Easyjet pilot flies high

[atakacs]

Sorry can't find an english link:

A French Easyjet pilot sentenced to one year suspended sentence for flying while being under the influence of.... ecstasy (and a lifetime ban from the profession).

To be honest I think he gets off lightly.

[crewmeal]

I wonder if that'll feature in the up and coming ITV series about Easy pilots.

[beamender99]

Google search for- easyjet pilot guilty ecstasy - finds reports of the event.
The Google translation indicates longer term involvement. Very sad for all.

The 49-year-old man "with impeccable service," ( father of three children) said, had taken ecstasy the day before a flight and had felt badly in control of the aircraft.

[Bigpants]

Shame but drug/drink dependency in commercial pilots not unusual, it is a stressful job.

[ExXB]

Is it really up to the courts to impose a life-time ban? Such punishment is a disincentive to having him become clean.

Aviation regulators are better able to determine if an individual is safe to fly. Imposing a (self-funded) requirement for regular blood tests, for example, would serve equally well to keep passengers safe.

I'm not saying punishment is not appropriate, it is. But the objective should be to change behaviour.

[atakacs]

I would agree with you on that one - I guess the ban is only for France ?

[Basil]

Originally Posted by Bigpants

Shame but drug/drink dependency in commercial pilots not unusual, it is a stressful job.

I don't think so and I thought most of the stress was generated by a small percentage of crewmembers who were just the sort you meet anywhere who have an innate talent for making life difficult.

[White Knight]

I would tend to agree with you there!

[fab777]

sentence

The exact sentence is one year suspended jail sentence plus forbidden from flying as a commercial pilot for life.

Not so light a punishment for a recreational user.

[G-CPTN]

Do you think he had loss-of-licence insurance?

[RAT 5]

Does a court have that power? Is it not the local CAA who controls the issue of licences? The court could recommend, but can they remove, permanently. Hell, sporting culprits only get 3 years ban, and then they are back on the gravy train. This guy has a family to feed. Would a car driver, after a crash, be banned for life? This guy didn't crash or harm anybody. He's being hung drawn & quartered for a potential smash up. Fair enough he's whipped and flogged and sent to the clinic; but life?

[G-CPTN]

From (and more at):- Easyjet pilot high on ecstasy banned from flying.

[Kewbick]

Some employers would send him to re-hab on their tab, and then reinstate him
for a probationary period.

[MungoP]

Stress is no excuse..We've all suffered from it. If you can't deal with it get out of it.. there are other ways of making a living.

[45989]

The only sensible post here!

[tubby linton]

Was there any question as to whether he had been part of the supply chain or was he just a consumer?

[m0nkfish]

Originally Posted by RAT 5

Does a court have that power? Is it not the local CAA who controls the issue of licences? The court could recommend, but can they remove, permanently. Hell, sporting culprits only get 3 years ban, and then they are back on the gravy train. This guy has a family to feed. Would a car driver, after a crash, be banned for life? This guy didn't crash or harm anybody. He's being hung drawn & quartered for a potential smash up. Fair enough he's whipped and flogged and sent to the clinic; but life?

There is no excuse for taking ecstasy and then flying a passenger plane with 180 people on board. 'sporting culprits' get away with it because they are not putting other peoples lives at risk. Ecstasy is illegal, even if you don't pilot an airliner. This guy got off lightly IMHO and the fact he has a family to feed does not come into it. He will have to find a way to feed them with a different profession and I'm sure he will manage that; the fare paying public will be better off as well.

If you believe he is being hung drawn and quartered for 'a potential smash up' then I hope you are one of the people who sit in the back of the plane and not the front.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

The man was an idiot of extreme proportion and deserves what he gets.

[Joe_K]

Originally Posted by RAT 5

Does a court have that power? Is it not the local CAA who controls the issue of licences? The court could recommend, but can they remove, permanently.

AFAIK the court did not revoke his licence, they banned him from exercising his profession (i.e. working as a commercial pilot). Slight difference. Under French law you can be banned from working in whatever job you were working as a complementary sentence to a criminal conviction.

[Bill Macgillivray]

I have to say that I think that the Court was right. We have all suffered a vast range of various types of stress in the profession and, generally, have coped! The suggestion that there was an involvement in a chain does not sit well, I am afraid. He is (was) a professional pilot!!