Drunk pilot pleads guilty

**tankie** · 05 Jan 10, 15:40

I hope this guy gets the book thrown at him , even if only for his arrogance , when arrested he replies , ok fine ,, who the hell does he think he is , over 100 peoples lives in his drunken hands , well done the crew for alerting the police

Reuters

A United Airlines pilot admitted in court on Tuesday that he had turned up at Heathrow Airport to fly a plane to Chicago while three times over the alcohol limit.

Erwin Washington, 51, of Lakewood, Colorado, had been due to captain a Boeing 767 bound for Chicago last November with 124 passengers and 11 crew members when a colleague smelled alcohol on his breath.

The flight was "imminent" when police arrived and arrested him. A breath test recorded a reading of 31 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is nine micrograms.

When arrested Washington, who has a military background, replied: "Okay, fine."

He pleaded guilty at London's Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to being above the alcohol limit for flying a plane, the Press Association reported. His lawyer Chris Humphreys said the pilot was "remorseful."

Humphreys told the court that legislation relating to airline staff over the legal alcohol limit for flying had only been used seven times. "There are, thankfully, very few cases of this sort," he said.

Washington will be sentenced on February 5 and was released on unconditional bail.

United Airlines said he had been suspended pending a full investigation.

**Prof** · 05 Jan 10, 17:06

Good shit. Explosive passenger underwear, routine body searches & drunk pilots. "OK, fine." Jesus. Right now, if I ain't drivin' I ain't goin'.

Prof

**tankie** · 05 Jan 10, 17:09

Originally Posted by Prof

Good shit. Explosive passenger underwear, routine body searches & drunk pilots. "OK, fine." Jesus. Right now, if I ain't drivin' I ain't goin'.

Prof

**Dreadnought** · 05 Jan 10, 19:14

Glad they caught him.

**Ararat** · 05 Jan 10, 19:45

I am sure the FAA has pulled his ATP certificate on the spot.............he will never fly legally again, even small trainers. That is the worst thing that could happen to a pilot.
He knew what he had done; he wasn’t even under the FAA min requirements of (8 hrs between throttle and bottle in GA, and 12 hrs for commercial flights). Regardless the company requirements are much tighter, an over the counter cough medicine could potentially put you above their mins.

He screwed up big time..............must have some issues at home.

**tankie** · 05 Jan 10, 20:43

Originally Posted by Dreadnought

Glad they caught him.

Yes i am

**Dreadnought** · 05 Jan 10, 21:33

Originally Posted by tankie

Yes i am

When I drink its hard enough for me to be responsible for myself (and any lady friend

)) I cant imagine being ignorrant enough to believe I can be responsible for 135 peoples lives after blowing 3X's the limit and having to fly a plane back to the US.

Make him swim home to the US while the rest fly safely. Or better yet, drag him by his feet behind a nice slow ship back to the US.

)

**dave lukins** · 05 Jan 10, 21:44

Originally Posted by Ararat

He screwed up big time..............must have some issues at home.

If he didn't before he certainly has now. Not too sure what the UK Courts can do with him apart from a fine. I think they may just hand the case over to US authorities.

**Ararat** · 06 Jan 10, 01:04

Originally Posted by dave lukins

If he didn't before he certainly has now. Not too sure what the UK Courts can do with him apart from a fine. I think they may just hand the case over to US authorities.

State and local authorities need to stay out of this, period. Not only they would not know what to do (example: what is a vehicle and what is a highway, not to mention the guy never even taxied out of parking).

The man is in enough trouble back home with FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), which could suspend his pilot license (to get it back he will have to go to rehab and additional flight training and re-certifications) or revoked including his first class medical certificate.........plus a fine.
He is also in big trouble with his employer, which could be grounds for termination depending on his record, seniority, and the airline pilot’s Union language in this regards.

Realistically if he has no black marks in his record, he really puts out to get his medical and license back, and has a good company union...........for someone like him being an ex military trained pilot and years of service in civilian airlines and all who could retire in 4 years, he might be able to fix this up and fly again as a Captain.

BTW, anybody knows what % BAC (USA) is 31 micrograms of alcohol per 100 milliliters of breath with the legal limit being nine micrograms? Sounds like scunk drunk.

**Southie** · 06 Jan 10, 12:20

Is this another way of saying "Fly the Friendly Skies"?

Seriously though, I hope he gets the proper "punishment" for endangering or trying to endanger so many lives!

**Chogy** · 06 Jan 10, 14:43

While not defending him in any way, I feel that I need to remind everyone that pilots are human too. We get tired, have marital problems, get depressed... and in theory, you are not allowed to do any of those, because you are a robot, not a human.

