A pilot suspected of reporting for duty drunk was removed from the cockpit of a JetBlue Airbus A320 by airport police at Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) on Wednesday. According to authorities, the 52-year-old pilot registered a blood alcohol concentration of 0.17, more than four times the legal limit for a required crew member, on a breathalyzer test following his removal. A TSA officer reported the pilot to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) after he passed through a security checkpoint on his way to the aircraft.
“We adhere to all DOT rules and requirements concerning alcohol at all times and have a very strict zero tolerance internal alcohol policy,” JetBlue said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are aware of the incident that occurred this morning in Buffalo and are cooperating fully with law enforcement. We are also conducting our own internal investigation.”
JetBlue reported that it has removed the pilot from his duties. The flight, which was bound for Fort Lauderdale International Airport (FLL), was delayed approximately four hours. The FAA is investigating the incident.
Reporting for duty drunk is a sad and inexcusable. Probably too late for this staff member, but hopefully the company has a policy to address these issues… Report to the company doctor seeking help with substance abuse/dependency – and receive help, or loose your employment.
Pretending this problem does not exist and only penalising it will not eradicate it.
*lose ;<)
But it will only get worse unfortunately
For someone to have that B A level and think they are functional, they must really have a serious and habitual problem. How come it took so long to be reported?
I usually have a drink AFTER a flight. Certainly not before one. To celebrate another successful event of cheating death.
I’ll drink to that — great comment!
I wonder what the crew would have done? Or has done in the past? To tolerate that BA level, it’s not the first time that this pilot has been this drunk.
At 52-years old, I’m guessing that he was a Captain? It’s hard to report your Captain. (Remember the scene from “The Hunt for Red October” where Ramius violated the Rules by keeping the second launch key for himself?)
So I’m guessing that others have covered for him before.
Unfortunately, in our culture, we denigrate people who report wrong-doers, calling them “finks” or “snitches.” And “snitches get stitches,” per Serpico.
So, short of giving a half million dollar bonus to a crew member who reports a drunk pilot (so that the crew member can retire in comfort to avoid retaliation), I can’t think of a way to encourage crew members to do the right thing in this situation.
A Breathalyzer in every cockpit?
Ah, doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Just look at how Denzel Washington flew that plane inverted and saved all those people and he was blasted too.
Well, as a real life example, I confess that, as a younger pilot, I flew a plane with my “boss” in it which didn’t pass the Magneto test. (I couldn’t shut off one of the mags.) At the time, I knew that it was “wrong,” but I hadn’t yet had a real mag failure in flight where I HAD to disable the faulty mag.
I’ve seen a cop testify in court that he made a false arrest because he superior told him too.
Captain overrule of the rules happens all the time.