Pilot accused of being drunk

smurfjed

A pilot was removed from a flight in the UK as the cabin crew rang 999 and accused him of being drunk prior to operating a flight.
Will be interesting to see how this turns out, but while the pilot will get hung out to dry if he is found above the limit, what will happen to the accuser if he isn't?
Is it right that someone has the right to feck up someones life with no consequences?

smurfjed

smurfjed wrote: »

...but while the pilot will get hung out to dry if he is found above the limit, what will happen to the accuser if he isn't?
Is it right that someone has the right to feck up someones life with no consequences?

Hung out to dry out?

The cabin crew did exactly the right thing and nothing can or should happen. They didn't sack him or anything, they raised concerns with the employer who can carry out an investigation and if appropriate a disciplinary process. No employee is beyond investigation.

If the accusation is wrong, so be it. If it's malicious, well the accusers themselves may be in trouble. As happens in every other workplace across the world.I

Incidentally, this is more common than you think, know people in medicine who used to talk of surgeons facing theatre with chronic hangovers, Judges making important decisions likewise etc.

Junkyard Tom

smurfjed wrote: »

Is it right that someone has the right to feck up someones life with no consequences?

No, which is why we need to end this culture of drunk plane-drivers routinely putting the lives of thousands of passengers at risk.

smurfjed

The cabin crew did exactly the right thing

Surely the right thing would be to call your management and express your concerns, not call 999 and get the national papers involved?

drunk plane-drivers routinely putting the lives of thousands of passengers at risk.

Interesting, is there such a culture?

smurfjed

smurfjed wrote: »

Surely the right thing would be to call your management and express your concerns, not call 999 and get the national papers...

But presumably the situation was an emergency. It's not like they can have an independent investigator appointed to interview everyone while the plane waited on the tarmac. I guess airport security or police might seem more relevant, not sure they have any authority on the airplanes.

HONKEY TONK

smurfjed wrote: »

Surely the right thing would be to call your management and express your concerns, not call 999 and get the national papers involved?

Interesting, is there such a culture?

Did the cabin crew call the press?

How long would it have taken the management to react?

Canis Lupus

Interested to understand why 999 is called in such a situation unless ground staff have no direct links to airport police/similar.

Rachiee

Calling 999 maybe protocol. Its basically a dispatch service. They needed a police officer dispatched to the plane ASAP.
FWIW if the host crew were wrong, I dont think they should face consequences its really important that they feel secure in their ability to flag concerns or they wont do it.

Canis Lupus

smurfjed wrote: »

A pilot was removed from a flight in the UK as the cabin crew rang 999 and accused him of being drunk prior to operating a flight.
Will be interesting to see how this turns out, but while the pilot will get hung out to dry if he is found above the limit, what will happen to the accuser if he isn't?
Is it right that someone has the right to feck up someones life with no consequences?

If he was innocent how is his life fecked up? His breath/blood would be sampled and he's over the limit or he isn't. If the latter then everyone calms down and carries on. The accusers might want to justify why they took the steps they did if he is innocent as it would have had a brand/operational impact but as long as they acted in good faith then good on them.

tritium

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

No, which is why we need to end this culture of drunk plane-drivers routinely putting the lives of thousands of passengers at risk.

Culture?

Culture: the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.


https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/drunk-piloting-how-common-is-it-really/

I’m really getting tired of how people don’t seem to care about the actual meaning of the word culture once it serves their needs

McMurphy

tritium wrote: »

Culture?

Culture: the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.


https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/drunk-piloting-how-common-is-it-really/

I’m really getting tired of how people don’t seem to care about the actual meaning of the word culture once it serves their needs

No whoosh big enough boss.

Also, the accuser hasn't ruined anyone's life - shure if suspecting someone of being on the buttermilk was a guilty conscience affair, I was gonna add something else but am blind drunk right now so jshdtr6.

Guy:Incognito

999? Would it not be a call straight to the airport police?

tritium

tritium wrote: »

Culture?

Culture: the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.


https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/drunk-piloting-how-common-is-it-really/

I’m really getting tired of how people don’t seem to care about the actual meaning of the word culture once it serves their needs

Nothing worse than trying to call someone out on their English whilst being totally wrong. It seems you're unable to read past the first entry in a dictionary, so you might want to learn how to do that first. It's less embarrassing that way.

Jet Black

I'm thinking the airport police wouldn't be able to deal with it. They probably wouldn't have the equipment to check if he was drunk and don't have the authority to press charges. The actual police would and they would be able to bring him station to properly test him and press charges.

