Continental Pilot "Unfit" for Duty at IAH
Join Date: Mar 1999
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411A,
There was a time in the early 90's when there was a regular DT pattern for CX crew - operate into NRT, big night at the Truck then DT home early next a.m. on a different A/C type.
Hopefully it was this crew you met
There was one famous case where the crew arrived back at the HOTAC at 3am and turned up in the lobby in uniform a few hours later. The same clerk was behind the desk and he shopped them to CX.
It turned out to be a storm in a tea cup since the scenario was as described above.
(DT crew required to be in uniform ex Japan).
Join Date: Nov 1999
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If 'juliet' is a journalist then she/he is a pretty poor one. There's been enough cases involving pilots and alcohol in the last few months -- it's hardly news any more.
While I believe (and hope) that it's only a few misguided members of the profession who step over that line, I do wonder whether we'll someday be hearing about the unlucky one via a post-accident autopsy.
While I believe (and hope) that it's only a few misguided members of the profession who step over that line, I do wonder whether we'll someday be hearing about the unlucky one via a post-accident autopsy.
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KC,
Don't fret too much. The gate jockeys at security and air marshals will keep us pilots from hurting ourselves. Rumor has it they soon will be able to fly the jet too
Don't fret too much. The gate jockeys at security and air marshals will keep us pilots from hurting ourselves. Rumor has it they soon will be able to fly the jet too
Even if a stupid pilot had one beer and measured over the legal limit (thus ending their career), the FAA then gladly turns a blind eye to anyone on duty, without a rest period, for up to 16 hours or so, as long as they began after a minimum of about 6 solid hours in a noisy hotel room (includes a little reading, sleeping, showering) and this is certainly "legal", according to our guardian angels with the FAA.
As suggested years ago by another pilot, maybe it is time we shutdown all US law schools for a few years until the huge excess of attorneys dries up ("write home when you find work"). Nothing personal, I suppose, but ask me if I care.
As suggested years ago by another pilot, maybe it is time we shutdown all US law schools for a few years until the huge excess of attorneys dries up ("write home when you find work"). Nothing personal, I suppose, but ask me if I care.
Iconoclast
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Don't arrest those pilots. At least not here.
How about this? Two pilots were seen drinking prior to a flight but they were not detained nor were they arrested. The reason for this was that in that state (Minnesota) it was not against the law to fly while under the influence. They allowed the pilots to fly to their destination where they were arrested because in that state (Michigan) it was against the law to fly while under the influence. Who would be at fault if perchance the pilots were unable to correct a problem and the airliner crashed. The police and airport authorities knew of their condition and did nothing about it and left it up to the legal authorities at the destination to enforce the law. It’s situations like this that cause lawyers to salivate.
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JULIET
J
so where do you get your opinion...is it your infinite experience flying the line....or just from watching the C4 program on a few well placed shots of BA pilots???
I know of alot of pilots who take their careers very seriously and will not be out till 3am with an 8am t/o.....
Perhaps you might expand on your knowledge??????
so where do you get your opinion...is it your infinite experience flying the line....or just from watching the C4 program on a few well placed shots of BA pilots???
I know of alot of pilots who take their careers very seriously and will not be out till 3am with an 8am t/o.....
Perhaps you might expand on your knowledge??????
Thread Starter
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Here's an update:
Continental pilot was drunk, breath tests show
Friday, January 03, 2003
BY AL FRANK
[EWR] Star-Ledger Staff
Two breath tests given to a Continental Airlines pilot after he was removed from the cockpit of a Florida-bound jet showed alcohol concentrations almost three times higher than allowed by federal rules, according to documents obtained by The Star-Ledger.
Roger Andre Bousquet, a Newark Liberty International Airport-based pilot, was fired two days after seating himself at the controls of the Oct. 15 flight from Houston to Orlando. Two weeks later, his pilot's license was revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration, a decision Bousquet has appealed.
According to the FAA's emergency order, breath tests administered to Bousquet minutes after he was escorted from the Boeing 737's cockpit showed alcohol concentrations of 0.114 and 0.108.
Federal "bottle-to-throttle" rules prohibit pilots from operating aircraft within eight hours of consuming alcohol or if they have a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 percent or greater. Under New Jersey's motor vehicle laws, a driver with readings of 0.10 or higher is considered drunk.
In papers filed by his union's attorney, the 15-year-veteran pilot admits taking the two Breathalyzer tests, administered 18 minutes apart, but contests the results.
Bousquet's test results were among the highest of the more than half-dozen drunken pilot cases that surfaced last year. The most notorious was that of two America West pilots ordered back to the gate after they began taxiing their plane to a Miami International Airport runway for a July 1 flight to Phoenix. Thomas Cloyd and Christopher Hughes were fired and lost their licenses after tests showed they had alcohol concentrations greater than 0.08.
Just last Thursday, a Delta pilot had a 0.07 reading after baggage screeners alerted Norfolk Airport Authority officers they had detected an odor of alcohol on the breath of co-pilot Gary Schroeder after he reported for a flight to Cincinnati.
Despite the recent incidents, the FAA said such cases are unusual. In 2000, the last year for which complete data are available, nine pilots tested over the limit out of 10,419 random tests administered by the airlines. The year before, five violations were uncovered out of 10,257 checks.
