Recent pilot-related near-mishaps raises concern in aviation circles

A series of recent incidents involving pilot behaviour have given rise to widespread concerns in the passenger-aviation sector.

The latest one of these incidents is about a pilot of the United States-based United Airlines who was arrested in London, just before his flight the flight was to take off, on charge of having consumed alcohol.

The pilot, who dodged a breathalyzer test, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London only minutes before the Boeing 767 aircraft that he was to fly was to take off for O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

Later, Scotland Yard charged the United Airlines’ pilot, Erwin Washington, 51, of Lakewood, Colorado, the United States, with “having too much alcohol in his system while working as a member of the aviation staff.”

Erwin Washington is due to appear before court in north London on November 20, 2009. If he is found guilty, he may not only lose his pilot’s licence but also face up to two years in prison, depending upon his blood-alcohol level.

Reports said it was another crew member of United Airlines who tipped off the police that Erwin Washington was inebriated, after passengers had boarded the plane and moments before the departure of United Airlines Flight 949 scheduled at 12:05 p.m.

Both authorities and observers concerned with passenger-aviation wasted no time in criticizing Erwin Washington not only for “potentially jeopardizing” the lives of the 124 passengers on board Flight 949 but also for putting his career at risk by consuming alcohol in a country, Britain, where pilots can be arrested for reporting for work after drinking even the equivalent of a half-pint beer.

Erwin Washington happens to be the third US pilot to be held at London’s Heathrow Airport in over a year for “unacceptably high alcohol levels.”

Of these three pilots, while two were with United Airlines, the third was the employee of American Airlines. And, two of these three pilots were bound for O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

In another pilot-related, near-disaster incident, on October 19, 2009, pilots of a Boeing 767 of the United States-based Delta Air landed their plane on an active taxiway at Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta.

Just two days later, two pilots of Northwest Airlines, based in the US, overflew their destination, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, as they both were busy with their laptops in the cockpit.

At Los Angeles International Airport, on October 25, 2009, an aircraft of Midwest Airlines almost taxied into the path of a Boeing 757 plane, of Northwest Airlines, that was taking off.

According to aviation observers, besides alcohol, job-related stress, financial pressures, chronic jet lag, and strained family relations because of having to stay away from home for long periods are taking their toll on the pilot profession.