Jungle Jet Alcohol Incident at KLIT
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Jungle Jet Alcohol Incident at KLIT
Three Airline Workers Off the Job
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:50 a.m. ET
DALLAS (AP) -- Two pilots for Mesa Airlines were suspended without pay and a flight attendant left the carrier after airport security screeners smelled alcohol on them as they were about to board their flight, Mesa officials said.
One pilot tested positive for alcohol use, and the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking revocation of his license, said John Clabes, FAA spokesman for the Southwest Region.
The three employees' names were not released.
"We're taking the matter very seriously,'' Brian Gillman, vice president and general counsel for Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines told The Dallas Morning News for its Tuesday editions. "It's under investigation.''
The pilots and attendant were stopped about 2:40 p.m. Friday as they were about to board an Embraer 145, a small regional jet operated under a joint agreement and flying as US Airways Express, Clabes said. The pilots had been scheduled to fly the plane from Little Rock, Ark., to Charlotte, N.C.
When security screeners suspected they had been drinking, all three were given alcohol breath tests.
Gillman said the airline has a "zero-tolerance'' policy on operating aircraft under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The suspension without pay will continue until the investigation is completed, Gillman said.
The flight attendant left the company Saturday, the newspaper said, adding that it was unclear whether the flight attendant was asked to resign.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 6:50 a.m. ET
DALLAS (AP) -- Two pilots for Mesa Airlines were suspended without pay and a flight attendant left the carrier after airport security screeners smelled alcohol on them as they were about to board their flight, Mesa officials said.
One pilot tested positive for alcohol use, and the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking revocation of his license, said John Clabes, FAA spokesman for the Southwest Region.
The three employees' names were not released.
"We're taking the matter very seriously,'' Brian Gillman, vice president and general counsel for Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines told The Dallas Morning News for its Tuesday editions. "It's under investigation.''
The pilots and attendant were stopped about 2:40 p.m. Friday as they were about to board an Embraer 145, a small regional jet operated under a joint agreement and flying as US Airways Express, Clabes said. The pilots had been scheduled to fly the plane from Little Rock, Ark., to Charlotte, N.C.
When security screeners suspected they had been drinking, all three were given alcohol breath tests.
Gillman said the airline has a "zero-tolerance'' policy on operating aircraft under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The suspension without pay will continue until the investigation is completed, Gillman said.
The flight attendant left the company Saturday, the newspaper said, adding that it was unclear whether the flight attendant was asked to resign.
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Given the odds, I don't understand how come some crews are willing to risk everything for nothing and on top of that, to put a good number of inocent people at risk? If for whatever reason you had too much to drink, call in sick and forget about flying that day. If you are a professional, you should never attempt to fly under the influence of anything, be it alcohol. drugs or what have you! You owe it to your family, yourself and to the rest of your peers. I have no sympathy for these guys.
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The scary thing with all of these recent events is these folks didn't just start "pushing the envelope" the day they got caught.
How many previous times had they gotten away with it?
How many previous times had they gotten away with it?
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Mesa Airlines fires pilot who flunked blood-alcohol test
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index....1622110951.xml
More From The Star-Ledger
Top News
Mesa Airlines fires pilot who flunked blood-alcohol test
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A Mesa Airlines pilot who tested positive for alcohol before a scheduled flight has been fired, the airline said yesterday.
A flight attendant who tested negative before the flight has resigned, and a co-pilot who also tested negative has been suspended, the airline said.
Peter Treanor, 29, of Charlotte, N.C., had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.06 percent and 0.05 percent in two tests administered after screeners at Little Rock National Airport smelled alcohol on him, the airline said.
Federal regulations prohibit pilots from operating an aircraft or performing other sensitive functions within eight hours of consuming alcohol or if they have an alcohol concentration of at least 0.04 percent.
Treanor's first officer and a flight attendant passed alcohol tests given at the same time, the airline said.
The first officer was put on leave without pay pending further investigation, and the flight attendant followed through on a previously submitted resignation, the airline said. Brian Gillman, a spokesman for the Phoenix-based airline, wouldn't elaborate.
