Posted on 07/20/2015 9:13:53 AM PDT by DFG
OK, raise your hand if you’ve ever had the kind of night out that stretches into the next morning, the kind where you don’t greet the new day as much as you just try not to barf on its shoes? And keep those hands up if you’ve ever stumbled into work still drunk, taken your shirt off and then passed out facedown in your own office? Just you, Philip Maschek? The 50-year-old Arkansas air traffic controller was arrested after one of his coworkers found him unconscious on the floor of the control tower at the Springdale Municipal Airport last Thursday morning (the police report says he was found “passed out in his chair with his shirt off” – either way, it’s not good).
Maschek was discovered at 7:45 a.m. after a pilot who was waiting for clearance to take off couldn’t get any response from the tower. He had reportedly been on duty – well, so to speak – since 6 a.m. that morning. According to Arkansas Online, when officers arrived, Maschek denied that he was drunk and denied a Breathalyzer test (but he did fail a field sobriety test and was so unsteady on his feet that he wasn’t allowed to climb down the ladder so he could leave the tower). He also reportedly argued with officers about the “public” part of “public intoxication.” Dude. DUDE. Semantics seem to be the least of your problems, especially since the police report noted that you were wearing “a black robe and house shoes” when you were arrested AT WORK.
The FAA and Robinson Aviation, the contracting company that employs Maschek, both plan to investigate the incident. According to FAA policy, an air traffic controller “can be removed from work” for a blood alcohol content that is more than .02%, a number that is well below the .08% limit for driving. That’s probably also below the threshold for pulling your shirt off and passing out on the carpet.
I guess he picked the wrong day to not quit drinking.
Picked the wrong day to give up sniffing glue.
Damn you’re fast.
Flight Control to Major Tom
Flight Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills
and put your shirt on
My First Thought...but you are faster! :-)
TOO SERIOUS TO TREAT FUNNY.
DEATH BY CRASH IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE/LIKELY AND AIR FLIGHT CONTRILLERS ARE IN CHARGE OF THE FLIGHT TAKE OFFS AND LANDINGS.
IMPORTANT TO BE WIDE AWAKE AND ALERT, AND SMART!
"...and the pla..pla...pla *burp* da balloon he floated in on"
Reagan’s fault!
We have a WINNER here!
I have flown a couple of weeks ago to understand the NEED to be safe at all times, both in the PLANE and in the AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER
AND SOBER!
Foster Brooks drunk pilot routine comes to mind.
I ve flown in and out of Springdale,AR... I would be drunk too if I was in that control tower... its such a low volume place.. jobs program
If the pilot screws up, the pilot dies. If the air traffic controller screws up, the pilot dies. That is why there is an escape clause in FAA regs that basically says that the pilot can overrule ATC if he believes ATC directions to be unsafe. Granted, the pilot will likely have to appear before an FAA review board. Better that than dying. I say “likely” because if the controller issued an obviously flawed order (personal experience), the FAA will drop the case and sweep it under the rug.
did I hear that the usual standards to become an air traffic controller have been eliminated by the current regime?
Yes, you only need a high school diploma.
I thought other things were also waived
Probably.
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