Drunk Airline Pilot Video – United Pilot Arrested in London

On Monday, British police arrested a United Airlines pilot
after he failed a breathalyzer test. The pilot, who apparently had already
boarded a Boeing 767, was preparing the fly the aircraft from London’s Heathrow
airport to Chicago. Scotland Yard reports that they charged the 51-year old
pilot, Erwin Washington of Lakewood, CO, with having too much alcohol in his
system while working as a member of aviation staff. The flight was cancelled
and the plane’s 124 passengers were rebooked on other flights.

This incident comes on top of a series of recent pilot
lapses that…

leave some questioning what’s happening to the airline pilot profession.
In a little more than a year, three airline pilots, two from United and a third
from American Airlines, have been arrested in Heathrow for being under the
influence of alcohol. In October alone, a Boeing 767 landed on an active
taxiway in Atlanta, a Northwest Airlines A320 overflew it’s Minneapolis
destination while the pilots were out of radio communication for over an hour
and a Midwest Airlines regional jet nearly taxied into the path of a jet taking
off at LAX. CNN quotes a United pilot, who didn’t want to be identified, as
saying that these incidents point to an "industry that is running on the
ragged edge. … It's a completely different life than people think."

Yet despite the large amount of publicity from these
incidents, they remain relatively rare. In 2008, just 13 pilots were identified
violating the FAA’s alcohol rules that require no drinking in the 8 hours
preceding a flight and a blood alcohol level of less than 0.04.

Alcoholism among pilots—or in any profession—is not new. For
decades, coworkers covered for each other, knowing that if a pilot were caught
drunk he would be fired and have difficulty making a living and supporting his
family. Not until the 1970’s did the airlines start offering programs that treated
pilots for alcoholism and let them keep their jobs.

I first became aware of the issue in 1975 when I visited a
relative at an alcohol rehabilitation center, where I met an airline pilot
undergoing treatment. He was a large jovial man who was likeable and easy to
talk to. I still remember the details he told me of an emergency landing that
he was once forced to make. I also met a member of Congress who was undergoing
treatment there, all of which made a vivid impression on a young college
student.

There’s no doubt that the airline pilot profession has
become more difficult in recent years, but that’s not the sole reason some
pilots try to fly drunk. Even during the airlines’ golden years when salaries
were high and schedules were easier with more days off each month, some pilots
flew drunk. Candidly, I think it has more to do with jet lag, boredom, the many
days of travel away from home and the resulting strains in family relations.
Even the Dean Martin Variety Show, which ran on television from 1965 to 1974,
parodied drunken pilots as you can see from this video. Flying drunk is a
problem that’s been with us for decades and it’s unlikely to disappear.