"A drunk pilot? Don't be silly, Pally. Hic!"
Posted on 08/04/2010 12:30:01 PM PDT by rawhide
A Toluca Lake woman was recently kicked off a Delta Airlines flight after reporting that she thought she had smelled alcohol on the captain's breath.
Angel said the captain spoke to her and the three other passengers. After he walked away, said Angel, another passenger asked if they had smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath.
Angel said she volunteered to talk with the head flight attendant once aboard the plane.
"I told her that I didn't know what protocol is, but I believe I smelled alcohol on one of the pilots' breath," said Angel.
Angel said the flight attendant immediately talked to another pilot who was in the cockpit getting ready for departure.
"He asked me to come inside the cockpit, where he shut the door and asked me about my conversation with the pilot in the jetway," said Angel. "I told him what I had told the flight attendant; that other passengers and I thought we had smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath."
>snip, click on the link for the complete article<
(Excerpt) Read more at nbclosangeles.com ...
Hmmm. Sounds like this lady was blackballed.
Airlines suck nowadays, especially American ones.
I was one duty once when a TSA official accused one of our pilots of drinking and then disappeared leaving me holding the turd. Long story short, it took two hours to ascertain that the crew had done no such thing. The level of federal drones whose combined IQ would not approach water’s freezing point, that I had to deal was frightful. All I can say if TSA are our airport Sentinels, it is just a matter of time..
I don't blame the captain. He's in charge of a long flight. He can't have some jerk back in the cabin convincing passengers he's drunk. That could create a very unstable situation.
Actually, in the video Ms. Angel looks as if she has been drinking.
“’Making drinking accusations against pilots is a serious matter,’ said Ross Aimer, CEO of Aviation Experts, LLC.”
Which is why the airline discourages it by removing those who even suggest they may have smelled alcohol.
“’If you think someone is drunk, you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and other passengers to report it,’ said Aimer, who is also a retired United Airlines captain.”
What else is he going to say?
“However, in this case, because the captain had not been drinking, Delta made the right decision by asking her to leave the plane.”
Is it just me, or does the conclusion not follow from the premise?
“Aimer explains that in situations like this, flights usually end up delayed or canceled because the captain will take himself off the flight.”
But that is not what happened. So this situation was handled in an unusual manner, right?
“’It’s an either you or me situation,’ said Aimer.”
Only if the airline or pilot makes it one.
A few months ago, my friend was trying to calm an irate passenger, only to hear the woman blurt out in anger "Well, I think you're drunk!" He asked her to repeat what she said, and then ordered the flight suspended while he called the Chief Pilot back in Atlanta to arrange a blood test. The loudmouth was booted from the plane, but the other passengers were also punished by a long delay before the flight could proceed.
Some people just can't keep their mouths shut, and this lady sounds like a busybody. "READY! FIRE! AIM!"
Works for me.
I’ve always complained that there was no accountability for passengers (whatever their motivation) making false accusations against the crew.
"A drunk pilot? Don't be silly, Pally. Hic!"
It's not just you, Aimer's entire discussion there made no sense.
You left out this one - "She had to go because the captain has his crew and hundreds of other passengers to think about."
Unless she'd made a scene about the situation, the "hundreds of other passengers" (except for the few who spoke to the Captain) would be blissfully unaware of the situation.
You need to go to the link and read the story! That ain’t the way it happened. She was one of a group who thought they smelled vodka on the guy’s breath. She became the spokeswoman, and politely talked to the head attendant, then the co-captain. The captain took a breathalyzer or something. She was told he was clean, and she went back to her seat. She was then taken off the plane for no good reason. Then back to her seat, only to be removed from the flight.
The aviation expert made a valid point that after an accusation like that is made either the captain takes himself off the flight or she goes. This way one person was inconvenienced instead of hundreds of others.
I'd still like to hear the airlines' side of this. Where she's talking to TV reporters she probably is angling for a payday.
It is the perogative of the PILOT who will and who will NOT fly on his or her flight.
They make the call.
In this case the pilot thought this passenger may go aboard and tell others aboard that they thought the pilot had been drinking which could cause a problem.
I’ve spoken to commercial pilots here where I live and they say they have folks removed all the time for various reasons, drinking, fighting, cussing, refusing to sit in assigned seats etc.
Safety is the name of the game.
“I’d still like to hear the airlines’ side of this.”
That goes double for me CT. But they have yet to respond. So,,,we’ll just have to wait and see. I’d like to hear from some other witnesses also.
My guess is the airline won’t be talking to the media if they think a lawsuit is coming.
You’re most likely right. Wish some other witnesses would speak up! But then, this isn’t really that important to me, as I refuse to fly anyway.
I wish I could do that. Flying was getting more like bus travel before 9-11 and now it’s just an awful experience.
rawhide,
I live in a private airpark community with several commercial pilots who live here.
I’ve asked about having people removed and a Spirit union rep says there have been many Muslims creating foolish disturbances like not sitting in assigned seats and refusing to re seat or several changing at the same time or yelling to each other and it is not just men, but oft times moosie woman.
They say they are feeling out security measures on various routes.
Bottem line is If the pilot feel ANYONE needs being removed it is their call.
I am a private pilot and I will not fly folks for lots of reasons too.
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