JupiterKid

I would be willing to give the cabin crew the benefit of the doubt every time. This isn’t just a car we’re talking about, it’s a huge chunk of metal tearing through the sky with possibly hundreds of lives aboard, all of which could be in dire jeopardy if a drunken or severely hungover pilot makes one wrong decision.

applehunter

I remember being on the jury for a case and coming back after lunch and the judge was in great form.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

tritium wrote: »

Culture?

Culture: the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.


https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/drunk-piloting-how-common-is-it-really/

I’m really getting tired of how people don’t seem to care this culture of not caring about the actual meaning of the word culture once it serves their needs

FYP

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

smurfjed wrote: »

Surely the right thing would be to call your management and express your concerns, not call 999 and get the national papers involved?

Interesting, is there such a culture?

HONKEY TONK wrote: »

Did the cabin crew call the press?

How long would it have taken the management to react?

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Interested to understand why 999 is called in such a situation unless ground staff have no direct links to airport police/similar.

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

999? Would it not be a call straight to the airport police?

Jet Black wrote: »

I'm thinking the airport police wouldn't be able to deal with it. They probably wouldn't have the equipment to check if he was drunk and don't have the authority to press charges. The actual police would and they would be able to bring him station to properly test him and press charges.

Difficult to say without one of those linky things that normally backs up a story and gives you the info convieniently omitted from the opening post.

Could have been out of hours, might have tried and been unable to contact, pilot might have been awkward....

somefeen

tritium wrote: »

Culture?

Culture: the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.


https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/drunk-piloting-how-common-is-it-really/

I’m really getting tired of how people don’t seem to care about the actual meaning of the word culture once it serves their needs

You are incorrect

Shenshen

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Difficult to say without one of those linky things that normally backs up a story and gives you the info convieniently omitted from the opening post.

Could have been out of hours, might have tried and been unable to contact, pilot might have been awkward....

This. If it happened at a small airport like Kerry, there may not even be any airport police to contact in the first place.

xzanti

They did absolutely the right thing.

What if one of your loved ones were on board that flight?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

somefeen wrote: »

You are incorrect

You're saying he's NOT really tired of it...? I'd argue he knows his own mind better than you do!

somefeen

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

You're saying he's NOT really tired of it...? I'd argue he knows his own mind better than you do!

YOU ARE ALSO INCORRECT!!!

Gah!! These people on the internet with their incorrectness, it pains me to the core.

jmayo

Does anyone know if he was drunk or not ?

retro:electro

smurfjed wrote: »

A pilot was removed from a flight in the UK as the cabin crew rang 999 and accused him of being drunk prior to operating a flight.
Will be interesting to see how this turns out, but while the pilot will get hung out to dry if he is found above the limit, what will happen to the accuser if he isn't?
Is it right that someone has the right to feck up someones life with no consequences?

There will likely be no consequences for reporting him and why should there be? Would there be consequences for you if you wrongly reported someone of drunk driving? No. We all have a duty to report where drink driving is suspected. Undue consequences to that would only act as a deterrent and discourage people from reporting in the future.

Some airlines carry out random drug and alcohol testing and I know there was an initiative started to have this become mandatory in Europe but I think a lot of pilots opposed such a measure.

wakka12

JupiterKid wrote: »

I would be willing to give the cabin crew the benefit of the doubt every time. This isn’t just a car we’re talking about, it’s a huge chunk of metal tearing through the sky with possibly hundreds of lives aboard, all of which could be in dire jeopardy if a drunken or severely hungover pilot makes one wrong decision.

And could kill many hundreds more if it crashed in an urban area

I think better safe than sorry is a good rule of thumb for situations like this

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

somefeen wrote: »

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

You're saying he's NOT really tired of it...? I'd argue he knows his own mind better than you do!

YOU ARE ALSO INCORRECT!!!

Gah!! These people on the internet with their incorrectness, it pains me to the core.

... that you, Mrs. Tritium...?

Junkyard Tom

We need to clip the wings of these drunken plane-drivers - what might have been normal everyday behaviour in the past can no longer be.

Junkyard Tom

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

We need to clip the wings of these drunken plane-drivers

As long as the test for alcohol is administered propellerly...

Really Interested

smurfjed wrote: »

A pilot was removed from a flight in the UK as the cabin crew rang 999 and accused him of being drunk prior to operating a flight.
Will be interesting to see how this turns out, but while the pilot will get hung out to dry if he is found above the limit, what will happen to the accuser if he isn't?
Is it right that someone has the right to feck up someones life with no consequences?

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/20/contents

A breach of s92 or 93 my reading of s96 only a constable can require the samples as required under section 96.

What would be your opinion of a person calling the police if they believe a person is drunk and either driving or going to drive?

Owta Control

xzanti wrote: »

They did absolutely the right thing.

What if one of your loved ones were on board that flight?

My daddy's the pilot