"Drunk Japanese pilot arrested at Heathrow Airport" read the BBC news headline on Nov 1. Don’t think that’s particularly exceptional, remarked Friday (Nov 23). There’s probably someone, somewhere in the world flying high right now. Former JAL pilot and aviation critic Hiroshi Sugie put
“Drunk Japanese pilot arrested at Heathrow Airport” read the BBC news headline on Nov 1.
Don’t think that’s particularly exceptional, remarked Friday (Nov 23). There’s probably someone, somewhere in the world flying high right now.
Former JAL pilot and aviation critic Hiroshi Sugie put it like this: “In today’s aircraft, when an emergency arises, things have been designed so that the pilot cannot control the plane on his own. All the tasks have been apportioned. So if you think it will be all right that it was just a co-pilot this time, that’s a huge mistake. Even then, I can’t imagine alcohol in the equation, even a small amount. All the people in the aviation industry, myself included, are astonished by this.”
At around 7 p.m. on Oct 28, a 42-year-old Japanese co-pilot was arrested at Heathrow Airport while preparing for a flight to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. The local police were alerted by the driver of a crew bus who smelled alcohol on the pilot. The co-pilot admitted that while in the hotel the night before, he had consumed two bottles of wine, three small bottles of beer and two cans of beer.
“One possibility was excessive stress,” explained aviation critic and former JAL pilot Hiroyuki Kobayashi. “International flights are a battle with time differences. If they can’t get to sleep pilots in some cases may become drowsy during the flight.
