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JetBlue Pilot Accused of Flying Drunk One Year Later
This strikes me as unusual, just like the recent case of the Alaska Airlines pilot who was charged over a year after he blew over the limit for EtOH.
Is this a new trend in dealing with drunk flying in the U.S.? Or, an alleged case of retro Hibernian profiling? From the article below: Murphy allegedly asked authorities why he was being tested “so soon” after getting hired by the airline in January 2015 and demanded to know why he was only being tested for alcohol and not controlled substances. I've been told in the past of charges being dropped as part of a deal to successfully stay in the HIMS program. Does the BAC of over .10% invoke another realm of federal transportation law as some have postulated? It seems that a BAC of .10% or more is presumed to be under in the influence for federal purposes, maybe you have to demonstrate some level of incapacitation at lower percentages to get a felony case. Sadly, one in an ever continuing series... JetBlue Pilot Busted for Flying Drunk to JFK By Lia Eustachewich April 27, 2016 | 12:50pm A JetBlue pilot flew packed flights to and from JFK Airport while drunk, according to a complaint unsealed Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court. Then when his Breathalyzer test showed he was boozed up, the pilot bizarrely tried to blame the results on his chewing gum, papers show. Pilot Dennis Thomas Murphy Jr. was yanked off Flight 584 on April 21, 2015, after it landed at JFK from Orlando, Fla., to take a “random” alcohol test, the complaint says. When his Breathalyzer registered a .111, the sloshed skipper blamed the results on the “gum that he was chewing,” court papers say. Pilots can’t have a blood-alcohol content that’s higher than .04 percent and can’t consume booze eight hours before a flight, according to FAA regulations. Murphy allegedly asked authorities why he was being tested “so soon” after getting hired by the airline in January 2015 and demanded to know why he was only being tested for alcohol and not controlled substances. “During the walk to the onsite testing office at JFK Airport, Murphy’s face was red, and he was chewing gum rapidly,” the complaint says. A second test administered 15 minutes later resulted in a .091 blood-alcohol concentration. Murphy piloted two flights that day — Flight 583 with 119 passengers aboard from JFK to Orlando, and Flight 584 with 151 passengers from Orlando back to JFK, according to the complaint. His co-pilot that day told authorities that he saw Murphy “drinking an unknown beverage from a cup” before and during the two flights. As the “pilot flying” Flight 583, Murphy was responsible for manning the aircraft. He was the “pilot monitoring” on Flight 584 and was the sole pilot in control when his co-pilot used the restroom, court papers say. Murphy resigned ahead of his JetBlue investigatory meeting and was stripped of his medical certification that is required to fly. He is expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court later Wednesday afternoon to face the charges. JetBlue did not immediately comment. |
Only the NY Daily News (apparently) bothered to ask why the 1-year delay. The prosecutor's office declined to comment.
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according to a complaint unsealed Wednesday |
May be a critical factor in the delay. Who knows what was going on between the test and now: grand jury, all sorts of motions. Mr. Murphy posted a $50,000 bond on April 27, 2016. One of the news articles reported that he had been through rehab after resigning from JetBlue and was working as a substitute school teacher. I've known of several of these cases in years past where someone who tested positive for drugs and or alcohol was quietly allowed to resign or retire. Of a couple of folks in this category that I knew well, one is sober years later, the other drank himself to death in his forties. Some legal questions come to mind in this discussion: Are the feds now going back through the DOT test results and going after those who blew .10% or more in years past? Is it just the folks who resigned or are the ones who cut a deal and entered HIMS still on the hook years later? Does entry to HIMS or going to rehab mitigate the legal consequences? Is there a relevant statute of limitations for filing these charges? Do you actually have to fly a sector or is reporting for duty and blowing .10% or over enough for these delayed charges? I can't think of a case in the past where charges were filed for alleged drunk air carrier flying more than a year later as in the recent JetBlue and Alaska Airlines news stories. |
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