American Airlines pilot arrested
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and was 1/3 the previous UK limit - irrelevant. See first comment.
A reasonable limit would be 0.03, as most AME’s agree. - Thanks for the opinion. All you need do now is convince the UK authorities to revise the regulations, retrospectively.
In defense of the reporter or lawyers who mixed this up, the units for measuring blood alcohol content are a bit bizarre.
In the US, we take the number of grams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and state it as a percentage even though neither alcohol nor blood weigh 1 gram per milliliter, so the percentages have real units associated with them, not the sort of unit-free numbers/ratios that percentages are generally used for. If your BAC is 0.02%, that does not mean that 0.02% of the weight of your blood is alcohol or that the volume that the alcohol in your blood would take up if it were somehow removed from your blood is 0.02% of the volume of you blood. It is a weight to volume ratio stated as a percentage, presumably for historical reasons. 0.02% actually means that you have 0.02 grams of alcohol per hundred ml (one deciliter) of blood or .0002 g per ml, which is mathematically the same as 0.02% g/ml, but nobody uses percentages that way. In more standard units, it would just be called 0.2 grams/liter, or for chemists, some number of mmol/l.
In the UK, apparently they refer to the number of milligrams per 100 ml, so our 0.02% (0.02 g/100 ml) becomes 20 mg per 100 ml. All the lawyer or reporter had to do was confuse the "mg" with "ml" and our guy suddenly has about 1000x as much alcohol in his blood.
And, I agree with those who said that it would be odd for someone to be unsteady on their feet due to 0.027% BAC. People are allowed to drive in most states with levels about three times that. I suspect the security guard smelled alcohol and convinced himself the guy was unsteady on his feet as a result of the alcohol he smelled.
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.....
And, I agree with those who said that it would be odd for someone to be unsteady on their feet due to 0.027% BAC. People are allowed to drive in most states with levels about three times that. I suspect the security guard smelled alcohol and convinced himself the guy was unsteady on his feet as a result of the alcohol he smelled.
And, I agree with those who said that it would be odd for someone to be unsteady on their feet due to 0.027% BAC. People are allowed to drive in most states with levels about three times that. I suspect the security guard smelled alcohol and convinced himself the guy was unsteady on his feet as a result of the alcohol he smelled.
I think that the person concerned made a bad call or pushed his luck a bit too far; one or two too many before he went to bed.
Without knowing the time-frame for when the 0.027 was actually recorded it is not hard to imagine that his BAC may have been somewhat higher when he was first noticed by the security officer.
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Just one more
There’s another thread about how pilots are perceived. I expect most of us think ourselves responsible intelligent and alert; We should know the rules. Knowing the ramifications, surely 1 day without an alcoholic drink is the responsible intelligent thing to do.
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From the Manchester Evening News....
Copeland handed six-month sentence, suspended for a year
The judge says it is so serious that a custodial sentence must be passed, but that he has decided, in all the circumstances, he can suspend the sentence.Copeland is sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for a year. He was ordered to pay £400 prosecution costs.
“I very much doubt you will commit any further offences,” the judge adds, before allowing Copeland to leave the dock.
That concludes the hearing.
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From the Manchester Evening News....
Copeland handed six-month sentence, suspended for a year
The judge says it is so serious that a custodial sentence must be passed, but that he has decided, in all the circumstances, he can suspend the sentence.Copeland is sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for a year. He was ordered to pay £400 prosecution costs.
“I very much doubt you will commit any further offences,” the judge adds, before allowing Copeland to leave the dock.
That concludes the hearing.
The word “drunk” simply does not apply to a level of .027.
The many idiotic and critical comments on this thread demonstrate how ill-informed the non-pro pilots are, the ones who infest this site.
He was below the FAA limit, and was 1/3 the previous UK limit. A reasonable limit would be 0.03, as most AME’s agree.
The many idiotic and critical comments on this thread demonstrate how ill-informed the non-pro pilots are, the ones who infest this site.
He was below the FAA limit, and was 1/3 the previous UK limit. A reasonable limit would be 0.03, as most AME’s agree.
Security guard Jordan Fletcher found Copeland, due to fly to Philadelphia, was 'unstable on his feet' and he could smell alcohol on his breath.
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He's probably going back on the line after coming down to the HIMS altar to confess his transgressions.
From the American Airlines HIMS Handbook:
From the American Airlines HIMS Handbook:
American Airlines Group pilots have available to them the premier substance abuse agreement in the aviation industry. The goal is to protect the pilot’s career, regain the pilot’s medical certificate, and return the pilot to the cockpit.Time and again the HIMS program has proven effective, fair, and protective of a recovering pilot’s career. The individual airlines within American Airlines Group all have a process for making sure pilots with alcohol and/or drug abuse problems can maintain their careers. The companies encourage treatment, allows time to participate in treatment, and cover treatment under the provisions of the American Airlines Group medical plans when coordinated through the EAP.