Treanor and the flight attendant did not return telephone calls seeking comment, and the first officer identified on Little Rock police records said he was instructed not to comment.
The three were stopped Friday afternoon as they were about to board an Embraer 145, a small regional jet operated under a joint agreement and flying as US Airways Express, said John Clabes, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. The pilots had been scheduled to fly the plane, with 28 passengers, from Little Rock to Charlotte, N.C.
When security screeners suspected the pilots had been drinking, the agents notified the local Flight Standards Office and city police, Little Rock National Airport spokesman Phillip Launius said.
The passengers were placed aboard other flights.
"The system essentially worked here, and that is what we are looking at," Launius said.
Gillman said the three were brought to Phoenix over the weekend for the airline's investigation.
"I believe it is (Treanor's) position that he quit drinking eight hours prior to the flight," Gillman said. "Having said that, there is still a zero-tolerance policy. Any positive indication of alcohol results in termination."
In Wilmington, N.C., on July 29, the pilot of an ASA flight to Atlanta was grounded after a security screener smelled alcohol on his breath. He was placed on paid leave pending an investigation, but later resigned.
On July 1, two America West pilots were removed from their plane after security crews suspected they had been drinking before a flight from Miami to Phoenix. The pair pleaded innocent to charges of operating an aircraft under the influence and operating a motor vehicle under the influence. The airline has fired them.
For motor vehicles, drivers in Arkansas are considered intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent.
More From The Star-Ledger
Top News
Mesa Airlines fires pilot who flunked blood-alcohol test
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A Mesa Airlines pilot who tested positive for alcohol before a scheduled flight has been fired, the airline said yesterday.
A flight attendant who tested negative before the flight has resigned, and a co-pilot who also tested negative has been suspended, the airline said.
Peter Treanor, 29, of Charlotte, N.C., had a blood-alcohol reading of 0.06 percent and 0.05 percent in two tests administered after screeners at Little Rock National Airport smelled alcohol on him, the airline said.
Federal regulations prohibit pilots from operating an aircraft or performing other sensitive functions within eight hours of consuming alcohol or if they have an alcohol concentration of at least 0.04 percent.
Treanor's first officer and a flight attendant passed alcohol tests given at the same time, the airline said.
The first officer was put on leave without pay pending further investigation, and the flight attendant followed through on a previously submitted resignation, the airline said. Brian Gillman, a spokesman for the Phoenix-based airline, wouldn't elaborate.
Treanor and the flight attendant did not return telephone calls seeking comment, and the first officer identified on Little Rock police records said he was instructed not to comment.
The three were stopped Friday afternoon as they were about to board an Embraer 145, a small regional jet operated under a joint agreement and flying as US Airways Express, said John Clabes, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. The pilots had been scheduled to fly the plane, with 28 passengers, from Little Rock to Charlotte, N.C.
When security screeners suspected the pilots had been drinking, the agents notified the local Flight Standards Office and city police, Little Rock National Airport spokesman Phillip Launius said.
The passengers were placed aboard other flights.
"The system essentially worked here, and that is what we are looking at," Launius said.
Gillman said the three were brought to Phoenix over the weekend for the airline's investigation.
"I believe it is (Treanor's) position that he quit drinking eight hours prior to the flight," Gillman said. "Having said that, there is still a zero-tolerance policy. Any positive indication of alcohol results in termination."
In Wilmington, N.C., on July 29, the pilot of an ASA flight to Atlanta was grounded after a security screener smelled alcohol on his breath. He was placed on paid leave pending an investigation, but later resigned.
On July 1, two America West pilots were removed from their plane after security crews suspected they had been drinking before a flight from Miami to Phoenix. The pair pleaded innocent to charges of operating an aircraft under the influence and operating a motor vehicle under the influence. The airline has fired them.
For motor vehicles, drivers in Arkansas are considered intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent.
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glad to see that the "security screeners" are the guardians of good in todays world.. what next, they going to ask about jepp update currency..?
That said, you have to be effing stupid, unproffesional and below average IQ to even mix flying and drinking.. And from an FO no less!! he of all people should be the thankfull having a job and now that he is (hopefully) keel-hauled, we can let his job go to somebody who will appreciate it..
