Howdy Ian,
I saw this to and thought it was a joke at first, but it really isnt, sadly i think some pilots take for granted the job they do guys like this seem to think because of seniority they can get away with more. Only recently there was a French captain who made a joke about a bomb in his luggage, at check in. A person of his position and experience should know better. Then again if these guys wanna waste their chances there are tons of people including me who would take that opportunity for pennies really.

quote "This problem is not restricted to the young or lower classes "

Hagar - what (or who) are the 'lower classes' ?

IanR

Hagar

tread carefully here please - you are moving off topic

regards

IanR

Quote:



Ain't that the truth for all of us? I belive all of us are guilty at one time or another.

Quote:


I really shouldn't be accepting somebody else's appology, but, I know hagar will accept. Besides, don't be sorry. This kind of thing happens. Its a language barrier. Neither side meant anything harmful, so, there isn't really anything bad that happened.

lower, working, middle, upper class - we all fall victim to the use of these slurs - no offence taken.

Best regards

IanR

anyway........back ON topic! Alcoholism is a learned attribute, stemmed from years of aviation grooming.

Seriously, I had this discussion with my first officer at the bar tonight!  (Just kidding)Actually it was on the ride home from the airport, post crew change. The basic MEAT of the conversation was THIS. Most of us can make sober decisions to carry ourselves in a proper manner. Given a few drinks though, some of the most idiotic acts and utterances can occur. The argument is are you responsible for said acts and utterances. My argument was that the decision to take A drink in the first place, is the REAL act of irresponsibility. Honestly, who, in there right mind says after the FIRST drink, "I'm gonna have about TEN more, grope my bosses wife at the annual christmas party, punch out my best friend and then run to the airport and try to fly a 747 across the Atlantic Ocean!" Timing, I think, is the answer to THIS mystery. If he knew he was flying an airplane in less than a few hours he should have abstained(sp?). Unfortunately, invincibility is another virtue that is instilled in us as pilots from training day one. Not directly mind you. It's just that Aviation is a fiercely competitive business, and it starts early on, and is carried on from one generation to the next. I have been in the aviation business for 22years(I took my first flight lesson at 13), and pilots, in my experience, work hard and play hard. This is NOT an excuse for our kind, but an explanation for where the mentality comes from. Simply put, and this is mostly for guys like you Craig, fly a day as a jet Captain, through convective weather and icing conditions, in an airplane with sub-par equipment, with a couple hundred passengers that consider you as just an overpaid flying busdriver that can't seem to get them "there" on time, and see if you don't need a drink at the end of the day.