Well, a bloke goes off to deal with the Mars Rover landing with JPL, and Taylor makes a fool of himself again.

Take some time to reflect on your lack of understanding of DAMP, old man :)

This pilot deserves, and will in all likelihood receive, professional medical support.

Assuming this case is real, I have to wonder whether this is symptomatic of the malaise which seems to be affecting QANTAS crew more generally at the moment. All but the most senior QF pilots have seen their career prospects disappear and 15 767 Captains are about to be hit by the first of what are sure to be many reductions in numbers and may be facing the loss of their commands. Is this pilot one of them?

The mainline pilot surplus is around 400 - some 15% of the pilot body - and continues to grow as management seems determined to gut the airline. Collectively, the mainline pilot body is probably as pyschologically stressed as it has ever been which, in many instances, is being directly caused by the policies of senior management. That stress may be being used as a deliberate industrial ploy and it will inevitably have consequences.

It is time management recognized that. PAN is not going to be enough.

Isn't a positive breath test proof, just askin'

DirectAnywhere..excellent post and thoughts, well done. Could not agree more, rgds SOPS.

DirectAnywhere, Great words,

What bothers me, apparently it took a week for this to get out in the press, and when I googled the topic it came up with this from just one news outlet.. :suspect:



The question is, how did they get the story.... @ 5.30 am..... and from whom? :confused: There is something not quite right about this..




google search result

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=v...w=1920&bih=848

Came here after I saw an update on the news about "a drunk pilot being dragged away from the controls, seconds before take off"....

Un-f***en believable! The people who write that s*** should be shot.

Arnold, I believe that a breath test is not absolutely reliable and that a blood test would be required. That used to be law and assume that the same still applies.

Oh it wouldn't take much for the media to get hold of this story. Some media outlets would have their spies within any industry am sure. It's a dirty business reporting. The amount of people whom would be involved in a case such as this would grow from day one so it was only a matter of time before it hit the press.

I'd like to think that the pilot concerned here is caught up in a rather over exaggerated situation & that it will be corrected quickly but the question has to be asked how come the A/C got that far into the task (proposed flight) before the situation was brought to a head? No one would want to make that call that's for sure.


Lets all hope we can learn from this incident.


Wmk2

Channel 10 ran the story with their usual dose of hyperventilated hysteria on the five pm news. It might have been the same broadcast deadcut saw. :yuk:

Good point worrels, a pretty good example of how these things get out of control, and very quickly..... sort of confirms what I said in a earlier post on this thread..

nuff said..

Just out of interest has anybody seen or been RBT'd by worlds best practice CASA?

4 years, I've never seen them in my workplace.

Yep, several times when the program first launched. The actual testing was subcontracted to a local pathology mob with nil positive results. Apparently someone told them we were pisshounds; a quote from the local AFP to a worker from another company was 'CASA are gonna get those XXX cowboys'.
They didn't, because there was nothing to get. FWIW the process was thoroughly professional, unlike the comments from everyone's favourite crime fighting agency.
Gotta love aviation rumours. Maybe once in a while they're founded on reality. :E

Three times so far, Jack.

I'm just lucky, I guess :E

Embarrassment does not appear to be a limiting factor in the past.

There is something odd about the detail and context that have obviously been leaked. If there were criminal factors fine, but this was workplace only and should not have been exposed when facts are less than substantiated.

I think everyone should take a chill pill and let those that matter sort this out outside of the media.

Once, but I made them wait till I had signed on so I wouldn't be logged as late. They didn't seem that impressed. :}
Always wondered what would happen if I came in on a day off to grab my nav bag and was pulled aside for a test could I say no? And if I did test positive would I be in trouble?

If you weren't rostered for duty, weren't in uniform and weren't doing anything work related my understanding is that they'd be drawing a long bow. On the occasions I was present for they were careful to ascertain that all testees were working, rather than just hanging around or calling in.

Once..... Interesting......
 

I'd arrived at work about 30 minutes before my normal start time as I would cycle to work most days during the Dry Season. Was told by a colleague after I jumped out of the shower that I was next - after having been spotted enterring the hangar still in my helmet & knicks....... As I wasn't due to start, I was told I couldn't be tested ("not undertaking SSAA"), until I pushed the point to go ahead with the test. Negative BAC, but then a problem with the drug test....... "No effing way" was my response, until the CASA contracted tester admitted that there was a "bad batch" of the tongue swab tests, and I would be tested again. One hell of a thing to explain to your boss and colleagues when you are in the testing room for over 29 minutes, when all others were just over 10 minutes.......

Not personally but one of the regulator's best practice contractors sent a colleague home, reporting her for allegedly blowing 0.9. That's 90% incase you think I got the decimal wrong.

Colleague stood down, reserve called in for duty, before the stunned colleage realised that there must have been a mistake because they'd be dead before they got to point nine!

CASA Pays Peanuts
 

The remuneration at Casa must be peanuts cause they sure got a lotta monkeys~0.9 ???