..serves him right..****..
That said, you have to be effing stupid, unproffesional and below average IQ to even mix flying and drinking.. And from an FO no less!! he of all people should be the thankfull having a job and now that he is (hopefully) keel-hauled, we can let his job go to somebody who will appreciate it..
..serves him right..****..
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well.. better screeners than vigilante passengers entering cockpit at their will sniffing around for traces of alcohol 
Anyways.. I don't care who brought up all the fuss.. as long as those guys weren't allowed to fly...
Completely agreed with IQ levels
Anyways.. I don't care who brought up all the fuss.. as long as those guys weren't allowed to fly...
Completely agreed with IQ levels
Starting with the America West guys, had none of these pilots ever heard of the very infamous incident at Fargo, ND, years ago?
All three pilots went to the really bad US Federal Prison System for a year. They were lucky to have survived.
Just where do pilots ever get the idea that our companies would find it hard for other pilots to fly our trips? We are basically liabilities to them, even when we keep our low profiles. Most of us need our jobs a thousand times more than an airline needs any ONE of us. What makes it so difficult for a large company to replace a few pilots here and there, or even a hundred?
Do some pilots actually believe that an imitation Navy or Air Force uniform means that they are valuable members of upper management? Apparently, some do. Only the (anointed) upper mgmt people or majority stockholders can get away with a Martini lunch or being caught at airport security with a "smoking pipe". They can survive this in their detached, secluded world, apart from the commoners, as they might say over there in "Gandalf Land", by the ancient Weald.
Many hotel, restaurant and fellow employees resent those of us who somehow make it to a decent salary, especially those who discuss how much per hour the Toulouse 'chip plane' pays versus the Boeing 'cable plane', ( or the F-100), size of their houses, neighborhoods, cars or boats in a normal tone of voice in front of other people, etc. Some are just looking for an easy target, whether their suspicions are based on one's breath or not. Don't hand them any so-called "ammunition" for a secret weapon. You see, I have spotted several of our pilots on layovers here, merely by the way they walk and look around, even while they are by a nearby commercial avenue. After introducing myself, they are always surprised that they stand out. They can spot us easily in a pub, not just by hearing aviation lingo. Never mind recognizing the KLM crewmembers. Don't imagine that we can disguise ourselves with blue jeans and our dirty running shoes (dodging snakes) etc.
When people really are out to get us, it does not mean that we are paranoid.
All three pilots went to the really bad US Federal Prison System for a year. They were lucky to have survived.
Just where do pilots ever get the idea that our companies would find it hard for other pilots to fly our trips? We are basically liabilities to them, even when we keep our low profiles. Most of us need our jobs a thousand times more than an airline needs any ONE of us. What makes it so difficult for a large company to replace a few pilots here and there, or even a hundred?
Do some pilots actually believe that an imitation Navy or Air Force uniform means that they are valuable members of upper management? Apparently, some do. Only the (anointed) upper mgmt people or majority stockholders can get away with a Martini lunch or being caught at airport security with a "smoking pipe". They can survive this in their detached, secluded world, apart from the commoners, as they might say over there in "Gandalf Land", by the ancient Weald.
Many hotel, restaurant and fellow employees resent those of us who somehow make it to a decent salary, especially those who discuss how much per hour the Toulouse 'chip plane' pays versus the Boeing 'cable plane', ( or the F-100), size of their houses, neighborhoods, cars or boats in a normal tone of voice in front of other people, etc. Some are just looking for an easy target, whether their suspicions are based on one's breath or not. Don't hand them any so-called "ammunition" for a secret weapon. You see, I have spotted several of our pilots on layovers here, merely by the way they walk and look around, even while they are by a nearby commercial avenue. After introducing myself, they are always surprised that they stand out. They can spot us easily in a pub, not just by hearing aviation lingo. Never mind recognizing the KLM crewmembers. Don't imagine that we can disguise ourselves with blue jeans and our dirty running shoes (dodging snakes) etc.
When people really are out to get us, it does not mean that we are paranoid.
Last edited by Ignition Override; 15th Aug 2002 at 06:53.
