One never knows what is going on in his personal life. Some people make bad decisions and certainly this would seem to be one of them. Fortunately AA and many others have excellent pilot support programs for substance abuse or stress problems . You will get more than one strike in normal circumstances from the programs but not many more.

I have known a number of pilots with "drinking" problems. Some just plain drunks other driven to drink with personal issues. The majority go thru a program and come out the other side clean. But I know of a few that did not and were terminated or forced to retire usually after a second or third occurrence.

gasbag 1:

Those options and programs are moot for those pilots who report for flight duty intoxicated.

Local NBC-10 Philadelphia Coverage
 

Philly coverage from the wee hours today: NBC-10 6AM 27 March 2016

In Australia the general view is that its a medical issue and with the appropriate treatment , monitoring and medical and psychological clearances for alcohol abuse, the pilot is given a second chance. Third chances are much rarer. Other recreational drugs are treated with much less tolerance. Certain substances are zero tolerance.

HIMS has helped pilots in this exact scenario.

Off with his head , is old school now and has been for sometime. It is a medical issue and is treatable. Further hand held breathalyzers are notoriously inaccurate, however before we condemn the pilot we should get ALL the facts. And I would bet he will have to go for treatment either way to keep his career intact.

Another observation, the cops could arrested the pilot in a less visible area to save some dignity for the pilot. I am certain they wouldn't arrest a fellow cop caught driving on the roadside, in uniform, at a stop light, if that cop was intoxicated at work.

We should get "all the facts" before condemning the pilot, but 2 sentences later it's OK for you to condemn the cops. Is that how it works? For all we know, the cops may have had a reason for not waiting.

The source at #3, had to "assure herself to remain calm" (would a brandy help?), yet had the presence of mind to get her phone out and get taping, and was "hoping for compensation".
Well that's the important thing.
And when I saw the first post I wondered how long before the Hand wringers would pipe up.
Not long.
Is there any chance the mods could stop wetting themselves about the word "laser", and instead ban any reference to counseling, programs (sic), and mental difficulties whenever someone has had a shandy too many the night before.
While we're on:
"(S)he probably did it before" is against every tenet of justice that there ever was so stop it.

We get the HIMS presentation in yearly training. In recent years we've been told that once you report, you can't get any protection from prosecution and termination through HIMS.

Anecdotally, there have been incidents where the pilot was impaired, saw that they were going to be tested, and 'disappeared' to the loo or elsewhere to make a cell phone call to HIMS before actually blowing over the limit. Since they had voluntarily 'come for help' some of the legal and employment consequences are mitigated pending successful completion of HIMS treatment.

After the Fargo incident Northwest's policy was that you could come down to the altar and say you wanted to enter HIMS anytime before the completion of the Before Start Checklist. Nowadays the goal post, or should I say foul line, is much closer to the security checkpoint in the U.S. from what I see.

I've always claimed that this sort of deal was not uncommon in past cases where there was little public knowledge of the testing or results.

A recent thread here discussed the case of an Alaska Airlines pilot who was allowed to retire after blowing over the limit. Homeland Security recently filed a criminal complaint nearly two years later and he may be facing a plea deal for prison time.

Part of AQP recurrent this year was to watch a well put together video about the company's HIMS program. It had a couple of pilots who used the program, one of whom I know well who failed a post flight breathalyzer. He was immediately fired, sought HIMS assistance and something like 18 months later was back on line.

Thanks for sharing this.

Did he face any legal action after operating an aircraft over the limit these days? I realize that so much of what happens seems to depend on the jurisdiction and circumstances.

If you suffer from auto-brewery syndrome it's quite possible to have alcohol in your system without having drunk any, however, I think the sort of quantities produced by this syndrome is far in excess of 0.02.

Bubba

Not sure what legal actions he faced. I've not built up the courage to ask many questions. What I know of the case is what he disclosed on the HIMS video.

I understand and hope your friend has a great career ahead.

He's a good, thoughtful pilot and person when I flew with him years ago when I was a FO. Funny thing is I can't ever recall him drinking a drop of alcohol. Either he started after or preferred to do it behind his hotel door.

Perhaps the captain was surprised that the FO fouled himself before take-off, rather than during?

According to CBS News, the FO blew a 0.081, twice the legal limit for flying. At first the guy denied drinking at all, but then admitted he had "a drink" the night before. And apparently the business about the seat wasn't just a fabrication:

If having a BAC of "only" 0.08 caused this guy to go sideways in his seat and piss off the captain that badly in the process, I'd say he's not a heavy drinker. That's in lightweight territory. Mug shot in the linked article. He sure doesn't look like he's in great shape, but maybe that's his normal appearance.

In the US operating a aircraft (part 121), under the influence is a Felony. That's why the handcuffs.

Thanks for the two responses re handcuffs.


I attended the inquest of a friend who died in a road accident, the medical report included the fact that the blood/alcohol level was 0.016. The coroner, himself a doctor I believe, said this level could easily be reached from the alcohol that certain foods generate and went on to add that alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

New video released showing the pilot getting his epaulettes removed before doing the perp walk in handcuffs through the terminal:

Video Shows Co-Pilot Before Boarding Aircraft While Allegedly Drunk - ABC News

Some stills from the video in this article:

American Airlines pilot John Maguire boarded a plane TWICE while drunk | Daily Mail Online

Also, he goes through security in uniform wearing a ballcap. Is this the new casual work attire at American?