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BA CC failed a breathalyser test

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BA CC failed a breathalyser test

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Old 29th Jan 2023, 19:34
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BA CC failed a breathalyser test

At what point did Nigel see this? During the briefing, on the camera or when visiting the loo?

‘The pilot saw for himself that the crew member was in no fit state to work and engage with passengers.'

https://metro.co.uk/2023/01/29/gatwi...dess-18183656/
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:13
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Originally Posted by 70 Mustang
And tell her to stand down, stay in the crew rest area? He continued the flight so he must have not considered it a safety problem?

Maybe he simply did not like her?

If there had been a history, that could have been dealt with sooner?

I just don't see that i would ever have done that to a fellow crewmember.

I may have told her and the other crew, she's unwell and deal with it in the crewroom after getting more information. Someone may have put something in one or two of her drinks?
I hear you, showing some compassion etc…that said, he was left with no real option as it becomes a safety hazard and he was legally obliged to.

She was operating already and someone could have witnessed that interaction between the two. Let’s say a passenger noticed it, reported it to the airline and police, confirming they witnessed the offender talking to a pilot, the pilot loses his license and goes to jail too.

I would have done the same, it is what it is.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:24
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Originally Posted by Raph737
I hear you, showing some compassion etc…that said, he was left with no real option as it becomes a safety hazard and he was legally obliged to.

She was operating already and someone could have witnessed that interaction between the two. Let’s say a passenger noticed it, reported it to the airline and police, confirming they witnessed the offender talking to a pilot, the pilot loses his license and goes to jail too.

I would have done the same, it is what it is.
'Let’s say a passenger noticed it'
Ralph, that is one possibility, but highly unlikely as that would probably have been in the article.

The most likely time that the Captain would have been able to notice that she was unfit to do her job was during the briefing. I'm not saying that it was, but it the most likely point of required interaction. Keep your eyes peeled for a media follow up report.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:25
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A very difficult situation but as previous commenters have said if this has only come to light on board then the Captain has been left with no option but to do what he did. To just have a quiet word in her ear to say she's ill when the entire rest of the crew and god forbid pax know what's actually going on would have destroyed his credibility entirely. We don't know for a fact he's radioed ahead for police. He's perhaps radioed ahead explaining the situation to OPS who have taken action.

The fact of the matter is this is probably a high-functioning alcoholic who will now hopefully get the help she needs. The stigma around mental health and addiction is well above average in the aviation industry and seeking help has probably not been an option for this person for fear of losing her income. Shame.

Edited to add she may well have been drinking throughout the duty so noticing in the briefing may not have been possible. He may even have been alerted to this by another member of the cabin crew.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:33
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Originally Posted by airspeed75
A very difficult situation but as previous commenters have said if this has only come to light on board then the Captain has been left with no option but to do what he did. To just have a quiet word in her ear to say she's ill when the entire rest of the crew and god forbid pax know what's actually going on would have destroyed his credibility entirely. We don't know for a fact he's radioed ahead for police. He's perhaps radioed ahead explaining the situation to OPS who have taken action.

The fact of the matter is this is probably a high-functioning alcoholic who will now hopefully get the help she needs. The stigma around mental health and addiction is well above average in the aviation industry and seeking help has probably not been an option for this person for fear of losing her income. Shame.

Edited to add she may well have been drinking throughout the duty so noticing in the briefing may not have been possible. He may even have been alerted to this by another member of the cabin crew.
None of us know, but this is the sentence that caught my attention:
‘The pilot saw for himself that the crew member was in no fit state to work and engage with passengers.'
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:40
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Originally Posted by Confusious
None of us know, but this is the sentence that caught my attention:
‘The pilot saw for himself that the crew member was in no fit state to work and engage with passengers.'
"A source told the Sun ‘The pilot saw for himself that the crew member was in no fit state to work and engage with passengers."

This doesn't say at what point this observation was made? Perhaps this was during the process by which she was likely arrested and removed from the aircraft?
Perhaps it was brought to his attention during the flight and at this point he saw it. I highly doubt he saw this prior to taking the aircraft into the air - he clearly isn't shy of reporting her so why would he wait?

I don't think it changes anything and it's likely just a sad case of an alcoholic making a poor decision at the hands of addiction. I'd imagine there will be a very troubled and sad family dealing with this tonight if she has one.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:48
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Originally Posted by airspeed75
"A source told the Sun ‘The pilot saw for himself that the crew member was in no fit state to work and engage with passengers."

This doesn't say at what point this observation was made? Perhaps this was during the process by which she was likely arrested and removed from the aircraft?
Perhaps it was brought to his attention during the flight and at this point he saw it. I highly doubt he saw this prior to taking the aircraft into the air - he clearly isn't shy of reporting her so why would he wait?

I don't think it changes anything and it's likely just a sad case of an alcoholic making a poor decision at the hands of addiction. I'd imagine there will be a very troubled and sad family dealing with this tonight if she has one.
Yes, very sad indeed. And one hundred percent agree with you about the stigma associated with mental health and addiction in the industry. Some airlines (including BA) are making a sound effort to offer blameless support mechanisms, but full openness is sadly well into the future. She'll need very specialist support now, so much hope that she gets it and can move ahead with her life, albeit in another direction.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:49
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I had a crew member reported to me in-flight for surreptitiously drinking in the galley. There had been suspicions before that the innocent fruit juice on the galley top was more than it appeared. Her fellow crew members were all pretty pissed off that her behaviour had become so blatant.

