Woman Kicked Off Flight After Accusing Pilot of Drinking

NBC Los Angeles ^ | 8-3-10 | TARA WALLIS-FINESTONE

[Atlas Sneezed]

A Toluca Lake woman was recently kicked off a Delta Airlines flight after reporting that she thought she had smelled alcohol on the captain's breath.

Cynthia Angel said the incident occurred on July 19 as she was trying to travel home to Southern California from Georgia. She had just spent two weeks visiting her son, an actor, who was shooting a movie near Atlanta.

Angel, 51, said the trouble occurred after she and three other passengers had a brief conversation with one of the pilots of Delta Airlines Flight 2355. She learned later that the pilot was actually the captain of the flight.

"The flight had been delayed almost an hour," said Angel. "We were in the jetway waiting to get on the flight when the pilot walked by us and I jokingly said, 'Boy you had been here a long time.'"

Angel said the captain spoke to her and the three other passengers. After he walked away, said Angel, another passenger asked if they had smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath.

"A gentleman standing behind me asked, 'Did anyone smell that? It smelled a little like vodka,'" said Angel. "We all agreed that he did smell alcohol, but we didn't know if he had been drinking or what we should do about it."

Angel said she volunteered to talk with the head flight attendant once aboard the plane.

"I told her that I didn't know what protocol is, but I believe I smelled alcohol on one of the pilots' breath," said Angel.

Angel said the flight attendant immediately talked to another pilot who was in the cockpit getting ready for departure.

"He asked me to come inside the cockpit, where he shut the door and asked me about my conversation with the pilot in the jetway," said Angel. "I told him what I had told the flight attendant; that other passengers and I thought we had smelled alcohol on the pilot's breath."

Angel said the pilot informed her that it was the captain of the flight who spoke with her. He assured her that the captain had not been drinking.

"He said he had been with the captain for several hours before the flight," said Angel. "I was satisfied with the pilot's explanation, thanked him and returned to my seat."

But Angel said that 20 minutes later, a Delta Airlines manager came aboard the flight and asked her to follow him off the plane.

"The manager wanted to hear what I had told the flight attendant," said Angel. "He then told me the captain took a test that proved he did not have anything to drink."

Angel said the manager then thanked her and she returned to her seat on the plane. At this point, she thought it was over.

"About 20 minutes later, the Delta manager returned with a female colleague and they asked me to gather my belongings and follow them off the flight," said Angel. "I was so embarrassed."

Angel said she followed them back into the airport. She was lead into a nearby office where she was told again that the pilot had tested negatively for alcohol.

"They told me they take these accusations very seriously and that the captain and his crew did not want me on his flight," said Angel.

Angel said Delta gave her meal and hotel vouchers, and said she could come back in the morning to take another flight back to Los Angeles.

"All I did was voice my concerns," said Angel. "I wasn't a threat to anyone and for them to remove me was wrong."

"I understand airlines have to have protocol," said Mark Silverman, Angel's Beverly Hills-based attorney who Angel contacted to look into the incident.

Silverman said his office has called and written Delta Airlines for a response and to ask the airline to open an investigation into the incident.

"She was just trying to be a good citizen. You'd think Delta would thank her for her concern," he said.

NBCLA also contacted Delta Airlines for comment. Susan Elliott from Delta's corporate communications office sent this response via e-mail: "Once we have reviewed Mrs. Angel's letter and investigated her claims, we will follow-up with her on our findings."

"Making drinking accusations against pilots is a serious matter," said Ross Aimer, CEO of Aviation Experts, LLC.

"If you think someone is drunk, you owe it to yourself, your loved ones and other passengers to report it," said Aimer, who is also a retired United Airlines captain. "However, in this case, because the captain had not been drinking, Delta made the right decision by asking her to leave the plane."

Aimer explains that in situations like this, flights usually end up delayed or canceled because the captain will take himself off the flight.

"It's an either you or me situation," said Aimer. "She had to go because the captain has his crew and hundreds of other passengers to think about."

