What ticks me off is that no TSA BAG-SCREENER should have the power to determine if a pilot is 'fit-to-fly'. That is NOT their job, and never will be. They should stick to screening bags and wanding people with their shoes off.

The first TSA screener that accuses me of drinking better have a good attorney.

B767300ER


I doubt if anyone would disagree with you - however the bag-creener didn't determine the alledged state of the guy, the cops did - which is exactly what we pay them for.

If they could sniff out bullets as well as they can alcohol the skies would be a lot safer

Any news on the latest developments with the Captains destiny ??

(sorry to be the fourth person to ask, vdoes anyone know ???)
Regards

Yorky

As far as I know, nothing's happened since the first court appearance just before Christmas, apart from the prosecutor and airport officials briefing the press.
I assume he's still in America - it was a condition of his bail bond that he didn't leave the country.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday 3 February.

Alleged Drunken Pilot Case Heading To Grand Jury

Pilot Waives Right To Preliminary Hearing

POSTED: 11:17 AM EST February 3, 2004
UPDATED: 11:53 AM EST February 3, 2004

LEESBURG, Va. --

A Loudoun County grand jury will decide whether Virgin Atlantic pilot [redacted] should face a criminal trial for allegedly attempting to fly an airplane while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

[redacted] appeared before a judge in Leesburg, Va., Monday to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in connection with the December incident at Dulles International Airport.

Security screeners reportedly smelled alcohol on [redacted]'s breath as he prepared to fly a Virgin Atlantic flight bound for London with 400 passengers aboard.

If convicted, [redacted] faces state charges that carry penalties of up to five years in prison and $2,500 in fines.

The Loudoun County grand jury meets on March 8. The prosecutor in the case said the panel will decide whether there is substantial cause to proceed with trial.

Virgin Atlantic suspended [redacted] from flight operations and they have declined to comment on the case.

http://www.nbc4.com/news/2814169/detail.html

I'm not a lawyer but this going to a grand jury for an indictment seems a little more court work than I had expected. Maybe it is just proforma, but if the state's case passes a snif test by the grand jury I would guessit would go to trial. If the grand jury does not think the state has a case then ther ewill be no indictment and no case , charges dropped.

Previously on this thread the text of the statute Captain XXXXXXXX is charged under was printed and , personal opinion, it is a really poorly written law.

Hope he gets a fair shake and if not really guilty of anything sent on his way.

Pilot accused of being drunk won't get passport back

By DERRILL HOLLY
Associated Press Writer

Published March 12, 2004

LEESBURG, Va. -- A Virgin Atlantic Airways pilot accused of showing up for work intoxicated lost a bid Friday to get his passport returned.

[redacted] was arrested Dec. 19 at Washington Dulles International Airport, after authorities said security screeners smelled liquor on his breath and called police. At the time of his arrest he was preparing to fly a Boeing 747 with 383 passengers and 17 crewmembers to London's Heathrow Airport.

[redacted], 55, was indicted this week on a charge of attempting to operate an aircraft while under the influence of an intoxicating drug or alcohol. He pleaded innocent.

The 14-year Virgin Atlantic veteran has been free on $25,000 bond since Dec. 22, at which time he surrendered his passport. But that has kept [redacted], a U.S. citizen, from returning home to Britain, where he has lived for several years with his wife and two children.

"It's rare that we have an individual under indictment and facing trial that seeks to leave the country," said Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Stephen Sincavage, arguing against the return of [redacted]'s passport. Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge James H. Chamblin agreed.

"This is not a minor offense," said Chamblin, noting that 400 people could have been killed as a result of [redacted]'s actions.

"I just don't feel that this court should substitute $25,000 for his guarantee to appear," Chamblin said. The judge also questioned whether extradition laws in the United Kingdom would compel [redacted] to return to faces the state charge.

Trial has been set for Aug. 2. If convicted, [redacted] faces up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine.

"We're obviously disappointed by the judge's ruling," defense attorney Thomas Hill told reporters after the hearing. Hill promised to mount a defense featuring "substantial factual and legal challenges."

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local...lines-virginia

Pilot Can't Go Home Pending Trial

By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 13, 2004; Page A04

A former Virgin Atlantic Airways pilot charged with operating an aircraft under the influence of alcohol will remain in the United States while he awaits trial, a Loudoun County judge ruled yesterday.

[...] will not be permitted to rejoin his [family] in [the UK] until his trial in August on the felony charge, Loudoun Circuit Court Judge James H. Chamblin said in refusing to return [...]'s passport.

"This is not a minor offense," Chamblin said. "The allegation is that he was going to operate a 747 loaded with hundreds and hundreds of people and fly across the ocean while under the influence."