That's the problem with being a Captain.... People come to you to tell you stuff you don't really want to hear. Sadly I could not look the other way and the outcome was pretty much as above. Several of the comments above demonstrate precious little awareness of the working environment.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 20:51
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Originally Posted by Magplug
I had a crew member reported to me in-flight for surreptitiously drinking in the galley. There had been suspicions before that the innocent fruit juice on the galley top was more than it appeared. Her fellow crew members were all pretty pissed off that her behaviour had become so blatant.

That's the problem with being a Captain.... People come to you to tell you stuff you don't really want to hear. Sadly I could not look the other way and the outcome was pretty much as above. Several of the comments above demonstrate precious little awareness of the working environment.
You totally had no option in every sense.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 21:59
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Originally Posted by Magplug
I had a crew member reported to me in-flight for surreptitiously drinking in the galley. There had been suspicions before that the innocent fruit juice on the galley top was more than it appeared. Her fellow crew members were all pretty pissed off that her behaviour had become so blatant.

That's the problem with being a Captain.... People come to you to tell you stuff you don't really want to hear. Sadly I could not look the other way and the outcome was pretty much as above. Several of the comments above demonstrate precious little awareness of the working environment.
That was my point, if he found out mid flight, he had no other option. You can show compassion and most Airlines will have a process to deal with this, mine has a good set up in place as we have a just culture. That said, ultimately there’s an element of personal responsibility and the captain is legally obligated to take action. I would send an ACARS and notify the company. I would not risk losing my license for not reporting something like this mid operation.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 22:08
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I'm not operating crew but something in this just doesn't hang together. As others have pointed out, the point at which the Captain became aware of the situation is important. But if that quote to the Sun ("The pilot saw for himself that the crew member was in no fit state to work and engage with passengers") is anything close to the truth, surely the Captain had other responsibilities and actions to take. It does rather sound like the issue became apparent on the return leg - any earlier and the Captain may have questions to answer. And in this day and age, the Captain had little option.

On a more personal level, I hope the crewmember gets help if she wants it, and that it's a wake-up call to anyone heading in the same direction.
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Old 29th Jan 2023, 22:18
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As someone mentioned before, Could have been fine in briefing and outbound sector but then something similar to this happens that would definitely get my attention'!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/186526...rinks-trolley/
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 00:43
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Often at BA you don’t stay with the Cabin Crew and don’t actually perform a formal cabin crew brief so it is feasible the first time the pilot encountered this crew member was during a toilet break or her visiting the flight deck. I had this once myself when a crew member came into the flight deck and smelled like a brewery. I simply said to her that I suggest she reports to the CM that she is too unfit to operate and sit herself in the back row for the remainder of the flight or the other option would be a breath test on arrival. She removed herself, I had a further discussion with her after landing saying that if she did it again it would be the police. I can’t see much point in ruining someone’s life without giving them a chance. I also have had a mate that suggested the same to his FO at report I.e you should go unfit for duty or I will require a breath test before we proceed.
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 01:29
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Originally Posted by Ollie Onion
I can’t see much point in ruining someone’s life without giving them a chance.
You wouldn’t have ruined her life, she would have done that. By taking no formal action you’ve passed the problem on to the next guy. Command comes with responsibility.
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 02:17
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Originally Posted by Cloudee
You wouldn’t have ruined her life, she would have done that. By taking no formal action you’ve passed the problem on to the next guy. Command comes with responsibility.
what a load of rubbish, god forbid anyone make a mistake. So if your colleague turned up under the weather at report you would just call the police and not give them a chance to remove themselves? In this case then I guess you should have ALL the Cabin Crew removed since they obviously let her operate.
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 06:37
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Originally Posted by 70 Mustang
And tell her to stand down, stay in the crew rest area? He continued the flight so he must have not considered it a safety problem?

Maybe he simply did not like her?

If there had been a history, that could have been dealt with sooner?

I just don't see that i would ever have done that to a fellow crewmember.

I may have told her and the other crew, she's unwell and deal with it in the crewroom after getting more information. Someone may have put something in one or two of her drinks?
Don't know the full story, but I would think it was probably more along the lines of nobody noticed until after departure. Then other cabin crew noticed, and informed the captain. He went and had a chat himself and made the determination that they were unfit for duty. At that point you can’t just stand them down. It has gone to far. You have to report them.
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 06:57
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So little information, so much speculation...
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 07:03
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Gone are the days when some used to have a quiet sip of champers between serving courses in First Class. I doubt whether 'landing drinks' are still served these days!!!
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 07:15
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IMO if the rumoured problem had become known to any other crewmember and/or passenger then with the best will in the world etc IMHO the captain was very boxed in when it came to options.

crewmeal:

" I doubt whether 'landing drinks' are still served these days!!!"

I think they were very much a last century thing........
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Old 30th Jan 2023, 07:34
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and to serve a message on others?
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