Agreed. Everytime one of these threads comes up this is what I say. It's bad enough what we put our bodies through dragging them across the world, alcohol only makes it worse.

I'll probably get jumped on for saying this, but I don't think my career is worth a night on the town. I'll just stick to coffee. ;)

Don’t want any hassles??? Then don’t drink. However moderation and responsibility works too.

Ok, I got it... what you're saying is AMR will put him through the awesome HIMS program after he sits in jail for five years. sounds good.

I don't think you can get into HIMS after you have been busted. You have to get into it before....

How could FAA security and aeromedical fail to notice 12 offenses??? They would pull your medical for sure. For that reason alone, I'm far from convinced it's the same dude.

Or maybe most of his offenses were in the distant past, before the FAA got serious about it?

UPDATE: OK, I looked him up in the FAA Db. Joseph R Crites is the only one who comes up, and he has all the relevant types for AA.

The court document for DUI #12 names Joseph C Crites...probably a different dude. But they are both in Ohio.

Isn't alcoholism considered a disease now, not a character flaw? I'm not making excuses for anyone here, but I wonder what prevents lawyers from suing airlines who fire pilots for getting caught showing up drunk (or "sick", whatever).

A person who couldn't demonstrate a pattern could get canned for irresponsibility, while a long term alcoholic might get off due to his "disease". There's no new idea under the sun, of course, so I'm wondering why this isn't considered a valid defense.

Shouldn't those diagnosed with the "disease" of alcoholism get at least a chance at treatment, no matter how they got caught/diagnosed?

The question if employees in general are covered under the ADA (American Disabilities Act) seems to be an object of a fair amount of contentious litigation all across the nation. The AMA calls alcoholism a chronic disease, so whether or not we as pilots think it's a disease is really a moot point.

It would seem that pilots may be required to "self-diagnose" their disease and seek treatment before they get caught. Interesting, because I wasn't aware that pilots were medically trained to do so. Again, not making excuses here, but you begin to see why "getting caught" might not necessarily be a career-ender.

Just speculating, though. Personally, I'm a big believer in the "no drinking on the road" policy.

12 DUI and the FAA had not already pulled his ticket?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

I thought one DUI was a carreer killer..

See above...the middle names do not match. I don't think the AA guy is the same guy with 12 DUIs.

And McVeigh was put to death.

Same goes for the NWA program (from what I have heard), one of the best programs out there. They really want to help those that need the help and it is available all the way up to the preflight check...opps...before start checklist.