"The numbers haven't changed much, but my theory is the reporting has improved with more skilled, professional screeners," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.
According to the documents, a Continental gate agent and two federal air marshals detected alcohol on Bousquet's breath and notified assistant chief pilots George Fox and Loyd Robeson. The Continental pilot managers then escorted Bousquet from Flight 1086 to the airport clinic, where the tests were administered.
Unlike other cases, where the pilots' interaction with airport police led to the disclosure of their names, Bousquet's removal was made by Continental. The airline and the FAA then cited privacy rules in declining to release his name.
His identity and other details were contained in documents released by the FAA in response to the newspaper's request under the Freedom of Information Act.
While Continental's corporate policies provide some latitude in dealing with minor infractions of its "fitness for duty" code, it has "zero tolerance" when federal regulations are violated. A spokesman declined comment yesterday.
Continental pulled Bousquet and the first officer from duty about 40 minutes before the jet, with 154 passengers, was due to leave George Bush Intercontinental Airport. According to the FAA, the first officer's test was negative but a replacement crew completed the flight.
After the FAA issued an emergency order revoking Bousquet's airman's and medical certificates, the Continental unit of the Air Line Pilots Association appealed the decision to the National Transportation Safety Board, where the case is pending.
In the papers, attorney Michael Welsh said Bousquet complied with the eight-hour restriction and contended Department of Transportation procedures were not observed in administering the breath test.
Welsh did not return a call yesterday and a woman answering the phone at Bousquet's home in Florida said he was not there.
Continental pilot was drunk, breath tests show
Friday, January 03, 2003
BY AL FRANK
[EWR] Star-Ledger Staff
Two breath tests given to a Continental Airlines pilot after he was removed from the cockpit of a Florida-bound jet showed alcohol concentrations almost three times higher than allowed by federal rules, according to documents obtained by The Star-Ledger.
Roger Andre Bousquet, a Newark Liberty International Airport-based pilot, was fired two days after seating himself at the controls of the Oct. 15 flight from Houston to Orlando. Two weeks later, his pilot's license was revoked by the Federal Aviation Administration, a decision Bousquet has appealed.
According to the FAA's emergency order, breath tests administered to Bousquet minutes after he was escorted from the Boeing 737's cockpit showed alcohol concentrations of 0.114 and 0.108.
Federal "bottle-to-throttle" rules prohibit pilots from operating aircraft within eight hours of consuming alcohol or if they have a blood-alcohol level of 0.04 percent or greater. Under New Jersey's motor vehicle laws, a driver with readings of 0.10 or higher is considered drunk.
In papers filed by his union's attorney, the 15-year-veteran pilot admits taking the two Breathalyzer tests, administered 18 minutes apart, but contests the results.
Bousquet's test results were among the highest of the more than half-dozen drunken pilot cases that surfaced last year. The most notorious was that of two America West pilots ordered back to the gate after they began taxiing their plane to a Miami International Airport runway for a July 1 flight to Phoenix. Thomas Cloyd and Christopher Hughes were fired and lost their licenses after tests showed they had alcohol concentrations greater than 0.08.
Just last Thursday, a Delta pilot had a 0.07 reading after baggage screeners alerted Norfolk Airport Authority officers they had detected an odor of alcohol on the breath of co-pilot Gary Schroeder after he reported for a flight to Cincinnati.
Despite the recent incidents, the FAA said such cases are unusual. In 2000, the last year for which complete data are available, nine pilots tested over the limit out of 10,419 random tests administered by the airlines. The year before, five violations were uncovered out of 10,257 checks.
"The numbers haven't changed much, but my theory is the reporting has improved with more skilled, professional screeners," said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.
According to the documents, a Continental gate agent and two federal air marshals detected alcohol on Bousquet's breath and notified assistant chief pilots George Fox and Loyd Robeson. The Continental pilot managers then escorted Bousquet from Flight 1086 to the airport clinic, where the tests were administered.
Unlike other cases, where the pilots' interaction with airport police led to the disclosure of their names, Bousquet's removal was made by Continental. The airline and the FAA then cited privacy rules in declining to release his name.
His identity and other details were contained in documents released by the FAA in response to the newspaper's request under the Freedom of Information Act.
While Continental's corporate policies provide some latitude in dealing with minor infractions of its "fitness for duty" code, it has "zero tolerance" when federal regulations are violated. A spokesman declined comment yesterday.
Continental pulled Bousquet and the first officer from duty about 40 minutes before the jet, with 154 passengers, was due to leave George Bush Intercontinental Airport. According to the FAA, the first officer's test was negative but a replacement crew completed the flight.
After the FAA issued an emergency order revoking Bousquet's airman's and medical certificates, the Continental unit of the Air Line Pilots Association appealed the decision to the National Transportation Safety Board, where the case is pending.
In the papers, attorney Michael Welsh said Bousquet complied with the eight-hour restriction and contended Department of Transportation procedures were not observed in administering the breath test.
Welsh did not return a call yesterday and a woman answering the phone at Bousquet's home in Florida said he was not there.
The Reverend
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411A, if you think it was appropriate to specify CX as the airline crew in the truck, instead of inviting them to the ANA and further delaying their arrival for rest at the Narita Winds, you should have reported them to CX Narita ops. You just can't leave well alone! Can you, you old f@rt?
Last edited by HotDog; 6th Jan 2003 at 10:10.
