There were two stories in the news recently about pilots who had been drinking, and were removed from their planes before takoff. The most recent such story of an airplane accident avoided involved a Delta Airlines flight from London to Boston, where the pilot was flagged after telling the tower that he was headed to New York. In that case, the pilot was severely intoxicated.
Another recent news report of an intoxicated pilot involved yet another Delta flight, this one from Amsterdam to New York.
As an air passenger, I hope that pilots will have absolutely no alcohol in their systems. It may be surprising to learn that the U.S. has a blood alcohol limit for airline pilots, rather than a rule of zero tolerance. The FAA limit for a pilot's blood alcohol content (BAC) is .04-exactly half the California limit for driving a motor vehicle. There is sentiment for taking this limit down to zero. This debate was the subject of a piece in USA today following the incident with the pilot on the Amsterdam-New York flight.
Fortunately, airplane accidents involving intoxicated pilots are seemingly rare, but count me in among those who would favor zero tolerance for pilots who have been drinking recently enough to have measurable alcohol in their systems.
Contact one of the Airplane Accident lawyers at Callaway & Wolf for a free consultation about your Airline injury case. Callaway & Wolf have practiced together for over 17 years, and have handled numerous airline injury cases in San Francisco, Oakland, Marin, and around California.