Despite the myriad of conflicting issues that arise between the company and labor, the HIMS program remains above the fray. The EAP representatives for the unions and the company work collectively. Use HIMS to save your own life, or recommend it to a friend or co-worker. We have a terrific group of volunteers who are in recovery themselves, or have worked years in this program and are more than willing to assist you. Give us a chance to help. We are very proud of our record.
Admission into the American Airlines Group HIMS program is a privilege, not an entitlement. American AirlinesGroup will pay, by way of your insurance, 85% of the cost of your 28 day treatment. The out-of-pocket amount you pay may be even less if you use one of the facilities with which AAG Medical has negotiated the rates. AAG Medical Department will cover the cost of your psychological and psychiatric evaluation if you use one of the FAA qualified psychologists and psychiatrists with whom AAG Medical has negotiated reduced rates. AAG Medical will cover the costs of your continued monitoring, including follow up drug and alcohol testing. Your AME will be part of the AAG Medical Department and therefore cost you nothing. Your yearly flight physical, performed by your AAG AME, will be no cost to you. American Airline Group’s senior managers of Flight have looked beyond the surface expense and seen the advantage of this policy in improving flight safety and lowering overall costs to the company, and their support has been strong and enthusiastic. However, there are limits. Following discovery of a second undisclosed relapse, the Quad may ask you to pursue medical recertification with an Independent Medical Sponsor outside of AAG Medical, at your own cost.
Despite the myriad of conflicting issues that arise between the company and labor, the HIMS program remains above the fray. The EAP representatives for the unions and the company work collectively. Use HIMS to save your own life, or recommend it to a friend or co-worker. We have a terrific group of volunteers who are in recovery themselves, or have worked years in this program and are more than willing to assist you. Give us a chance to help. We are very proud of our record.
Admission into the American Airlines Group HIMS program is a privilege, not an entitlement. American AirlinesGroup will pay, by way of your insurance, 85% of the cost of your 28 day treatment. The out-of-pocket amount you pay may be even less if you use one of the facilities with which AAG Medical has negotiated the rates. AAG Medical Department will cover the cost of your psychological and psychiatric evaluation if you use one of the FAA qualified psychologists and psychiatrists with whom AAG Medical has negotiated reduced rates. AAG Medical will cover the costs of your continued monitoring, including follow up drug and alcohol testing. Your AME will be part of the AAG Medical Department and therefore cost you nothing. Your yearly flight physical, performed by your AAG AME, will be no cost to you. American Airline Group’s senior managers of Flight have looked beyond the surface expense and seen the advantage of this policy in improving flight safety and lowering overall costs to the company, and their support has been strong and enthusiastic. However, there are limits. Following discovery of a second undisclosed relapse, the Quad may ask you to pursue medical recertification with an Independent Medical Sponsor outside of AAG Medical, at your own cost.
After the great unwashed have finished shooting the sh!t out of him...
Not sure of the AA policy on pilots in distress with personal probs/ addictions, etc.
Hope he seeks/ gets the help he needs. Clearly he was overwhelmed by things we'll never know about.
After all, who would throw it in (the career, money, kudos, etc) for a few drinks.
I wish him well in his recovery.
Not sure of the AA policy on pilots in distress with personal probs/ addictions, etc.
Hope he seeks/ gets the help he needs. Clearly he was overwhelmed by things we'll never know about.
After all, who would throw it in (the career, money, kudos, etc) for a few drinks.
I wish him well in his recovery.
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Residual alcohol from a bevvie, 12 hours previously and very marginal fail - stow the outrage bus, could happen inadvertently to all sorts of people in all sorts of professions.
'fessed up at the first opportunity and took it like a man.
62 years old...
Sir, I hope your pension fund is sufficiently full. If so, stick two fingers up to the world, dust down your golf clubs and fishing rods and enjoy a happy, slightly early, retirement.
'fessed up at the first opportunity and took it like a man.
62 years old...
Sir, I hope your pension fund is sufficiently full. If so, stick two fingers up to the world, dust down your golf clubs and fishing rods and enjoy a happy, slightly early, retirement.
There are a number of airports around the world (and the UK is particularly bad in this respect) where security is sufficiently brusque to be considered rude. A cynic might suggest that any crew who argue the toss with security (over things like the size of their plastic bag or if lip balm constitutes a liquid or a solid) are considered to be unsteady of gait.
I wonder how many crew are tested in similar circumstances but dont make the press as the test is negative.
I wonder how many crew are tested in similar circumstances but dont make the press as the test is negative.
