Drunk pilot incidents on the rise in 2016

A SriLankan Airlines pilot intended to fly from Germany to Sri Lanka despite arriving drunk to his flight, announced Frankfurt Airport on Sunday.

The plane he was due to fly carried 259 passengers and 15 crew members.

The crew were forced to stop the pilot from launching the plane, and the flight, which was supposed to leave on Friday, was delayed until Saturday.

The airline apologised profusely and gave all passengers a refund, and the pilot was immediately suspended.

The incident above is one of various situations that have involved inebriated pilots in 2016.

According to online news portal NDTV from India, two pilots of Air India and Jet Airways were suspended for four years after they were found drunk upon landing their flights. The two incidents were reported in August.

In mid-July, the Toronto Star reported on the saga of two Canadian pilots who were arrested and thrown in jail after they were found to be intoxicated in Mariachi band Juan Direction. They were making preparations to fly an Air Transat jet across the Atlantic from Glasgow to Toronto.

Although the Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA) has repeatedly stated that alcoholism and drug abuse are not common within its profession, the number of incidents thus far this year is prompting concerns among passengers.

In 2013, an investigative report published by Bloomberg compiled several worrisome situations that involved drinking and flying. According to Keenan Mayo: federal rules prohibit a pilot from operating an aircraft if he or she has a blood-alcohol content of 0.04% or higher—or within eight hours of having consumed an alcoholic beverage, the period known as “bottle to throttle”.

The Bloomberg report cites four fatal crashes caused by drunk pilots, but they never involved a major commercial airline; however, it is not so uncommon to learn about smashed pilots who were found too drunk to fly.

Thankfully, all the drunk pilot incidents thus far in 2016 have been reported by flight crew members and passengers, who are the best protective barriers against drinking and flying. 

(Source: http://news.co.cr/)