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.
So he did not even finish 2 six packs.
You mean a 20 pack.
Not so much if you’re a 21yo frat boy.
Alcoholics are not normal people when it comes to consumption. And jet blue has some explaining to do, no way this was a one time thing.
Geez, how many times do you think he had to go pee during the flight?
Over the years I’ve seen several articles where pilots were found to be drunk before the flight, so I assume many of them weren’t caught and flew drunk.
I’ve never read about a plane crash because the pilot was drunk, have you?
Not to my recollection.
I remember seeing the remains of a Mooney MK20 that resulted from some guys bringing in a well and decided to get lit and go fly. I don’t think the guy that picked it up covered his fuel from the parts.
Good editors are hard to find.
Once upon a time, a simple Secretary would have been fired for that.
Here’s The rest of the story - where it belongs.
https://fox59.com/news/2-preteens-accused-of-assaulting-girl-at-sleepover-in-logansport/
Good thing.
Passenger jets aren’t designed to accommodate drunk pilots or inverted flight.
At least that’s what William “Whip” Whitaker says.
told someone over the phone that he drank ten 22-ounce beers, also known as “Tall Boys.”
= = =
Should have said ‘Tall Girls”.
and I would be so blotto I would sound like Joe Biden.
= = =
But how much to act like ‘Nanci’?
Even with that prodigious amount, registering .174 on a breathalyzer the next day doesn't make sense. Unless his last drink was much more recent then he let on.
Sounds like one of those guys who has a beer for breakfast - and one more for dessert.
““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.”
I think that’s called a bender. 😄
I used to wonder how the government found these geniuses to work for them, didn’t you? Not anymore.
Does he look like Chris Farley?
It’s a wonder he didn’t explode
At 6:15 am or so the next morning; BAC musta been off the charts at night cap time the night before.
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