Originally Posted by aa73

For those of you doubting the fact that alcoholism is a disease, read Joe Balzer's book "Flying Drunk." He was the NWA 727 F/E arrested along with the CA and FO in 1990 for operating a flight under the influence from FAR-MSP. He now flies for us (AA.) In his book he dedicates a chapter or two to the research that's been done on alcoholism. It is clearly proven that those who have a certain enzyme in the liver are very susceptible to having a drinking problem while not realizing the danger of the addiction. To you and I, avoiding a drink on the layover is no big deal - to an alcoholic, it is a VERY big deal and not so easily avoided. And once he has that one drink, it sends a signal in his brain to keep on.

Originally Posted by FlyJSH

You should go to an open AA meeting sometime. Listen to some of the stories. You might get a better understanding of the disease.

Every alcoholic thought he had alcohol under control. Some of the more "proficient" alcoholics are able to hide their use and can appear quite sober while being under the influence. That ability only helps reinforce their belief they are okay ("if nobody calls me out, I must be fine"). Most only realized they had a problem after they hit rock bottom (whatever their particular bottom was).

Thankfully, his 8th step won't include any next-of-kin.

Originally Posted by aa73

Please don't make the assumption that this AE Captain was a dumbass and could have easily avoided it. If he suffers from this problem, he very well may not have known the extent of his addiction and voila. If anything, pray for him that he is able to heal and return to flying.