Aimer adds that if he found himself in a similar situation, he'd do the same thing.

"The issue of pilots and drinking has become a very big deal, and accusations like that could end your career," Aimer said.

[DaveTesla]

Passengers Stop Allegedly Drunk Pilot From Flying

Chicago will not be flying any passengers for the airline anytime soon.

The pilot, identified as David P. Shook, was in an airport in Columbus, Ohio going through the security checkpoint this week when two passengers noticed something about him - his breath.

The passengers say it reeked of alcohol. Concerned, the passengers followed Shook, who ended up at the very same gate for an Orlando bound flight that the two men were about to fly.

One of the men, passenger Andy Maisner, said he and his friend decided to approach the pilot. His friend told Shook he smelled of alcohol, and if he has a drinking problem, he shouldn’t be flying the plane.

The men say Shook didn’t respond verbally; he simply turned and took off.

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Allegedly.Drunk.Pilot.2.903754.html

[CodeToad]

Drunk Airline Pilots Face Prison

A judge Thursday sentenced Two fired America West pilots to prison for operating a jetliner when drunk. Pilot Thomas Cloyd, 47, of Peoria, Ariz., was sentenced to five years in prison. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge David Young said he had no sympathy for Cloyd, who had been on probation for a DUI just months before his arrest. Co-pilot Christopher Hughes, 44, of Leander, Texas, was ordered to 2 ½ years in prison, 1 1/2 years of community control and a year of probation. He was also sentenced to community service and fined $5,000. He was also barred from operating an aircraft for five years.

We could go on all night posting drunken airline pilot stories. They were primarily caught by passengers and ground staff, none of which were trained in detecting alcohol as tzFat claims is required.

[CodeToad]

“The rules say that if a question of sobriety is expressed, both pilots have to be tested.”

Which rule? If you are an FAA examiner that would be an easy post to make.

[DaveTesla]

On June 30, Captain Thomas Cloyd and First Officer Christopher Hughes flew from Phoenix to Miami. That night, they entered Mr. Moe's, a sports bar in Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood, along with the three flight attendants scheduled to fly with them on Flight 556 the next morning. At 10:30 p.m. that night, Cloyd opened up a tab. Over the next six hours, Cloyd and Hughes drank seven 34-ounce beers, seven 16-ounce beers, one draft beer of unspecified size, and a martini. They also ate a hamburger. The tab ran to US$122.28, to which Hughes added a $20 tip. The bar staff finally kicked the men out at 4:45 a.m. after they knocked over a bar stool, and Cloyd and Hughes returned to their hotel at 5:30 a.m. The flight attendants had left the bar several hours earlier.

A shuttle arrived at the hotel to pick up Cloyd, Hughes and the flight attendants at 9:30 a.m. However, they had to wait about 20 minutes for Hughes, who entered looking somewhat disheveled. Flight 556 was scheduled to leave for Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix at 10:38 a.m. When the shuttle arrived at Miami International Airport, the pilots stopped at Starbucks Coffee before going to the security checkpoint. A security screener asked Cloyd to throw away his coffee cup, but Cloyd refused. When a supervisor was called and tried to get him to comply, Cloyd responded, “that shit doesn't apply to me.” However, Cloyd finally threw away his coffee cup after police were called. Several screeners reported smelling alcohol on the pilots’ breath and asked a ground security coordinator to speak with them at the gate. When she noted that there were concerns Cloyd and Hughes were drunk, Cloyd blamed it on bad breath. However, the supervisor had already called the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), who then alerted the police.

But those lowlife screeners were not qualified... /s

[Smokin' Joe]

She may have been making a loud fuss, complaining openly to others about her fears, causing anxiety, and possibly refusing to back down when confronted with evidence.

Precisely. All the pilot needs is someone in the cabin yapping about the 'pilot is drunk' to have a planeload of frightened passengers on the verge of panic.

I wouldn't have wanted her on board either, if that was the case.

[Tzfat]

Which rule? If you are an FAA examiner that would be an easy post to make.

