Drunk pilot removed from cockpit of JetBlue flight to Florida

[turbinetree]

Source: The Guardian

Gloria Oladipo
Thu 3 Mar 2022 12.51 EST

A JetBlue pilot was removed from the cockpit of a flight and taken into custody in the US after having a blood-alcohol level more than four times the federal limit for pilots.

The pilot, a 52-year-old man from Orlando, Florida, was first removed from the cockpit after a Transportation Security Administration agent told authorities Clifton looked "impaired" while passing through security, reported the Buffalo News.

The pilot had told authorities that he had seven to eight drinks before he got on the plane that was departing from Buffalo Niagara international airport to Fort Lauderdale, said a Niagara Frontier TSA spokeswoman, Helen Tederous.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/03/jetblue-pilot-drunk-flight-alcohol-florida

---

Well this might not help the Frontier/ Spirit Merger....or they might have class of what the regs state...no drinking 8 prior to a flight....or you will be fined. you will lose your license and you can go to jail...

[Mr. Evil]

1. They should duct tape him to one of the wings.

[Enter stage left]

23. Gorilla tape...it's much stronger.

[MurrayDelph]

27. In that case

Duct tape it is.

[underpants]

2. He has a problem

Last edited Thu Mar 3, 2022, 08:56 PM - Edit history (1)

Just saying.

[FarPoint]

6. Exactly.....

Rehab is the next best option....I hope they try and help this man....

[trof]

14. ALPA (AirLine Pilots' Association) has rehab program.

It's not common problem, but it does happen.
I was ab ALPA member for 35+ years.

[trof]

16. BTW, ALPA is a UNION! AFL/CIO affiliate

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Caught because he appeared drunk

So what about pilots who only had 2 or 3 drinks? Is visual filter the only filter?

[forgotmylogin]

19. Glass half-full interpretation - someone noticed and reported it and he was removed.

And it was reported and not covered up.

[Wingus Dingus]

4. Just calming the 'ol nerves.

Maybe you wouldn't want to fly with him sober?

[regnaD kciN]

5. Frontier is merging with Spirit, not JetBlue...

…although this particular pilot may have been acting under the assumption he was flying for Spirit.

[turbinetree]

8. Thank you corrected I knew it was another LLC

[Initech]

7. Why am I not shocked that Florida was involved?

[Sneederbunk]

9. Buffalo? I thought I was in Cleveland.

[AllaN01Bear]

10. jinkies .

[global1]

11. In His Defense - One Has To Have A Few Drinks Before One Goes To Florida.....

and have to deal with DeSantis. (drum roll please)

[PJMcK]

12. Don't the planes just fly themselves?

The planes have auto-pilots, auto-land, auto-navigation and many other features. Pilots don’t really do much anyway except give annoying PAs.


Just kidding. That pilot needs to be fired but helped.

Airlines need to address this issue proactively. It might be a bigger problem than we know.

[trof]

17. Actually, you're not kidding so much.

At some point airliners will be drones.
All controlled from the ground.
Not in my lifetime, I'm 80.
But maybe in yours.

They don't have to be 'perfect', just better than humans.
In some cases (autoland) they already are.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

24. How creative is "autoland"?

Hey, Siri, put this thing down on the Hudson River. Gently, please.

For now, I prefer a sober and ,experienced pilot. If I ever get on an airplane again, that is.

[trof]

31. The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.

Back in the 80s "I" landed a 1011 at Heathrow with zero ceiling and zero visibility with pilot monitored auto land.
I didn't see the centerline markings on the runway till the nose wheel touched down and then I could just barely make it out.

We had to have a 'follow me' truck guide us to the gate.
We were the only plane to land that morning.
And that was 35(?) years ago.

[keopeli]

13. I read about this 2 or 3 days ago in LBN. Maybe the Guardian is just getting the story?

[getagrip_already]

15. the fed limit for any commercial pilot/driver/captain is .02........

4 times that limit is .08. That is barely a dui for non-commercial drivers.

I'm not defending him. Just pointing out the upidste nature of the media. He was likely .32, not .08, which would make more sense if he had 6 or 7 drinks before flying.

[zipplewrath]

18. Yeah, I caught that too

I wonder if anywhere in the article they mention that. The flip side if he truly had them just before this flight, he had not had time for those drinks to fully impair him. Ultimately, that BAC might have topped out over 0.14.

[getagrip_already]

20. the article does say the limit is ,04, but that is wrong.....

I was a commercial charter captain. The DoT standard is .02. There is no way the FAA would over ride that to .04.

[jmowreader]

22. According to 14 CFR 91.17, the limit is 0.04 for pilots

For truckers it's also 0.04. I can't find the regulation number that says this.

According to 33 CFR 95.020, it's 0.04 for commercial mariners as well.

[getagrip_already]

25. then that must have changed in the past few years......

It was very definitely 0.02 while I had my license.

[COL Mustard]

21. In Vietnam they had these signs that said

No smoking within 50 feet of the aircraft. No drinking 24 hours before you fly.

Some pilots I talked to (after the war) said it should have been reversed.

Seriously, what was this guy's plan? To sober up in the air?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

26. I'm wondering how he thought he would get away with sitting two feet away from another pilot?

Or is this common and pilots just look the other way when they end up with a drunk?

Or was he in a route and knew who he would be flying with?

[Danascot]

29. This is barely related

but it reminded me there was a movie called Flight (2012) starring Denzel Washington as a pilot with a drinking and other substances problem. It's worth watching.

[melm00se]

30. Gotta have a lot of beers

to wash down really good suicide hot wings and/or beef on wecks.