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Two countries, two airlines, two apparently drunk pilots While pilots attempting to fly commercial planes after having consumed alcohol or drugs is not unknown, two pilots; one in Indonesia and one in Canada appeared to be extremely intoxicated before attempting to fly aircraft filled with passengers. Purna seemed to have a lot of difficulty when he went through security. His allegedly drunken state was so obvious, a passenger who had already cleared security began filming him. The video was later uploaded on YouTube. The video shows the pilot drop the hat he is holding in his hand while he is entering the security area. He can then be seen staggering as he walks through the scanner. He then, with some difficulty, walks over to the conveyor belt and picks up his bag. As soon as he lifts the bag up, some of the contents fall on the floor. Security officers pick the items up while Purna can be seen helping them put the items back into the bag. While putting things back in the bag, he puts his sunglasses in his mouth. The pilot then drops his hat again and picks it up. As he is leaving the area, the glasses in his mouth drop to the floor and break. A security guard can be seen picking up the broken parts and handing them to the pilot. The airline, owned by Indonesia’s national carrier, Garuda, The plane took off an hour later with another pilot although some of the 194 passengers cancelled their flight. At least Purna managed to remain conscious, unlike a pilot for the Canadian airline, Sunwing. A flight was scheduled to take off Saturday morning from Calgary to Cancun with stops in Regina and Winnipeg. When the co-pilot went into the cockpit, he found the pilot appearing to be drunk while doing his pre-flight preparation. The co-pilot notified the airlines and when the gate crew boarded the aircraft they found the pilot sitting in his seat, slumped over the controls. Calgary police were called and the pilot was arrested. His name was not released but he was identified as a 37-year-old Slovakian who was in Canada on a work visa. The pilot has been charged with having the care and control of an aircraft while impaired and having the care and control over an aircraft with a blood alcohol level exceeding 0.08. Further charges may be laid by Transport Canada. Stacey did note while this is serious, the likelihood of a pilot being able to take off while drunk is remote due to the checks and balances in place and the fact they are not alone in the cockpit. But in the Indonesia incident, it appeared it was some of the passengers and not fellow crew members or airport workers who prevented the pilot from flying. The scheduled flight to Cancun took off later with another pilot. The first incident happened Wednesday. An Airbus A320, owned by the Indonesian budget airline Citilink, was scheduled to fly from Surabaya, Indonesia to Jakarta. The pilot, identified as 32-year-old Tekad Purna, went into the plane and made an announcement from the cockpit. His words were slurred and some passengers, believing he was drunk, managed to leave the aircraft and report him. Purna seemed to have a lot of difficulty when he went through security. His allegedly drunken state was so obvious, a passenger who had already cleared security began filming him. The video was later uploaded on YouTube. The video shows the pilot drop the hat he is holding in his hand while he is entering the security area. He can then be seen staggering as he walks through the scanner. He then, with some difficulty, walks over to the conveyor belt and picks up his bag. As soon as he lifts the bag up, some of the contents fall on the floor. Security officers pick the items up while Purna can be seen helping them put the items back into the bag. While putting things back in the bag, he puts his sunglasses in his mouth. The pilot then drops his hat again and picks it up. As he is leaving the area, the glasses in his mouth drop to the floor and break. A security guard can be seen picking up the broken parts and handing them to the pilot. The airline, owned by Indonesia’s national carrier, Garuda, initially denied Purna was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But later Citilink’s president, Albert Burhan, announced both he and the airline’s production director were resigning over the incident. The pilot was fired. The plane took off an hour later with another pilot although some of the 194 passengers cancelled their flight. At least Purna managed to remain conscious, unlike a pilot for the Canadian airline, Sunwing. A flight was scheduled to take off Saturday morning from Calgary to Cancun with stops in Regina and Winnipeg. When the co-pilot went into the cockpit, he found the pilot appearing to be drunk while doing his pre-flight preparation. The co-pilot notified the airlines and when the gate crew boarded the aircraft they found the pilot sitting in his seat, slumped over the controls. Calgary police were called and the pilot was arrested. His name was not released but he was identified as a 37-year-old Slovakian who was in Canada on a work visa. According to Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey of the Calgary police, the pilot showed “extreme signs of impairment” two hours after he was taken into custody. He blew three times the legal limit of 0.08. The pilot has been charged with having the care and control of an aircraft while impaired and having the care and control over an aircraft with a blood alcohol level exceeding 0.08. Further charges may be laid by Transport Canada. Stacey did note while this is serious, the likelihood of a pilot being able to take off while drunk is remote due to the checks and balances in place and the fact they are not alone in the cockpit. But in the Indonesia incident, it appeared it was some of the passengers and not fellow crew members or airport workers who prevented the pilot from flying. The scheduled flight to Cancun took off later with another pilot.
