Dutch police ground Delta pilot; say he was too drunk to fly to Newark.

[edbermac]

An apparently intoxicated American pilot was pulled from the cockpit of his Delta jet as he prepared to fly from Amsterdam to Newark Tuesday, officials said.

The 52-year-old captain from Woodbury, New Jersey blew a .023 percent blood alcohol level in a breath test, according to the National Police Corps in Amsterdam. That level is just above the legal limit in the Netherlands, which has some of the toughest drunk driving laws in Europe.

Delta Airlines said they suspended the captain and canceled Flight #35 between Amsterdam and Newark "out of concern that a crew member appeared to be unfit for duty."

An anonymous tip brought Dutch police to the Delta plane, officials said. After removing the captain, police fined him $900 and he was released, authorities said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39178636

Dutch authorities are unaware that anyone going to New Jersey is compelled to get shit-faced. :silly: :beer:

[flvegan]

1. Amsterdam to New Jersey? That pilot did those passengers a favor.

[jmowreader]

2. They grounded him for "lack of common sense"

When you're in Amsterdam you're supposed to be smoking weed!

[Xipe Totec]

3. too drunk to fly to Newark?

That has to be some Guinness record breaker.

[pitohui]

6. 0.02 percent blood alcohol NOT DRUNK ENOUGH to fly to newark

that is not intoxicated, that is just normal as far as i know, he used mouthwash or something

to be drunk it has to be 0.08 and even that is not really drunk, that's just to make money for the cops etc...remember when it was 0.15 to be drunk, now THAT was pretty drunk

dead people (OK if they've been decomposing for awhile have point two, that's NOTHING)

you walk by the bar and take a sniff you have point two

i'm not getting it, this guy was targeted because someone hated him not for being drunk, no one could ever fly a plane if you had to prove you never had an alcohol molecule in your blood stream ever to be a pilot (cuz total wimpass teetotalers are not the daring type who would take flight school)

[Old Troop]

4. Oh c'mon. He would have sobered up on the flight and been able to

drive home pretty much unimpaired.

[Skittles]

9. LOL........stop it Old Troop

:rofl:

[pitohui]

5. that isn't drunk, that's just blood, somebody didn't like that guy

0.023 that is what? he used some mouthwash? it isn't any known level of drunk i've ever heard of

someone is out to get that dude, i hate people like that

[Generic Brad]

7. He was not too drunk to be in Newark

He was in a Newark state of mind.

[petronius]

8. Free night in Amsterdam - sounds like the passengers came out ahead

As long as no one loses a job or misses their wedding or something. Sucks for the pilot, but if Delta's policy is 0.00 it seems like common sense to abstain completely within a day or so of a flight.

However, the article author needs to look up the definition of "apparently intoxicated" - it's pretty clear that you can exceed the flying limit while being a long way from intoxicated...

[MajorChode]

10. No smoking within 8 hours of flight and no alcohol with 50' of the airplane

Rules are rules.

[old mark]

11. ...too drunk to fly to New Jersey? How drunk do you have to be?

Probably a tour to see Snookie....


mark