Sunwing Airlines on drunk pilot arrested in Calgary: all foreign pilots trained, approved

Canadian police have charged the Sunwing Airlines pilot with impairment after the incident on New Year’s Eve. Officers said the pilot boarded the Boeing 737 with 99 passengers and six crew members in Calgary, Alberta, for a flight that was scheduled to make stops in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, before continuing on to Cancun, Mexico. But before it took off police said the gate crew as well as crewmembers on the aircraft indicated he was behaving strangely. Police allege the co-pilot found the pilot passed out in the cockpit. Sgt. Paul Stacey told a press conference: “They found him slumped over in the seat. He was the captain.” The pilot was escorted from the plane and has been charged with having care and control of an aircraft while being impaired, as well as having a blood-alcohol level exceeding .08 while in care and control of an aircraft. Stacey said police allege the suspect had three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system.

Read More

Drunk' Canadian pilot who allegedly passed out before take-off charged by police

A Canadian pilot has been charged with impairment after he allegedly passed out drunk in the cockpit before takeoff.

The 37-year-old pilot of low cost carrier Sunwing Airlines was found by crew “slumped over in the seat” after he boarded the Boeing 737.

The 7am Saturday flight, with 99 passengers and six crew, was bound for Cancun, Mexico, from Calgary, Alberta, making two stops before final touchdown.

“They found him slumped over in the seat,” Calgary sergeant Paul Stacey told a news conference. “He was the captain.”Police said the gate crew at the airport as well as staff on the flight said the pilot was behaving strangely, and then the co-pilot found his colleague passed out in the cockpit.

The pilot was removed from the plane and charged with having care and control of an aircraft while being impaired. He was found by police to have a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.08, three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system.

Mr Stacey added that the pilot would have to “sober up” before appearing in front of a justice of the peace.

His name will be released after he appears in court and he might face additional charges, said Mr Stacey.

READ MORE

• First female Afghan Air Force pilot applied for asylum to the US
• Male pilots outnumber females by 16 to 1
• Hundreds of airline pilots 'thinking of suicide or self-harm'

Sunwing Airlines spokeswoman Janine Massey confirmed the incident, describing it as “very unfortunate” and apologising to customers.

The flight took off with another captain the same day.

According to Transport Canada, it is illegal for flight crew to work within eight hours of consuming alcohol or working under the influence.

Read More

Pilot passed out in cockpit, accused of being drunk, police say

London (CNN)A pilot who allegedly passed out in the cockpit of a Boeing 737 in Canada was arrested on suspicion of being drunk, police said.

Capt. Miroslav Gronych was "behaving oddly before he became unconscious in the cockpit" on Saturday, Calgary police said. The plane, with 99 passengers and six crew members, was scheduled to fly to Regina before heading to Winnipeg and Cancun, Mexico.

Gronych, a 37-year-old Slovak national in Canada on a work visa, was charged with having control of an aircraft while impaired.

"Initial tests conducted by police indicate the pilot was severely impaired by alcohol," police said in a statement.

Two hours after his arrest, the pilot's blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit of .08, Calgary police spokesman Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey said, according to CNN partner CBC News.

"It had all the potential for a disaster, but I'll tell you this much -- the likelihood of a pilot on a major airline like this actually being able to take off when they're impaired like that is pretty slim, because there's a lot of checks and balances," Stacey said. "There's the other flight crew and there's gate crew and they're all about safety."

The gate crew noticed Gronych acting strangely and told the co-pilot, who found Gronych passed out in the pilot's seat, Stacey said.

Budget airline Sunwing apologized for their pilot's behavior and commended the rest of the crew for their diligence in handling what they described as a "very unfortunate matter."

Sunwing said the plane took off a short time later with a different pilot.

Stacey said Transport Canada will investigate, and more charges could apply. "He won't be flying anytime soon."

CNN's Jay Croft contributed to this report.

Read More

Drunk Canadian Pilot Passes Out in Cockpit; Second Drunk Pilot Caught This Week

Police arrested a drunk Sunwing pilot as he prepared to take a planeload of people into the air December 31, the second drunk pilot arrested this week.

The most recent incident occurred shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday morning, when passengers and crew on a Sunwing flight bound for Cancun noticed the pilot behaving oddly as he boarded.

When he was then found passed out in the cockpit, he was arrested and charged with having care and control of an aircraft while impaired and having care and control of an aircraft [while] exceeding 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood), according to a report by the Calgary police.

The suspect was the flight captain, Sunwings spokeswoman Janine Massey told media in an email. She commended the crew for their handling of the "very unfortunate matter."

"We can confirm that shortly before 7 a.m. local time, the gate agents, first officer and crew of Sunwing flight 595, departing from Calgary and destined for Cancun, determined that the captain was unfit to fly and reported this accordingly," Massey stated, Canada's National Post reports.

But the waning days if 2016 have gotten the best of more than one pilot. Earlier this week, passengers on an Indonesian Citilink flight became upset when the pilot's departure announcement was slurred and unclear. Some passengers left the plane and demanded a new pilot, NBC reports.

Read more: https://sputniknews.com/society/201701011049170506-drunk-pilot-hauled-from-cockpit/

Read More

Drunk pilot arrested in Canadian cockpit before take-off

A pilot who was drunk in the cockpit has been arrested shortly before take-off in Canada.

Two hours after his arrest, the 37-year-old man was found to have more than three times the legal limit of alcohol in his body.

His plane, part of the Sunwing budget airline, later left Calgary for Cancun, Mexico, with a different pilot. There were more than 100 people on board.

The incident happened at 07:00 local time (14:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Airline staff noticed the pilot behaving strangely, and then he passed out. They alerted the authorities and the man was escorted from the cockpit.

He has now been charged with being in charge of an aircraft while being impaired.

Calgary police have named him as Miroslav Gronych, 37, a Slovak national.

Police spokesman Paul Stacey said: "It had all the potential for a disaster but I'll tell you this much - the likelihood of a pilot on a major airline like this actually being able to take off when they're impaired like that is pretty slim, because there's a lot of checks and balances.

"There's the other flight crew and there's gate crew and they're all about safety.

"So, I'm not surprised that he got caught before (the plane) left the terminal."

But Mr Stacey said: "He won't be flying anytime soon."

Read More