CBC has the story:
Passengers never in danger as the other aircrew noticed he was behaving oddly at the airport, then he passed out in the cockpit.
Charges laid under the Criminal Code for impaired operation / .08 BAC of an aircraft.
Police later identified the pilot. It was a foreign worker on a work visa, who I imagine will not be flying, working, or holding a visa in any foreseeable future. And perhaps visa screening procedures might be due for a review.
I doubt he was drunk when he got his visa.
Yep, a person can be fine as a pilot for years then develop a drinking problem. Changing the visa screening won’t change that, as it happens to all sorts of pilots from time to time. Encouraging fellow crew to report hazardous behavior (like showing up intoxicated) is probably the best defense.
All of the above are necessary. I have no idea what a more thorough background check might have shown, but we probably all remember the Germanwings co-pilot who locked himself in the cockpit when the captain left for a bathroom break, and then flew the plane into a mountain. Or the Colgan Air pilot who reacted to a stall by doing exactly the wrong thing. Both actions killed everyone on board. As it turned out, the Germanwings pilot had a history of mental illness, and the Colgan Air pilot had failed three check flights. Is it a stretch to believe that bureaucratic incompetence is really a thing? Is it therefore a stretch to believe that a more thorough check of a foreign-certified Air Transport rated pilot seeking a work visa might have turned up a potentially disqualifying history?
Not trying to start a huge debate here, I was just making the point, in passing, that this wasn’t a long-time pilot with an established domestic history, but perhaps something of an unknown quantity. I have nothing against foreign pilots, doctors, or anything else – I just want them properly vetted.
Did this pilot have a previous problem that would have shown up?
Update: Pilot has pled guilty. Defence has asked for 3-6 months imprisonment; Crown is seeking a year. Judge’s decision on sentencing in early April.
I think it was about 30 years ago when both the pilot and co-pilot of a Northwestern(?) (727?) showed up at the gate sloppy drunk. Chicago, IIRC
There was no call for a review of certification or experience reviews following that incident.
I wonder what has changed?
The husband of one of my cousins was a commercial pilot. I remember him not taking so much as a beer the night before a flight. He ended up having some sort of stroke episode while flying during his National Guard duty and couldn’t fly again.
StG