FAA Administrator Arrested For DUI

Av Web ^ | Dec 5, 2011 | Glenn Pew

[KeyLargo]

FAA Administrator Arrested For DUI

December 5, 2011 By Glenn Pew, Contributing Editor, Video Editor

Randy Babbitt, administrator of the FAA, was taken into custody Saturday by Fairfax County police and charged with driving while intoxicated, local news has reported. At about 10:30 p.m. Babbitt was seen driving on the wrong side of the road and was pulled over. He was alone in the car at the time and no accident related to the incident has been reported.

[KeyLargo]

Obama picks Randy Babbitt for FAA chief Fri, Mar 27 2009

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will nominate former pilots' union chief Randy Babbitt to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the White House said on Friday.

Babbitt, a consultant who led the Air Line Pilots Association in the 1990s, would become the top safety regulator of passenger and cargo airlines.

He would also be responsible for management of the sprawling U.S. air traffic control network.

The FAA is responsible for coordinating air space for more than 30,000 commercial flights per day.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and John Crawley)

[clee1]

He was alone in the car at the time and no accident related to the incident has been reported.

Well, in that case, he'll get a free pass on this one.... Where's MADD when you need them?

[KeyLargo]

AVITION PING

[KeyLargo]

“He has aggressively tackled the problem of pilots who fly under the influence and recently held a press event with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, NBC’s Tom Costello reported.”

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/05/9226325-updated-head-of-faa-placed-on-leave-after-dwi-charge

[elkfersupper]

Well, in that case, he'll get a free pass on this one.... Where's MADD when you need them?

No, he won't. There are mandatory sentencing standards for this, the only "crime" it is possible to commit for which there is no defense and you are guilty until proven innocent.

MADD serves no useful purpose. The "M" stands for "mothers" and there aren't any actual or potential ones in the leadership of that particular liberty-restriction group

[KeyLargo]

“In 1985, he was chosen as the union’s executive administrator, which called for assisting the president of ALPA in a wide range of areas, including administering staff departments, acting as liaison between the national office and membership councils and pilot committees, and troubleshooting collective bargaining situations. Babbitt was in this position when Eastern Airlines went on strike in 1989—which resulted in 3,000 employees losing their jobs to replacement workers hired by the airline. Some of the fired pilots filed a class action lawsuit against the union on grounds that it failed to pursue other jobs for them.

In 1990, Babbitt was elected president and CEO of the union, serving two terms. The following year he publicly slammed the federal government’s deregulation of the airline industry, claiming the move had sent it into a “nosedive” and cost too many jobs. He also publicly criticized Samuel Skinner, secretary of transportation under President George H. W. Bush, and the FAA for failing to upgrade the nation’s air traffic control system.

In 1992, he convinced the airline pilots union to endorse Bill Clinton for president—after decades of the union standing on the sidelines during presidential races.

Six years later, Babbitt backed the decision by pilots of Northwest Airlines to go on strike, which lasted 13 days, the longest strike of its kind since 1989. The strike was the last that Babbitt oversaw as head of the union because he stepped down at the end of 1998.”

http://www.allgov.com/Official/Babbitt_J_Randolph

[paudio]

Oh no... who’s overseeing the pilots to make sure they aren’t drunk when flying now? /s

[paudio]

Oh no... who’s overseeing the pilots to make sure they aren’t drunk when flying now? /s

[Ken H]

That's Randy buh-dee-buh-dee-buh-dee-Babbit.

[RC51]

I’m not going to be popular for saying this but the DUI laws are too strict. Who here hasn’t had a few drinks (1-3) then drove home, completely safe?

In my opinion DUI arrests should have to prove the driver was driving in an unsafe manner for them to be prosecuted. I’ve seen much worse driving from people talking on cell phones, programming their GPS, Texting & just plain tired driving than I’ve seen from drunks.

[CrazyIvan]

“Hey Randy, maybe you need AA”

Randy; “F AA!”

[Egon]

I’m not going to be popular for saying this but the DUI laws are too strict.

In my opinion, they should create a new category called "attempted manslaughter" and imprison them for 15 years. The behavior is similar to walking into a dark room and firing a handgun randomly until you run out of rounds.

I’ve seen much worse driving from people talking on cell phones, programming their GPS, Texting & just plain tired driving than I’ve seen from drunks.

I don't know about much worse, but certainly very dangerous.

[moovova]

Will his trial include nap times?

[elkfersupper]

I have spent a bunch of time in a past profession trying to herd cats.

If I had to do that all over again, I would stay drunk.

[cblue55]

Randy Babbitt, Belgian Ambassador Gutman and Holder should be removed from their positions immediately..along with everybody else in this evil administration.

[True Republican Patriot]

Please add Hillary Dillary, Big Sis Nappy, Tax Cheat Geithner, and every other sorry, pathetic Bass in this
disgusting Regime! and lets run George Soros on a Perp Walk into Leavenworth with his Puppet, Obama HUSSEIN, following close on his leash

[Enchante]

"Babbitt was seen driving on the wrong side of the road and was pulled over."

Does driving on the wrong side of the road qualify as "unsafe"???

[True Republican Patriot]

Psst!: You may have miised the slight fact that the Police pulled the Idiot over only after observing him driving down the wrong side of the street for a significant distance! Should they have waited until the Perp plowed into some innocent family going the right way on the road stone sober?
Obama HUSSEIN put this Idiot in charge of Our FAA to make sure Aviation was as safe as possible! Its clear now, his real qualification under Obama HUSSEIN, is that he is an outspoken former Union Atagonist.

[Seaplaner]

I think that driving on the wrong side of the road is waaayyyy over the line (literally and figuratively).

The FAA (correctly IMHO) takes a stern view of DUIs, and it's bad juju to omit any info on them from the FAA medical form.

Mister Babbitt, one suspects, is deservedly the object of much derisive humor in pilots' lounges all across this fine nation.

.

[SamAdams76]

I’m not going to be popular for saying this but the DUI laws are too strict. Who here hasn’t had a few drinks (1-3) then drove home, completely safe?

I agree with you there but this particular guy was pulled over while driving on the wrong side of the road. He'll have his day in court but it would appear that slightly more than 1-3 drinks were involved here.

Drunk driving is definitely a serious offense but like you, I feel that the laws have gotten too strict and that many law-abiding citizens are getting caught up in the maw of the criminal justice system on account of having a drink or two at dinner. How many of us (who drink) have gotten behind the wheel of a car after having the 24-oz Foster's lager at The Outback or maybe a couple Patron Silver margaritas at the local Mexican joint? What about the after work get-together where most everybody has a beer or two before heading home for the day? Nobody in those instances are guilty of "drunk" driving but they do risk the misfortune of getting caught up in a DUI roadblock or maybe a minor fender bender in which the responding officer asks the fateful question: "Have you been drinking tonight?" Even if you tell the officer that you only had a drink or two at dinner, you can kiss your life as you know it goodbye. For at that point, the officer is obligated to take you in, regardless of whether or not you pass the field sobriety tests. No police officer is going to just let you drive away after you just admitted to having a drink - even if it was truly one drink.

On the other side of the coin, you have the genuine drunk driver. Those are the ones weaving all over the road, driving with their headlights off, taking turns too sharp and running over a curb, etc. These are the ones that are a danger to themselves and others and we don't need to setup unconstitutional roadblocks to catch them.