[...], who worked for the airline for 14 years as a captain, was arrested in December shortly before he was scheduled to fly a Boeing 747 with 400 passengers and crew members to London's Heathrow Airport.

A police sergeant for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority testified in December that [...] was escorted from the cockpit five minutes before the plane's scheduled evening departure, though no passengers had yet boarded.

According to court documents, a breath test given to [...] showed a blood alcohol level of 0.11, more than twice the limit set by federal regulations and well above the limit to drive a car in most states.

[Note, in the United States the limit for driving is 0.08 in most states, and 0.10 in the rest.]

Breath tests are considered preliminary and are not generally admissible in court. Virginia law does not specify a legal limit for flying, but the Federal Aviation Administration sets a limit of 0.04 and prohibits flying within eight hours of taking a drink. Results of tests on [...] blood could not be learned yesterday.

The airline offered passengers booked on the flight hotel accommodations for the night before flying them to London the next day. They also were given vouchers for a free flight anywhere the airline flies.

[...], a U.S. citizen, has been living in a motel since surrendering his passport and being released on $25,000 bond in December, said his attorney, [...].

[...] has lived in the same [British location] house for 25 years and does not pose a flight risk, [his attorney] said.

"He is an extraordinarily responsible client," [his attorney] told the judge. "He really represents no risk of flight whatsoever."

But Chamblin rejected that argument, saying that if [...] did choose to run, extradition proceedings to bring him back to the United States could be difficult.

After the hearing, [his attorney] said there are "very substantial legal and factual defenses to the case." He said that [...], who declined to comment, expects to be exonerated.

The airline placed [...] on administrative leave without pay in December, but a company spokeswoman said he officially resigned from the company yesterday. [...]'s trial was set for Aug. 2.

I am amazed that the extradition treaty between the USA and the UK would appear to be so weak? Or could it be the easy thing to do is deny bail? Where would this Captain go? As I understand he is an American citizen living in the UK for years!

Surprised they haven't stuck the poor s0d in camp delta

Yep, in Europe he could just pay 1500 euros and be on his way home:

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthr...hreadid=122246

I would just like to say even though I let rip at the beginning of this thread I do feel sympathy for the man & have from the moment he was paraded humiliatingly infront of the public like a common criminal, the spectacle completely deflated me. The man has a family, feelings, a career now in tatters because of one silly mistake & a soon to be had pension now up in smoke. I think we should all bear that in mind. No-one likes to see a spectacle like that whatever their attitude is to flying intoxicated.

I'm sure what he is being charged with goes on alot more than anyone cares to admit if the truth be known, just a suspicion. He was the unlucky one that got caught, the one being made an example of IMHO.

I as much as he wishes the clock could be turned back. :(

Coco

He has not been denied bail; he has been denied to right to return to UK because of the perceived (if tiny) risks of absconding, and the weakness of the extradition treaties' application to this offence.

He also should not (as I read it) lose his pension, which is a private pension through a third-party company - like all of us at Virgin. Unlike a company-funded final-salary scheme, it's his money and can't be witheld from him.

This is turning into one of the most inhuman cases involving aircrew I can remember. I think this guy has been tried already - by the UK tabloids if I recall - they sentenced him to a life of abject misery - denied access to his family, humiliated with that disgusting mug shot that the BBC is still gleefully showing on thier web site. And now we read he has resigned.

The fact that he is still jammed up in the USA is beyond belief. Did he stick a knife in someone outside a bar? Did he rob someone at gunpoint? No, he allegedly used some questionable judgement in fitness for duty, and is now paying a fearful price, even before he gets his day in court.

I am curious as to why his fellow crewmembers in the van let him get to the airport, let alone the airplane. I am making the assumption (I know, I know!) that he travelled from a hotel to the airport like all crewmembers - in a van. If so, why no noise from them? Did they smell anything on his breath? Presumably in the confines of a closed van, they would have smelt something questionable coming from him, certainly so if some TSA thug could so in such an open area as a security check point. Stale alcohol is one of the eaisest smells to detect. If anyone in that crew had the slightest suspicion of alcohol on this guy's breath prior to leaving the hotel or arriving at the airport, they bear a huge responsibility here as well, if they did not confront him with their suspicions. I hope if this goes to court (did I read August??!!) that this will get explained; could be very embarrassing for Virgin. I will bet there are some crewmembers sweating bullets that they don't get called as witnesses.

I hope this guy is getting taken care of, stuck as he is away from his homeland and family. He does not deserve this seemingly never-ending nightmare, whatever the circumstances of that night.

With liberty and justice for all.....