AirBaltic Crew Jailed After Testing Positive for Alcohol

An airBaltic flight from Norway’s departure was delayed this morning when four members of its crew failed a breathalyzer tests administered by Norwegian police.

The pilot, co-pilot, and two flight attendants were found to be above the legal limits after an anonymous tip to the police resulted in the intervention. The flight attendants have been sentenced to 45 and 60 days in jail for their parts in the irresponsibility, while the co-pilot received six months for testing at seven times the legal limit. In a bold move the pilot of the plane has elected to combat the charges against him and will remain in custody until his court appearance on September 17th.

The Guardian reports that the group was seen drinking until until 2am the morning of August 8th, only four hours before the flight to Crete was scheduled to depart. The co-pilot seemed petulant about the incident, telling an Oslo court that they “lost control” and consumed two bottles of whiskey before moving on to beer. The flight the crew was meant to operate held 100 passengers and the incident has resulted in airBaltic suspending the crew members, launching an investigation, and introducing a mandatory breath test policy for all employees in a ‘safety-critical’ role. Current laws are four times stricter for pilots than for people driving a car.The new rules will allow pilots a drink no later than 12 hours before a flight.

Earlier this year a British pilot was jailed for nine months after flying a jet from Spain to Norwich after three-day drinking binge left him hungover. However, aviation authorities assure concerned customers that pilots arriving for a flight intoxicated is a rare occurrence. The Civil Aviation Authority encourages those with concerns to contact airBaltic or the CAA directly. Despite these attempts to assuage the public, some criticism has come forward, suggesting a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol consumption amongst crew members.

 

Do you think pilots and crew members should be allowed to drink alcohol before a flight as long as they remain below the limit?

 

The post AirBaltic Crew Jailed After Testing Positive for Alcohol appeared first on Harbor Village Florida.

from Misc http://ift.tt/1TTKKh8 via Heroin Rehab Dallas