The other night. I was chatting to a stranger who told me he was an airline pilot.
He was also quite drunk. Nothing wrong with that; I’ve been there myself.
But it did make me wonder what checks airlines have in place to make sure their crew aren’t drunk at the controls.
Then somebody sent me a link to this story about a Canadian pilot who was three times over the legal limit but still apparently determined to fly a plane with more than 100 passengers on board.
The Sunwing pilot apparently made it all the way to the cockpit before passing out.
An airline spokesperson was eager to make the point that there were all sorts of checks to make sure pilots don’t fly drunk. But this one nearly did.
It raises the question: why are they not breath-tested before every flight?
The technology is cheap — it is used by police forces around the world every day — and it could save many lives.
