Holiday Warning: Police Spot Checks

[Nic Name]

America West pilots, Christopher Hughes, left, and Thomas Cloyd. (AP)

Pilots Jailed On Drunk Charges

MIAMI, July 1, 2002

(CBS) Two America West pilots on a Phoenix-bound jetliner were ordered back to the airport terminal moments before they were to takeoff Monday and arrested for being legally drunk, reports CBS News Correspondent Bobbi Harley.

Pilot Thomas Cloyd, 44, and co-pilot Christopher Hughes, 40, were at the helm of America West Flight 566 and about to takeoff when officials ordered that they return the plane to the terminal.

They were given breath tests and registered blood-alcohol levels above .08, Florida's legal limit for operating machinery, said Miami-Dade police Detective Juan DelCastillo.

Cloyd had a .091 blood-alcohol level, while Hughes registered .084, DelCastillo said. Federal Aviation Administration rules forbid pilots from drinking alcohol eight hours prior to flying a plane. America West's policy is 12 hours.

Each was charged with a felony count of operating an aircraft under the influence and operating a motor vehicle under the influence, police said.

Fortunately, the pilots were unarmed at the time and were arrested without incident.

[MaggieL]

Originally posted by Nic Name

Fortunately, the pilots were unarmed at the time and were arrested without incident.

Don't be silly, they were armed. They had an airplane.

"Eight hours bottle-to-throttle" is indeed the FAA rule, and most air carriers have the 12-hour rule mentioned in the article. I'm a little stonkered as to how these guys showed up *that* sauced thinking they could fly.

I wonder if they were on-call, but not expecting to be called, went head and got tanked, and then got called anyway when it was too late. Under those circumstances they might have been tempted to see if they could get away with it rather than admit they were jucing when they should have been maintaining themselves fit-to-fly..

Gotta wonder if the drinks they were trying to take on board were alcoholic too...

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by MaggieL
Looks like maybe a gate agent or somebody smelled their breaths and called the company dispatcher...

I heard this morning that they argued with a security guard who wouldn't allow them to bring coffee past the checkpoints. The guard apparently smelled the alcohol on their breath.

[MaggieL]

Yeah, I read that part of the article after the original post; while editing a typo, and revised my post accordingly. There guys hadn't been pilots long; I'm glad they got nailed before they hurt anybody else. They're finished in airline aviation; perhaps someone will give them jobs cropdusting somewhere.

I doubt it though.