Pilota ubriaco a LAS (articolo inglese)

[GoldenDog]

Tratto da www.aero-news.net

Commercial Airline Aviation News

Drunk, Armed... And In An Airline Cockpit?
Sat, 15 Jan '05

AirTran FFDO captain arrested after screener smells alcohol, fails breathalizer
An armed AirTran Airways captain and federal flight deck officer was arrested in the cockpit of his aircraft on Thursday at Las Vegas' McCarran International airport after a screener said the pilot smelled of alcohol as he passed a checkpoint.

Officers from the Las Vegas Police Department were called to the scene and arrested Paul Reason, Jr., 37 and an AirTrain pilot since 1994. Shortly thereafter, Reason was given a breathalyzer test, which he failed, according to a police report given to the airline.

The airline has issued a statement from its Orlando (FL) headquarters in which they state that safery procedures were followed to make sure the aircraft did not leave the gate with the intoxicated pilot at the controls.

"The captain neither took command of the aircraft nor was the aircraft operated in any manner," said the statement. The airline issued an apology to the passengers of the flight, which as subsequently cancelled. The pilot, who on Thursday was being held at the Clark County Jail, has been suspended by the TSA as an FFDO, and has also been suspended indefinitely from pilot duties by his employer pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident

[ATLMXP]

Notizia di stamattina dell'Atlanta Journal-Constitution: il tipo in questione (che però chiamano Oliver e non Paul Reason) è stato licenziato secco da AirTran. Inoltre, potrebbe perdere il brevetto in seguito a un'inchiesta della FAA. Con tutto che rischia di andare in rovina, ho scarsa simpatia umana per un tizio che non solo si presenta sbronzo ai comandi di un aereo con 120 passeggeri, ma lo fa portandosi pure una pistola in cockpit (è legale e tutto, okay, ma sempre scemo sei, credi di sparare a 30.000 piedi in un tubo di metallo pressurizzato e pieno zeppo di gente?)