that would have been a USAir flight from charlotte to gatwick. I did the same route last year. Dumb ass.

It is odd that it is always youngish British males that cause this trouble with drinking and flying...
But I agree for the most part it'd probably be a good idea. Of course nervous passengers could get special dispensation or valium

They can hold it in their hand, then in their stomach. Then it ends up down the pan one way or another.....

I like a glass of wine of two whilst flying Malev as they always have good wine from my local vineyard region.
But otherwise I never drink and fly, the pilots might get struck by food poisoning and I'd have to land the plane (best watch Airplane later for a refresher course)

Thanks for that Bazza. Glad to hear it. However, Rugby fans are not your average Brit hooligan.

It´s probabely a very bad idea to drink and fly. I think we all know that drunken people can tell and do a lot of bullsh**. But if that guy wasn´t obviously armed or had a bomb on board I highly doubt that the passengers were in a real danger. What could he do.. punch a hole in the fuselage ?

20 years in jail is just ridiculous. That is what a murder gets over here. Why don´t they just handle out some eletro shockers to the board personal. A little brzzzz and the guy is silent. But no they redirect a whole flight and put that guy 20
years in prison... unbelievable !!

[quote author=-sam- link=board=genav;num=1121286658;start=0#11 date=07/14/05 at 05:15:36]It´s probabely a very bad idea to drink and fly. I think we all know that drunken people can tell and do a lot of bullsh**. But if that guy wasn´t obviously armed or had a bomb on board I highly doubt that the passengers were in a real danger. What could he do.. punch a hole in the fuselage? [/quote ]

  He could open a door...
  Anybody can; it's not that complicated. And anybody whose  behavior interferes with the cabin crew's ability to keep things safe and orderly deserves to be punished, drunk or sober.  What if a real emergency arose while they're trying to subdue some unruly idiot, or what if same idiot creates havoc after an emergency has begun? And I'll eat my hat if there hasn't been at least one case on record where some intoxicated person tried to sue an airline because they hurt themselves during an emergency evacuation or something...
But I agree, 20 years is hardcore. Better to fine him and ban him from all airlines for life- that'd hurt.
And again, I think he should've been cut off before he got stupid. The airline could stand firm on this rule for safety reasons alone.

Quote:

I don't know how modern airliner doors work. Presumably they have manually operated emergency handles (that big lever painted red) & the pressure is greater in the cabin than outside. Release the catches & the door would blow off, rapidly depressurising the cabin.

Y'know, I was thinking of past incidents I'd heard of involving doors opening in flight, but I realize of course that those were aboard aircraft with out-swinging doors... the new design not only has the advantage of acting as a plug under pressure, but some even have an extra latching mechanism engaged by the force of the pressure, if I understand correctly... so that scenario is probably the least likely to be a problem.
  Should a door be opened when cabin/ambient pressure is equal, the only danger would be in somebody falling out, as opposed to the usual hazrds of a rapid decompression of the cabin.
  But regardless, I'm all in favor of airlines and the government adopting a "zero tolerance" policy towards disruptive passengers.
Like that brat who was kicking the back of my seat on a flight  from Miami to New York  one time... yes, he was aware he was annoying me; a glance back confirmed he was pleased with himself, the little monster... the elderly woman escorting him pretended she didn't notice, so finally I had to turn around,  lean way over the back of my seat to get right in his face, and growl: "Stop it. Now."
Oddly enough, it worked!!

  The only snag of course with the drunks, etc. is dealing with those who are already intoxicated when they show up at the gate... unless they start making trouble right then and there, or are clearly out of it, they'll be let aboard... oh well. Best to have a drink and forget about it, I guess...

Well the 737 I was on at Xmas Doug had doors that swung in and up! And they were the plug type....

Just so you know the preassure differances, mean you would need a force of a few tons to open the door from the inside in flight. Th DC10's doors are the sort which slide upwards inside the cabin much like Ozzys description. Ironically as you have mentioned in the past Doug, its cargo doors were the exact opposite and a week point in its design till the new latches were built in.