Posted on 03/03/2022 10:58:27 AM PST by nickcarraway
A JetBlue pilot is out of a job and in huge trouble after he was pulled from the cockpit for being drunk.
This all unfolded Wednesday morning at the Buffalo Airport, just before takeoff, with a plane full of passengers.
Pilot James Clifton, 52, was in the cockpit, getting ready to fly 133 passengers from Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale around 6:15 a.m. when NFTA officers pulled him from the plane.
TSA agents suspected something was off about Clifton when he was checking his gun through security just minutes earlier.
“There was some questions and some suspicion. That’s when we became involved — when the TSA officers called our officers and that’s when we got involved. We gave him a breathalyzer and we know how he did with that — he did not do well,” said Helen Tederous, director of public affairs, NFTA.
Clifton ended up blowing a .174%, more than four times the legal limit for pilots.
JetBlue ended up firing Clifton and has launched an investigation. So, has the FAA.
“He was taken into custody, but not charged,” Tederous added. “Right now, we are working with federal officials and he may face some serious charges.”
Aviation expert Bob Miller told News 4, “The pilot that was taken off JetBlue today, very likely is looking at several years of hard prison time.”
Preteen girls arrested, accused of torturing girl at sleepover An NFTA police report said Clifton had gone out the night before to Sidelines bar on Delaware Avenue. While in the police interview room, Clifton told someone over the phone that he drank ten 22-ounce beers, also known as “Tall Boys.”
Wednesday morning, he missed the shuttle to the airport and had to take an Uber.
“A wise move, simply, would be call in sick. I’m just not able to fly today. No reason. I’m just not feeling well. That’s the safe way to do it because the risks are profound,” Miller added.
Miller said pilots who have drinking problems can face huge obstacles when trying to get help.
“It’s a real bad situation for the pilot to report to his company that he has a drinking problem. The company will help. But very likely the company has the option to put him on the ground for one full year in most cases until they are assured the pilot has resolved the problem,” Miller told us.
As for the passengers on the plane, Clifton’s arrest delayed their trip by four hours. But their bizarre journey to the Sunshine State finally came to an end when the wheels touched down in Fort Lauderdale just after 1 p.m. Wednesday.
I once flew from Buffalo to Ft. Lauderdale drunk.
Yes, my arms were exhausted.
5.56mm
Beer drinking = alcoholic?
Keep in mind the bars in Erie County(Buffalo) stay open until 4am. So, it is possible he was at the bar until a couple hours before the 6:15 am flight.
In the days of my youth we would close the bars at 2 am on lake Erie south of Buffalo, then drive up to Erie County and drink until last call at 4am.
There was one bar that OPENED at 6am. We would go there for breakfast.
“Clifton’s arrest delayed their trip by four hours”
I’d happily give up four hours to live another day.
Perhaps ALL pilots and copilots should be required to blow into a breathalyzer before getting into the cockpit.
Exactly. Just two of those tall boys back-to-back and I would be so blotto I would sound like Joe Biden.
.29 here, wasn’t even tipsy
It’s eight hours from bottle to throttle, not eight feet.
Stay thirsty, my friends...
24 hours bottle-to-throttle
Not sure when BAC of 0.04 became acceptable
The Pistol Club:
Drink until midnight; pistol dawn.
It’s happened before.
Dude's a lightweight.
This is child’s play for Air Force boys in another era.
Were I to drink, say, one quart of orange juice I'd be up all night emptying my bladder.
These guys are always on the ball!!!
It’s less than .04 and not intoxicated to operate an aircraft for compensation.
“Amazed he got any sleep, I’d be up draining the bladder all night long.”
Pffft. I do that now without even drinking.
JetBlue passengers missed out on the loop-de-loops.
Drunk pilots. It’s not just for Northwest Airlines any more.
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