"Hello, Captain Rock Steele here. In my entire life, I have never taken anything stronger than aspirin. I can fly all night and never, ever get tired. My wife can screw the gardener and take 1/2 of everything I've sweated blood for, and I will not have the slightest emotional problem. While 1/3 of the population is on some sort of medication, 0.00% of pilots take medications. My prostate is the size of a soccer ball from stting in this chair for 30 years, but I can't take a medication for it. I am expected to never, ever make a mistake, or I will be violated by the FAA, fined $10,000, and have my ticket yanked. Every six months I have a checkride, during which my ticket can be revoked. Surgeons don't have check surgeries... why is my ability to pilot this plane doubted?"

As I mentioned, no defending this dude, but we are people too, working in a stressful environment with no support structure whatsoever.

Trivia: Most newly-hired regional jet pilots qualify for food stamps.

**Prof** · 06 Jan 10, 15:51

Originally Posted by Chogy

While not defending him in any way, I feel that I need to remind everyone that pilots are human too. We get tired, have marital problems, get depressed... and in theory, you are not allowed to do any of those, because you are a robot, not a human.

"Hello, Captain Rock Steele here. In my entire life, I have never taken anything stronger than aspirin. I can fly all night and never, ever get tired. My wife can screw the gardener and take 1/2 of everything I've sweated blood for, and I will not have the slightest emotional problem. While 1/3 of the population is on some sort of medication, 0.00% of pilots take medications. My prostate is the size of a soccer ball from stting in this chair for 30 years, but I can't take a medication for it. I am expected to never, ever make a mistake, or I will be violated by the FAA, fined $10,000, and have my ticket yanked. Every six months I have a checkride, during which my ticket can be revoked. Surgeons don't have check surgeries... why is my ability to pilot this plane doubted?"

As I mentioned, no defending this dude, but we are people too, working in a stressful environment with no support structure whatsoever.

Trivia: Most newly-hired regional jet pilots qualify for food stamps.

Chogy:

Not defending him in any way? Of course you are. & effectively, too. I imagine that piloting a modern passenger plane is generally about as exiting as watching cement dry, especially for an ex-combat pilot, but when the shit hits the fan things can get very exiting, indeed. Maybe it's the extreme contrast of the routine boredom with the extreme unlikelihood of a major problem that presents the problem.

I haven't heard any similar clamor to lynch bus drivers, who do much the same thing, albeit lower & slower, even though these guys seem to be particularly susceptible to the force of gravity, especially in (forgive me, guys) Mexico & India.

Nontheless, I'm car & train-bound now.

Prof

**mustavaris** · 06 Jan 10, 17:01

Let´s put things into perspective:

Aeroflot says drunk pilot 'no big deal' - Telegraph

Captain Alexander Cheplevsky, who had allegedly celebrated his birthday the previous day according to one Russian newspaper, seemed barely coherent and repeated the words "duration of the flight" three times, passengers were quoted as saying.......

.......Aeroflot representatives boarded the aircraft with a message of reassurance.

"It's not such a big deal if the pilot is drunk," one representative said, according to the English-language Moscow Times, which had a reporter on board.

"Really, all he has to do is press a button and the plane flies itself. The worst that could happen is he'll trip over something in the cockpit."

----------------------------------
Don´t you agree Chogy? :D

**mustavaris** · 06 Jan 10, 17:02

On a serious note: really good they caught this guy.

**Chogy** · 06 Jan 10, 19:04

Prof, what I am looking for is a more generalized understanding. Driving drunk is illegal. Flying drunk is inexcusable. Note that his own crew turned him in. We watch out for, and attempt to take care of, each other.

If I encountered a drunken co-worker, I'd tell him "Call in sick NOW, or I'll make a few calls myself."

My more generalized point is that the expectations of the industry, and to a lesser extent, the flying public, are unrealistic. If you board a red-eye flight, look forward and think "Those guys are on the late shift - they are used to it and will be all right." then your perception is incorrect. There is an excellent chance that they were up at 6:00 A.M. like everyone else, and called at 8:00 P.M. to cover the trip. Around 3:00 A.M., both will be fighting a brutalizing fatigue, turning the temp to 40 degrees f, and swallowing gallons of coffee in a desperate attempt to stay awake.

We have been on the FAA's and the Industry's ass for years if not decades over fatigue, and they sweep it under the rug. In the same way, they pretend emotional difficulties do not exist.

I am not suggesting a pilot fly on morphine, but I had a friend who had such severe chronic back pain, he was usually ashen; beads of sweat would pop on his brow. Technically he was legal to fly, because he was "clean." Consider - is his pain less debilitating or distracting to his flying prowess than a Tylenol 3?

There is no federal regulation that prohibits a doctor from working while using Prozac or some other anti-depressant. Yet if a pilot is depressed, he loses his job. Once you lose your medical, to get it back is almost impossible, and when it does happen, it takes years.

Yes, I am venting.

I've seen too many co-workers suffering from mental and physical issues that can be treated, and such a treatment is compatible with the cockpit, IMO.