PIA pilot fals breath test
 

Pilot arrested after failing alcohol test.

A Pakistan International Airlines pilot was arrested at Manchester Airport after he failed a breath test for alcohol as he prepared for a longhaul flight.

The 51-year-old pilot from Pakistan was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of being over the legal limit to fly.

The man was due to fly 350 passengers on a Boeing 747 from Manchester to Lahore.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said that the pilot was bailed "pending further tests" until 24 March, reported the BBC.

The flight was delayed for 90 minutes while a replacement pilot was found.

No one from Pakistan International Airlines was available for comment.

Hope the guy is innocent.


Over to you BJCC. Should keep you going for another month or so.

From the Mcr Evening News.......

Drink cops arrest pilot on plane
POLICE at Manchester Airport boarded a jumbo jet moments before take-off and arrested the captain on suspicion of having drunk too much to fly.

Officers went into the cockpit of the Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 747 with 350 passengers on board following claims that the pilot had been seen drinking earlier at a nearby hotel. The captain was escorted back into Terminal 2, where he was breathalysed.

He was arrested and taken to Stretford Police Station where he provided a blood sample before being released on bail pending the results.

Flight PK713, which was scheduled to depart at 10.30am on Saturday, eventually left at 11.54am after PIA drafted in a replacement pilot for the 4,000 mile trip to Karachi and then on to Lahore.


The Manchester Evening News understands police acted after receiving a report from a member of staff at the Britannia Hotel in Northenden.

A police spokesman said a 51-year-old man from Pakistan was arrested on suspicion of being over the legal limit to fly.

No one at the airline was available for comment.

In December, Finnair captain Heikki Tallila, 51, from Finland, became the first pilot in the country to be jailed after he was breathalysed shortly before a flight from Manchester to Turkey.

Is there something special about Manchester that pilots seem to be breathalysed there more than anywhere else in the UK? :confused:

Having drunk too much to fly? What a crock.

This is the same Manchester that breath tested two pilots after
a dealing in a minor gear indication problem in an "unflappable"
way ??

This after a call from one of their passengers!!

There are simply too many who are enviously on our profession. Not only in Manchester...

regards

Yeah, so envoius of us that they don't want to fly with us when we are pissed!! What a bunch of party poopers!

If there are many more cases like this it will be too embarrassing to admit to being an airline pilot, especially in Manchester!

It's a fact of Life that some people have a problem with alcohol, regardless of their professions.
It's also highly likely that there are people who are alcohol dependent, employed in jobs where this dependency may well create a risk to other people or persons.

A quiet word by one of the other co-employees, suggesting the person step down for the day, would be a far better scenario than that described here.

My Father was admitted to hospital for removal of his adenoids and tonsils many years ago, the Doctor (who had obviously also beem imbibing pre-op, judging by the smell of alcohol on his breath) also removed Dad's uvala!

Unfortunately these incidents are becoming more frequently reported..what's the solution..a ban on drinking down route? Who's to say...but as mentioned above...over do it, call in sick...other guy did it? call yourself in sick

Must be something in England, MAN in particular, that drives pilots to the bottle...

Seriously though. Alcohol seems to be a much larger problem than I thought it would be. Or has it allways been like this and just the increase in random testing that brings the whole thing to light?

Slightly edited for those with no sense of humor.

looking at it percentagewise it's miniscule, but the press gets it and sensationalizes it......which is good....

How many negative tests are conducted? We never get to hear about them; from the public's perspective the police have a 100% record. Every time the public hear about a pilot getting breath tested, it turns out the pilot is over the limit. Scary?

M.C.

In response to Monkey C, the police do in fact publish the ratio of negative/positive tests - particulary at Christmas time. However negative tests are not news so you will very rarely see them published anywhere.

Off the top of my head I think must police forces had about a 10% positive rate last Christmas.

I'm probably sticking my neck out here, but I think all pilots and cabin crew should be breathalysed at reporting time.

Some may argue this violates our rights as crew, but what do you have to fear if you play by the rules?

I agree... just as it should be made the same for MP's entering the Houses of Parliament ( imagine how diabolical it might be were they under the influence when voting on matters of State ), and likewise for Judges befor they enter a court, and so to for Doctors & Surgeons & Nurses, and then there's the local lollypop lady, and what about the teachers at my kids school, and the ...... anybody for any more...... we can't be too careful can we ?

I agree with mandatory testing on arrival. Not to highlight alchohol problems amongst the aviation industry, but to save money. It is far more beneficial for a company to pay for a day off sick rather than replace a fully qualified and competent pilot. Due to the new legislation we all have to re educate ourselves and maybe change, slightly, our lifestyles. As said in other posts the business we are in is not like it was, nor will ever be. Luckily, I am leaving the airline and will be flying for fun from the beginning of March. I am happy to be doing it after 20 years of commercial flying.

I simply said just because he was a PIA pilot don't assume he's muslim..thats it !

Interesting thread. Though I hate to see it being turned into a slagging contest. So much has been said regarding the offending PIA pilot being a muslim, that a phone call to Karachi and a PIA pal was in order. I'll try to state the facts:-

1. Yes it was a PIA captain detailed to operate the B-777 MAN-LHE service.

2. Parents- Father (Muslim) Mother (Catholic).

3. PIA has/had employed Christians, Parsis, Hindus, Buddhists etc. A few years ago the DFO was a christian pilot, and other christian pilots have held management positions in PIA Flight Ops.

4. Pakistanis irrespective of their religion like to drink alcohol. Most Parlaimentarians, Judges, Ministers, Bureaucrats, Generals & those occupying the highest offices drink alcohol habitually; despite its being banned for Muslims.

5. Most world class brands of alcohol are freely available on the black market as is the locally produced beer and spirits.

6. An inquiry is being held, and if found guilty as charged the concerned PIA pilot faces dismissal from service.

Cheers :ok:

Not different at all. Just a point to say that they can drink, but don't have to.
As for drinking on duty, that is [as has been said before,] sheer stupidity no matter what your Faith/Beliefs
watp,iktch