Over the limit pilot at NWI
 

Not sure of how much interest this will be to people, but here it is...

BBC News - Charter pilot charged over alcohol level

Wont be good PR
 

For Hangar 8 however I stand to be corrected.

First result on Linked In was a Pilot for them.

I thought it was Tequilaboy :E

But apart from that feel sorry for the guy but at the same time if true very stupid.....

With his name plastered all over the internet, does it matter if he is found innocent?

Imagine the owner of this aircraft would have preferred the reg to have been edited out!!!!

Ian Jennings arrested for 'flying while drunk' after landing at Norwich Airport | Daily Mail Online

Am I losing my faculties, or is it quite rare/unheard of to release a name, age and address of an alleged offender who has been charged, but not been tried in court for a civil case ?

Within the corporate charter industry it is quite common to have a beverage or two from the onboard bar after the passengers have left.
Now this has always been rather risky from a legal point of view. Certainly no intention to fly but still on board an aircraft airside while wearing uniform!
Perhaps that is what happened here?

If I was flying commercial air transport flight I wouldn't dare take a drink from the bar until after I had left the aircraft, but in private ops once parked, chocked and everything off, why not have a beer?

Why not simply wait until you're at the hotel / bar / outside the airport / ...?

Our SOPs state that we're not supposed to drink in uniform, which I think is reasonable.
Is it worth possibly loosing your job for allegedly being drunk at work? Nah, don't think so. Beer at the hotel, yes please. Just not in uniform.

INNflight

Good advice indeed !

My comments recorded my experience in this sector and a suggestion that perhaps this was what happened at NWI.
I do not condone this practise.

390

Interesting...
 

According to NWI spotters Display Reg Flight Details the aircraft G-OCFT came in on a lunchtime positioning flight, then departed 3 hours later, assuming with new crew. Perhaps a big session at home base the night before?

He was found guilty today and faces a not so good future.

Misinterpretations
 

I believe a biz jet crew were once reported by ground staff for drinking on the aircraft. Unfortunately this caused a lot of trouble for the crew when all they were doing was clearing up the empties and wine glasses from the pax; the ground staff saw them with cans/glasses in hand and put 2 & 2 together and made 5!! :ugh:

This pilot may have been three times over the drink fly limit but was still legal to drive a car!
This case should be a wake-up call for all crew who enjoy a few jars the night before a flight; the blood alcohol limit for flying really is low and the old 8 hours (12 in most ops manuals) bottle/throttle rule that many of us were weaned on is a dangerous guide in this day and age.
Also, we need to bear in mind that in this business clients can and do change their plans and bring departures forward with little notice. Would you call ops and ask them to delay the flight because you planned your drinking around a p.m departure?
I enjoy the social side of the job as much as the next man/woman but nowadays my rule is no alcohol for 24 hours before a duty and none while down-route. Really!
A.P

Good advice AP. I agree and follow the same rule.

MM

apreunuk`s sadly right. Even a small presence of alcohol might be sufficient to trigger an arrest depending on where you are in the world. It`s really not worth it any more.

I rarely have even a beer with dinner, but for me this is not about alcoholism or excessive drinking now, it`s not about discouraging the all night "BA" benders of yore; it`s about quality of life, because what`s really being said now is that there`s is an implicit expectation that when you`re on rotation, you`re on duty, no matter how long you`ve been on the road.

There`s something profoundly wrong with a schedule when, after three weeks downroute, one has to fear having even one bloody glass of wine with one`s meal because operators don`t have the decency to ring fence rest periods.

Am I missing the point?
 

I know this isn't reliable but the radio stated he had flown from Spain with passengers on board then tested at Norwich. At this stage he was 3 times over the limit. What sort of state was he in when he reported? Obviously in a bad way for someone to be worried enough call the authorities for landing.

Was the operator of Challenger from UK or from Spain?

This is the perennial argument isn't it? I've seen other examples of crews left in a hotel at a 24/7 airport waiting for work who have, when called, declared that they have had a drink with dinner yet knew that they were only there to react to a charter pop-up. The argument was that they had 'been on standby' all day (in hotel, health spa, lie-ins etc) so were entitled to a period of rest, but it's a grey area if they've done cock all all day except run up a hotel bill! The pilots got nothing more than a bollocking, and to their credit they could have tried to wing it and didn't, but it was an interesting dilemma.

Oddly enough, the same OPR as this Chally.

If you are off your duty period why can't you then drink alcohol in the aircraft after landing? (block + lets say 45 min or whatever the company has for regulation). At block + 46 min you are not on duty anymore according to the law so what stops you from drinking a beer in the A/C at minute 46?