Yeah, right. Can you imagine a police officer not following up on a claim of intoxication of a driver? But because you insist, order 8900.1 is what gives the FAA guidance. FAA inspectors are required by law to follow up on any claim of a violation of Federal Aviation Regulations. In the case of ones that affect safety of flight, they have to do it prior to the aircraft operates. The FAA does not do alcohol/drug testing, nor does it force testing on flight crewmembers - it mandates that the airline do it under the auspices of airport/city/state law enforcement. So, each airline has its own rules how to comply. Individual airlines enforce the Federal Aviation Regulations by their own internal rules, which are generally more restrictive. This is especially true of alcohol and drug abuse.

Here is the investigatory guidance, from 8900.1 Volume, Chapter 5: 8900.1 Volume 7, Ch5

Here is the specific guidance for inspectors who have received a complaint regarding susbstance abuse, from 8900.1 Volume 6,Chapter 1: 8900.1 Volume 6, Ch1

Bottom line: an airline cannot permit an aircraft to depart after someone accuses a flight crewmember of being intoxicated without testing the flight crew. Only qualified individuals can determine intoxication. If you see a pilot drinking in a bar, and immediately going to his aircraft, then you are qualified (and duty bound) to report it so that it can be investigated. But unless you SEE it, you should let the grown ups deal such safety matters - or be prepared to greatly inconvenienced, as a false accuser should be, at the very least.

Just like jokes about bombs and guns are always treated as serious, reports of intoxication of a flight crewmember are always treated seriously. The airline industry has zero tolerance; which is what makes your comments on this thread so over the top.

[CodeToad]

“But those lowlife screeners were not qualified... /s
“

And those flight attendants, also known as flight crew, would never let a pilot fly drunk. /s

[CodeToad]

“But unless you SEE it, you should let the grown ups deal such safety matters “

I can tell from your comments that the general public is far more qualified than you are to make these decisions. You shouldn’t be anywhere near an airplane.

[toldyou]

“And those flight attendants, also known as flight crew, would never let a pilot fly drunk. /s”

We don’t allow passengers to fly drunk....or make up stories that the Captain has been drinking.

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/major/52569-pax-accuses-delta-pilot-4.html

[toldyou]

Tzfat...I loved your wonderful comments...how did we know there was another side to this story?

I found this comment today written by a guy who was ON THE FLIGHT!

For those of you who believed her story...what do you think of this? It’s no wonder she got a lawyer...she might need one. How sad that all the people who read her side of the story might never see this...

“I was actually on that flight and got home 4 hours later than I was supposed to thanks to this woman. She made a very serious & false accusation that cost the airline and their passengers a lot of time and money. AND she conveniently forgot to mention that she was drunk herself and admitted to officials it was all just a “joke” - her words. An actual “joke”?! She was kicked off not because she made a false accusation, but because she admitted it was just a joke.”

Denny
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/major/52569-pax-accuses-delta-pilot-4.html

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

Thank you for the rest of the story!

[Scythian]

Well now, that does change everything doesn’t it (if true).

[freekitty]

People like this woman disgust me. They have something seriously wrong with themselves to accuse an innocent person of wrong doing.

Throw the book at her.

[Mojave]

Vodka doesn’t smell.

[Shimmer1]

You just wrote that you hope she dies in a plane crash?! What an odious toad you are! Depraved. ugh.

[Atlas Sneezed]

I love how all those pilots on the forums think that the alcohol from vodka is magical, and can’t be smelled on one’s breath! ;-)

[Shimmer1]

He’s wishing hundreds of people die horribly just because he didn’t like what you posted. wow, what a wart.

[Shimmer1]

And this remark from a being (i can’t even believe human) that wished death on hundreds in a plane crash because he didn’t agree with another FReeper’s innocuous comment.

[freekitty]

Thank you.

[DoughtyOne]

I’m glad this came out. I did defend her in principle, but this trumps any reason to back her from this point forward.

Now I’m thinking she should be prosecuted for her actions.