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pilots arrested for being drunk.
pikeal1
Member Posts: 2,707
sure throws a monkey wrench in the whole "arm pilots" thing if you ask me. what the hell were they thinking?!?!?
MIAMI - A Phoenix-bound jetliner was preparing for takeoff with 124 passengers aboard when officials called it back to the terminal and arrested both pilots for allegedly being drunk in the cockpit.
Airport security screeners said they noticed a whiff of alcohol on two America West pilots Monday when they got into a dispute over cups of coffee they wanted to bring through a checkpoint.
The screeners at Miami International Airport alerted officials who called police. But by the time officers arrived, the plane had already left the gate and was headed for takeoff.
AP
Christopher Hughes
The flight was called back to the terminal and the pilots were given a cursory sobriety test, said Miami-Dade police Detective Juan DelCastillo.
Breath tests revealed both pilots had blood-alcohol levels above .08, Florida's legal limit for operating machinery.
Pilot Thomas Cloyd, 44, and co-pilot Christopher Hughes, 40, were each charged Monday with a felony count of operating an aircraft under the influence and operating a motor vehicle under the influence.
Cloyd had a .091 blood-alcohol level, while Hughes registered .084, DelCastillo said. Federal Aviation Administration rules prohibit pilots from drinking alcohol eight hours before flying a plane. America West's policy is 12 hours.
The pilots have been suspended with pay pending an investigation by the airline, said Patty Nowack, an America West spokeswoman.
``We are indeed conducting an investigation,'' Nowack said. ``If these pilots did have alcohol in their system, they will be terminated.''
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident to determine whether to take action against the pilots, which could include having their licenses revoked or suspended, spokeswoman Laura Brown said.
It could not be determined Monday if the pilots have attorneys.
Cloyd has worked for America West since 1990. Hughes joined the airline in January 1999, Nowack said. Both pilots have good working records, she said.
It was the pilots' first flight of the day, she said.
MIAMI - A Phoenix-bound jetliner was preparing for takeoff with 124 passengers aboard when officials called it back to the terminal and arrested both pilots for allegedly being drunk in the cockpit.
Airport security screeners said they noticed a whiff of alcohol on two America West pilots Monday when they got into a dispute over cups of coffee they wanted to bring through a checkpoint.
The screeners at Miami International Airport alerted officials who called police. But by the time officers arrived, the plane had already left the gate and was headed for takeoff.
AP
Christopher Hughes
The flight was called back to the terminal and the pilots were given a cursory sobriety test, said Miami-Dade police Detective Juan DelCastillo.
Breath tests revealed both pilots had blood-alcohol levels above .08, Florida's legal limit for operating machinery.
Pilot Thomas Cloyd, 44, and co-pilot Christopher Hughes, 40, were each charged Monday with a felony count of operating an aircraft under the influence and operating a motor vehicle under the influence.
Cloyd had a .091 blood-alcohol level, while Hughes registered .084, DelCastillo said. Federal Aviation Administration rules prohibit pilots from drinking alcohol eight hours before flying a plane. America West's policy is 12 hours.
The pilots have been suspended with pay pending an investigation by the airline, said Patty Nowack, an America West spokeswoman.
``We are indeed conducting an investigation,'' Nowack said. ``If these pilots did have alcohol in their system, they will be terminated.''
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident to determine whether to take action against the pilots, which could include having their licenses revoked or suspended, spokeswoman Laura Brown said.
It could not be determined Monday if the pilots have attorneys.
Cloyd has worked for America West since 1990. Hughes joined the airline in January 1999, Nowack said. Both pilots have good working records, she said.
It was the pilots' first flight of the day, she said.
Comments
Rugster
Sounds like another job for 'I'll be bach' Arnold.
Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem.Semper Fidelis
The sad thing is that we trust people like this with our lives every day...scary thought
Gun control is hitting your target
Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
I really hate to stick up for these guys, but I can sure understand how their job could "drive them to drinkin'," especially having to be a "sitting duck" all the time! Just sort of wish they could have waited until after their shift was over...........
If You Can't Buy a Pair, Get a Spare!
i dont know whats worse...the fact that they put the lives of so many people at risk...or the fact that they probably set back the "arming pilots" movement so far back
Alex
The whole "if we make guns illegal people will be safer" mentality is disproven in situations like this where human nature is revealed. Even if something is outlawed it doesn't mean it won't happen.
I was attending a wedding reception at a ritzy hotel here in Sioux City (yeah, REAL ritzy) in June. I went to the customer service desk to ask for directions to the wedding reception since the hotel was huge and they had all sorts of reception halls. I was waiting behind a bunch of pilots and flight attendants still in uniform. They were asking everyone in the lobby where they could go for good drinks. Pilots and flight attendants get drunk all the time when they spend the night in strange cities. I'd like them to take a breathalizer test before they get into the cockpit. I can think of several occasions since I've been in the Army where I, as a young soldier, partied all night with friends just prior to a Brigade run the next morning. The run was slow and you could smell the alcohol coming out of everyone's pores while they ran. Then we got the rest of thet day off when the run was over. The Army has changed quite a bit since then. Showing up for a run (regardless of what happens after the run) with a remote scent of alcohol coming from your breath or pores now results in severe disciplinary action. There was once a time where a soldier could go out to eat for lunch and have two beers with his lunch before returning to work. Many commercial airline pilots are former soldiers/sailors/airmen/Marines. More than likely they came from the old military school of thought where you worked hard and played hard every night and the amount of alcohol you could consume the night before undertaking a physically demanding task was a measure of your manhood.
In Utah, there is over 44,000 concealed weapons permits issued to the citizens. Each month, there are one or two of these permits suspended for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. In fact, this is the most common reason for loss of a CCW in Utah, I'm told.
If these pilots had the right to carry in the cockpit, (which they don't), they would probably lose that right, also. Alcohol does funny things sometimes to folks who otherwise have no problems. This is another subject, however, so I won't continue on the alcohol!
I do not find it beyond imagination that a couple of Pilots would get busted for "FUI", (Pronounced PHOOEY, meaning Flying Under the Influence, which is similar to "BUI" which is Boating Under the Influence), when so many citizens throughout the entire country imbibe in alcohol related recreation.
I have learned during my lifetime that all you have to do to see something get screwed up beyond belief is to wait until a Human Being gets hold of it! As a Species, we are very adept at this! And another fine example has been had by all!
If You Can't Buy a Pair, Get a Spare!
GEEEEEZZZZZZZ - armed drunk pilots ????? Oh well, who can smell a little alc between thousands of gallons of jetfuel..
It sure gives "Flying the friendly skies..." a whole other meaning.. eh?
That just doesn't mix....
I love my silenced .22 Anshutz rifle =o) And soon to be Steyr Scout with 10-round ext-set. ;o_