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Home » American Airlines » Intoxicated Pilot on American Airlines Forces Flight Cancellation, Big Payouts
American Airlines

Intoxicated Pilot on American Airlines Forces Flight Cancellation, Big Payouts

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 8, 2019November 14, 2023 7 Comments

a man standing next to an airplane

An American Airlines flight from Manchester to Philadelphia was cancelled after a pilot was found to be under the influence of alcohol.

The pilot’s name has not been released, but the 62-years old was arrested on suspicion of performing an aviation function when over the prescribed limit of alcohol. The arrest forced American Airlines to cancel the flight.

American Airlines was guarded in response, though did not seek to deny or downplay the incident.

American Airlines is aware of an incident involving a member of its crew at Manchester Airport earlier this morning.

The employee was detained and the flight, AA735 to Philadelphia, has been cancelled. Safety is our highest priority and we apologise to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans, we have rebooked them on alternative flights.

We are fully cooperating with local law enforcement and further questions should be referred to them.

Passengers will receive 15,000 AA miles plus EU261/2004 compensation of at least 400EUR for the delay.

As View from the Wing notes, “Pilots hide not just alcohol abuse but mental health conditions and that points to a fundamental conundrum: you want pilots to be open and seek help in order to promote safety, but once they’re open they’re a clearly identified risk and get removed from the cockpit.”

I write about these drunken incidents because they befuddle me. Why? Why would a pilot not know better? Trust me, I’m not projecting scorn from a “holier than thou” perch. I know human beings are prone to all sorts of weakness and proclivities. But a pilot is placed in such a position of trust. By drinking before duty, a pilot violates…shatters…that trust and demonstrates a wanton disregard for human life.

CONCLUSION

I believe in second chances and redemption, but not for drunk pilots. As far as I am concerned, he’s forfeited any chance to be given so much trust in the future as a pilot. But I sure hope he gets the help he needs and finds the road to recovery.

Am I being too harsh?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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7 Comments

  1. Sexy_kitten7 Reply
    February 8, 2019 at 9:11 am

    I’m surprised you and Gary (among others) are saying this will force big payouts. My understanding of EU261/2004 is that the claim must be filed by the consumer. How many people are aware of this legislation, even in the UK? The airlines certainly don’t advertise it. Are there any cases in which cash compensation was proactively offered to the consumer? What is the average recovery rate?

    • Gary Leff Reply
      February 8, 2019 at 9:18 am

      Actually what I wrote is that passengers “are entitled to” the EU261 compensation. They have to know about and file for it, it is not something provided proactively by the airline.

      American acknowledged to me that they believe EU261 compensation would be due, that they believe all passengers were delayed at least 3 hours, and that they will not claw back the miles from anyone who claims the cash.

      • Matthew Reply
        February 8, 2019 at 11:34 am

        You and I are doing our part to alert passengers to this. I hope others will as well.

      • Sexy_kitten7 Reply
        February 8, 2019 at 11:56 am

        As yes. Thank you for pointing that out! I did not go back to reread the article so my memory was fuzzy.

  2. Debit Reply
    February 8, 2019 at 10:06 am

    The support for people coming forward should be better and the penalty for people not coming forward but then caught should be worse. Mental health should be freely discussed and diagnosed routinely for everyone. All this should be in real world but then we have to deal with republican fycktards who bring bible, puritanism or plain old greed in the equation.

  3. Abbey Reply
    February 8, 2019 at 2:44 pm

    American airlines… tries not to payout … they ignore EU regulations… so lets hope tbis gets them in a court room this time!!

  4. Mike Reply
    July 18, 2019 at 11:47 am

    That pilot, in addition to losing his licenses, will lose his medical. In order to get the medical back, he will be diagnosed alcohol use disorder, severe, sent to 12 step based religious rehab, then forced into AA attendance for 5 years, clearly violating nearly ALL of his rights as a patient (no say in what his treatment will be), and all his rights to religious freedom.

    Of course the inpatient rehab, if not actually needed and there will be no scrutiny to the accuracy of his diagnosis, will violate his right to freedom for that time.

    Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness… Two out of three violated, and I don’t even need details to guarantee that. How much more harsh do you propose?

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