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BA F/O faces Jail for reporting to work drunk

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BA F/O faces Jail for reporting to work drunk

Old 17th Jun 2018, 13:27
  #81 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by ShotOne
"...pilots are their own worst enemies". No. Flight duty rules which cause performance degradation equating to an alcohol level which would have ppruners in self-righteous conniptions are the enemy.
That and living in South Africa when your hub is Heathrow. Personal responsibility perhaps, or indeed, approved and prescribed medication for body clock control that doesn't involve a bottle of grey goose?
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 13:30
  #82 (permalink)  
 
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Why can’t you live in ZA and be based at LHR? Next you will be telling us you can’t live in LA and be based in JFK. At least the ZA commuter arrives at work acclimatized. I think that speaks volumes more than the focus on alcohol and flying.
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 14:39
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A stupid comment from VinRouge. You could live 2hrs away and have been kept awake all night by sick kids and awake all day by school runs and chores. Who wouldn't prefer to rest in J class and watch films/sleep? You can live anywhere providing you allow enough time on arrival at your place of work. My employer was happy for me to do similar duties with time zone changes as well.
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 14:52
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Originally Posted by hunterboy
Why can’t you live in ZA and be based at LHR? Next you will be telling us you can’t live in LA and be based in JFK. At least the ZA commuter arrives at work acclimatized. I think that speaks volumes more than the focus on alcohol and flying.
This is why:
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/n...n/14pilot.html

Members of the board said that the crew of the twin-engine turboprop that crashed, killing all 49 people on board and one on the ground, was set up for fatigue and inattention before they even took off, partly because of the structure of the commuter airline business.

In the crash, the first officer, Rebecca L. Shaw, 24, a Colgan employee for about a year, apparently pulled an all-nighter to get a free transcontinental trip to work. She was living near Seattle and commuting to her job at Colgan’s operation in Newark, according to board investigators. She flew from Seattle to Memphis in a spare seat on one FedEx jet, and to Newark on another, planning to sleep in a crew lounge, investigators said.
As flight crew you have a duty of care to be the best you possibly can be given the cards you are drawn and to arrive at work as rested and alert as possible. The schedules that you work to are stressful, fatiguing and in some cases insane, depending on who you work for, I acknowledge that. But don't make it worse than it needs to be.
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 16:31
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If this had been a doctor or surgeon about to operate, nobody would have any right to impose an alcohol or any other test on him (unless he was driving a car) There would be no possibility of prosecution, very worst-case scenario would be being sent home.
I think not. As a minimum, local disciplinary action +/- referral for help with alcohol problems. Referral to the General Medical Council a strong possibility, leading to restrictions on practice or ultimately being struck off the Medical Register. BTW, a surgeon is a doctor.
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 17:20
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Originally Posted by Pinkman
Commuting cannot explain why the Captain reacted incorrectly to a false stall warning (caused by the increased ref switch being on with no ice accumulation) by pulling back on the stick putting them into an actual stall, nor can it explain why the First Officer (who by the way turned up to work streaming with cold, a far more contributory factor in fitness to fly than where she lives) dumped all the flaps uncommanded and doomed the aircraft at the critical moment.

The simple fact fact is if you stopped all commuting tomorrow the entire aviation industry would grind to a halt. Where are all these flights falling out of the sky like Colgan because people use an aircraft rather than a car to transport themselves to work? The fact is you cannot prove the causality.
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 19:08
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There is also a difference between commuting on a JS long distances and napping in a crew lounge when compared with Business Class travel and a proper room and bed for pre-flight rest.
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 19:42
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"Disciplinary, referral, struck off"?Firstly, there's no possibility of prosecution unless they were literally falling-over drunk. And how could a doctor be struck off, topgas on the strength of someone's subjective opinion?
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 20:27
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today's dumb-ass...

Originally Posted by BusyB
A stupid comment from VinRouge. You could live 2hrs away and have been kept awake all night by sick kids and awake all day by school runs and chores. Who wouldn't prefer to rest in J class and watch films/sleep? You can live anywhere providing you allow enough time on arrival at your place of work. My employer was happy for me to do similar duties with time zone changes as well.
Er... because -the kids behaviour is outside your control and you have Flight Time Limitation legislation and a possible fatigue report on your side, but your commuting pattern, which is your own responsibility is self induced fatigue, like spending the weekend at Glastonbury and going to work tired having not slept for 3 nights. d'oh!
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Old 17th Jun 2018, 22:02
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Originally Posted by blind pew
But my last company saw it as a health problem and paid for the pilot to attend an institute like the priory then give them a useful job on the ground for a year or so on full pay. They were reintroduced back on the line. Always with company medical back up over an extended period.
Maybe BA has changed and had already done this.. if not they should look at their welfare policies.
When one removes the headline there is a human story.
It is conveniently ignored by airline management that circadian rhythm disturbance has health effects. Sure open any policy manual and there is a myriad of verbage 'directed' at this, but ultimately weasel words mean little.

BA roster as close, like many airlines do to the regulatory limits. To do so is deemed efficient and provided the pilot gets the requisite statutory 'rest' period, the sleep disturbance is dismissed as something that the pilot is responsible for.
Thus stories like this are complicated. This individual has sufficient experience of aviation to be fully cognisant of their responsibility, but something clouded that awareness.

Extended sleep disturbances as mentioned by a previous poster can render the most hardy of souls useless. Dare we mention that sleep deprivation is a big part of breaking down 'terrorists'. It often is far more effective than anything else.

As a society it is easy to point the finger, blame the individual and dismiss any further consideration. Nothing excuses him, he knows that likely better than anyone else.

As a society, if that's what it still is, perhaps it is time to look at this as a complicated problem. For a while an alcohol problem can be a little socially awkward, but like any drug, can eventually render the user chemically dependent. At what point our society accepts this and medical assistance and support are seen as generating better outcomes will be a sign of maturity. Incarceration by a beak in Crawley is unlikely to help. Crawley Magistrates court is a glum building on the sunniest of days.
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