IP: Passenger taken off flight for drunk pilot joke

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Better not complain about the food or service or maybe even lack of on time
arrival. They should be sued.

Dave

------ Forwarded Message
From: EEkid () aol com
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 14:04:27 -0400 (EDT)
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Passenger taken off flight for drunk pilot joke



Passenger taken off flight for drunk pilot joke


    

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- An air passenger who jokingly
questioned whether the plane's pilots were sober was removed from an
Americas West flight on Monday, one week after two of the airline's pilots
were arrested in Miami on charges of operating an aircraft while drunk.

America West spokeswoman Patty Nowack said on Tuesday the passenger was
removed from the Tucson-bound plane and later placed aboard another flight.

"Safety is no joking matter. It is taken very seriously. we try to make the
best decisions for all passengers based on what the situation is at hand,"
Nowack said. 

San Francisco International Airport spokesman Ron Wilson said the incident
occurred shortly after boarding when the woman asked flight attendants if
they had "checked the crew for sobriety."

Wilson said the decision to remove the passenger was left to the airline.

Nowack said the crew decided to take the woman off the aircraft after
determining that her remarks constituted a potential security problem.

"While this passenger may have been joking it is difficult to determine if
someone is joking or serious. We take any comment regarding safety
seriously," she said.

America West last week fired pilots Thomas Cloyd and Christopher Hughes, who
were arrested on July 1 on charges of operating an aircraft under the
influence of alcohol.

The Federal Aviation Administration also revoked the pilots licenses of both
men, who were instructed to taxi their airplane back to the gate after
security screeners at Miami airport alerted authorities that they had
smelled alcohol when the pilots passed through a check.

Police later said a Breathalyzer test at an airport substation had showed
the men with blood alcohol levels at 0.091 and 0.084 respectively. Florida
law considers a person intoxicated at 0.08.




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