\GoBillsInDallas/ Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/27/american-airlines-pilot-arrested-in-front-of-passengers-after-failing-breathalyzer-test/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Nothing like drinking and flying.... Get that man a beer... The guy is probably addicted. Why not just call in sick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Unbelievable. (Sadly not) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deranged Rhino Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Can't blame him. Who wants to fly American sober? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Just think how often it happened in the past Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUFFALOKIE Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Just think how often it happened in the past It's happened twice where I work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotAGuy Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 I love how AA canceled the flight. Too much effort to get a replacement pilot within like 5 hours, I guess. AA will be his next stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 That was an Embraer 190. AA only has about 20 of them, from US Airways, so not a large crew base to draw from for "replacement" Their closest E190 base is on the E coast. Most passengers would have rebooked on other flights well before AA could have re-crewed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Getting drunk because you have to fly INTO Detroit I could understand. Getting drunk when you're about to fly out - - not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Striker Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 That was an Embraer 190. AA only has about 20 of them, from US Airways, so not a large crew base to draw from for "replacement." It's an entirely different kind of flying, altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 (edited) I love how AA canceled the flight. Too much effort to get a replacement pilot within like 5 hours, I guess. My wife is a Flight Attendant and was supposed to work that flight but swapped the day before.....as far as getting another pilot, this was 7am in Detroit. There aren't extra pilots sitting in non-base cities. Not going to delay a flight like this 5 hours to get another pilot. Cancel the flight and put passengers on next flight Sorry, missed Marv's post Edited March 29, 2016 by nucci Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 It's an entirely different kind of flying, altogether. It's an entirely different kind of flying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv's Neighbor Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Just a guess, but Houston is not a hub for AA. Therefore they have neither AA mechanics nor a parts inventory to draw from. The flight was cancelled because there was a MEL (minimum equipment list) item in the log book. You can't dispatch a flight with an open MEL item, so it would be cancelled. So AA would send 2 mechanics to Houston, with the part, to do the fix and put the airplane back into service, many hours after 1700. This happens because the airlines equate carrying a parts inventory at a non hub location as being an unnecessary expense.. They have also eliminated all their mechanics from non hub locations, again as a "cost savings." It's not just AA that operates this way. The same goes for Delta, United Southwest etc. Late day flights are more likely to be cancelled at non hubs because the airplane has been flying all day, and by 1700-1800 it may have accumulated an MEL item. My last guess was this was an MD80? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 I defer to the experts. All I know is that in my experience with AA, they seem very trigger happy to cancel flights. I had a 5 pm flight out of Houston and they canceled it for a "routine mechanical fix" without bothering to try to fix (as far as I could see) and delay or find some remedy short of an immediate cancelation. I was fortunate to switch to another airline because I could eat the cost through work; most people were stranded in Houston for an extra night. I don't complain too much about airlines taking a conservative approach on mechanical issues. I'm sure there are plenty of issues that are considered routine but can't be fixed immediately or without specific personnel on duty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 I defer to the experts. All I know is that in my experience with AA, they seem very trigger happy to cancel flights. I had a 5 pm flight out of Houston and they canceled it for a "routine mechanical fix" without bothering to try to fix (as far as I could see) and delay or find some remedy short of an immediate cancelation. I was fortunate to switch to another airline because I could eat the cost through work; most people were stranded in Houston for an extra night. I won't defend an airlines operations too much but I worked in USAirways ops for 20 years...there are many things that go in to a cancelled flight. It's not something the airline likes doing. It costs a lot of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Getting drunk because you have to fly INTO Detroit I could understand. Getting drunk when you're about to fly out - - not so much. One time a coworker and I were flying into Detroit from Syracuse on Delta. We were the only ones not continuing on another flight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 I won't defend an airlines operations too much but I worked in USAirways ops for 20 years...there are many things that go in to a cancelled flight. It's not something the airline likes doing. It costs a lot of money. It happens all too frequently.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 It happens all too frequently.... Not when you consider how many flights there are per day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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