoff to Phoenix with 124 passengers and three flight attendants aboard when it was ordered back to the terminal. A security screener had reported that the pilots smelled of alcohol.
They had spent the evening before playing pool and drinking at Mr Moe's Cantina in Miami's leafy Coconut Grove area. They left the bar around 5am after running up a tab for 14 jumbo glasses of beer - the equivalent of nearly 22 pints (10.5 litres) - and showed up late for the 10.30am flight.
The pilots' lawyers had argued unsuccessfully during trial that neither should be convicted because they were not really operating the plane at the time in question. They said it was under control of a tug truck driver towing it to the runway.
America West fired Cloyd and Hughes shortly after their arrest and the Federal Aviation Administration revoked their pilots' licences. FAA rules bar pilots from consuming alcohol for eight hours before a flight.
Reuters
I think I was the first to post this article....but, is it just me or are pilots getting caught in the act more and more these days?
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge David Young sentenced Thomas Cloyd, 47, to five years behind bars - the maximum term - and Christopher Hughes, 44, to two and a half years in prison for trying to fly from Miami International Airport on July 1, 2002, after a night of guzzling beer.
"What you did was absolutely wrong, outrageous and horrendous," Young said before passing down the sentences.
"... If there was an emergency, if something horrendous happened, you're talking about not only your lives but the lives of the passengers, the lives of the stewards, the lives of the people who would have been hit by an aircraft if the aircraft would have ... crashed into homes, into neighbourhoods."
They were charged under Florida state law prohibiting operating an airplane while intoxicated.
The America West pilots' Airbus 319 aircraft was being towed to the runway for takeoff to Phoenix with 124 passengers and three flight attendants aboard when it was ordered back to the terminal. A security screener had reported that the pilots smelled of alcohol.
They had spent the evening before playing pool and drinking at Mr Moe's Cantina in Miami's leafy Coconut Grove area. They left the bar around 5am after running up a tab for 14 jumbo glasses of beer - the equivalent of nearly 22 pints (10.5 litres) - and showed up late for the 10.30am flight.
The pilots' lawyers had argued unsuccessfully during trial that neither should be convicted because they were not really operating the plane at the time in question. They said it was under control of a tug truck driver towing it to the runway.
America West fired Cloyd and Hughes shortly after their arrest and the Federal Aviation Administration revoked their pilots' licences. FAA rules bar pilots from consuming alcohol for eight hours before a flight.
Reuters
I think I was the first to post this article....but, is it just me or are pilots getting caught in the act more and more these days?
Moderate, Modest & Mild.
Nice to see the "unbiased" reporting...."a night of guzzling beer."
Now I certainly do NOT condone drinking irresponsibly, nor drinking inside the legal limits.
What I do object to though, is only being given a small percentage of the FACTS.
Let's have a look at what we were told...
"operating a packed passenger plane while drunk
They were charged under Florida state law prohibiting operating an airplane while intoxicated.
A security screener had reported that the pilots smelled of alcohol.
They left the bar around 5am after running up a tab for 14 jumbo glasses of beer
FAA rules bar pilots from consuming alcohol for eight hours before a flight."
Isn't it quite possible that these two gents stopped drinking (well) before the LEGAL requirement of 8 hours "bottle to throttle" - continued to play pool, and left at "around 5am"?
What is the precise definition of "intoxicated"?
During decompression testing, it was found that individuals who consumed a mild amount of alcohol, actually performed BETTER than those who had not.
But, a "toxin" is something that equates to a "poison" - Vitamin A taken in excess (more than 8,000 IU per day) is classified as a toxin. It is a toxic dose.
Anyway, precisely what specific evidence convinced the Judge that these two had broken the "8 hours bottle to throttle" FAA rule, under which these pilots (and Oz ones) operate?
I find the drama quite entertaining too......
He's probably the same sort of person who posts here, telling us (pilots) we're the equivalent of 'bus/train drivers.
Now I certainly do NOT condone drinking irresponsibly, nor drinking inside the legal limits.
What I do object to though, is only being given a small percentage of the FACTS.
Let's have a look at what we were told...
"operating a packed passenger plane while drunk
They were charged under Florida state law prohibiting operating an airplane while intoxicated.
A security screener had reported that the pilots smelled of alcohol.
They left the bar around 5am after running up a tab for 14 jumbo glasses of beer
FAA rules bar pilots from consuming alcohol for eight hours before a flight."
Isn't it quite possible that these two gents stopped drinking (well) before the LEGAL requirement of 8 hours "bottle to throttle" - continued to play pool, and left at "around 5am"?
What is the precise definition of "intoxicated"?
During decompression testing, it was found that individuals who consumed a mild amount of alcohol, actually performed BETTER than those who had not.
But, a "toxin" is something that equates to a "poison" - Vitamin A taken in excess (more than 8,000 IU per day) is classified as a toxin. It is a toxic dose.
Anyway, precisely what specific evidence convinced the Judge that these two had broken the "8 hours bottle to throttle" FAA rule, under which these pilots (and Oz ones) operate?
I find the drama quite entertaining too......
"... If there was an emergency, if something horrendous happened, you're talking about not only your lives but the lives of the passengers, the lives of the stewards, the lives of the people who would have been hit by an aircraft if the aircraft would have ... crashed into homes, into neighbourhoods."
There have been at least three jailing (6 months seems to be the norm) in Europe in the last little while for flying whilst intoxicated.
I certainly don't for a moment condone it. I think at a minimum it is an offense worthy of dissmisal and a lenghthy license suspention or cancellation in aggrievated circumstances.
HOWEVER, when it comes to jailing people, I look at it like this- we KNOW that drink driving costs tens of thousands of lives world wide every year. Yet the punishment for a first DUI offense is a fine and short suspention of license.
We have NO EVIDENCE of ANY fatal accident being caused by an over-the-limit airline pilot, yet it seems a given that it is an offense punishable by jail time.
It seems to me it is a law driven by perception rather than fact.
I certainly don't for a moment condone it. I think at a minimum it is an offense worthy of dissmisal and a lenghthy license suspention or cancellation in aggrievated circumstances.
HOWEVER, when it comes to jailing people, I look at it like this- we KNOW that drink driving costs tens of thousands of lives world wide every year. Yet the punishment for a first DUI offense is a fine and short suspention of license.
We have NO EVIDENCE of ANY fatal accident being caused by an over-the-limit airline pilot, yet it seems a given that it is an offense punishable by jail time.
It seems to me it is a law driven by perception rather than fact.
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Captaintobe I think you will find that it is the same case. They were caught in 2002 and just a few days ago sentenced.
KaptinM You are correct. I believe a big part of their legal defense was that even tho they were in the state of Florida, they were operating under Federal rules. They believed that they were clear under the federal rules of 8 hours. In the end they were convicted under the Florida laws, not the FAA ones.
The US have very messed up legal systems, especially in this sort of case when there are different federal, state and I guess city laws.
KaptinM You are correct. I believe a big part of their legal defense was that even tho they were in the state of Florida, they were operating under Federal rules. They believed that they were clear under the federal rules of 8 hours. In the end they were convicted under the Florida laws, not the FAA ones.
The US have very messed up legal systems, especially in this sort of case when there are different federal, state and I guess city laws.
Bottles and Throttles
I believe that the law also states a BAC of less than 0.04%, as well as the 8 hours rule.
