A Pakistani International Airlines pilot was jailed for 9 months in the UK for being 4 times over the allowable blood alcohol limit while conducting pre-flight checks for a flight from the UK to Pakistan,

 

His excuses were that he was unaware of the UK requirements and that Pakistani requirements  merely required a 12 hour gap between drinking and flying no matter how much alcohol the pilot had consumed. 

Just 9 months? For putting the lives of 300-odd people at risk? That's... a lot less than I'd imagined.

But he hadn't actually put anyone's life at risk. he could only be charged with what he'd done.

He was conducting pre-flight checks.

He was about to fly, most likely a T7, if he was in the UK. That's 300 people he was about to endanger.

 

 

He was conducting pre-flight checks.
He was about to fly, most likely a T7, if he was in the UK. That's 300 people he was about to endanger.

 

Sure, still that doesn't justify any longer prison sentence than what he got. He didn't hurt anyone.

He was conducting pre-flight checks.

He was about to fly, most likely a T7, if he was in the UK. That's 300 people he was about to endanger.

 

He wasn't charged with endangering life but with being over the legal limit. The maximum sentence for that is 2 years imprisonment. 2 years would probably be for actually flying while over the limit.

I don't care what the technical legalistic view is behind the matter, my point still stands, I find it slightly sad that the punishment for, I say again, endangering the lives of multiple people, is just 9 months. 

I'm no arm chair lawyer no do I plan on becoming one, it's just my moral compass I'm basing this off.

I don't care what the technical legalistic view is behind the matter, my opinion still stands, I find it slightly sad that the punishment for, I say again, endangering the lives of multiple people, is just 9 months. 

I'm no arm chair lawyer no do I plan on becoming one, it's just my moral compass I'm basing this off.

Emphasize mine.

He didn't actually endanger someone.

 

Getting in your car drunk and being caught drunk before you'd actually begin driving wouldn't have you punished drunk driving would it? About to do something isn't basis to convict someone for what he was about to do.

 

 

Getting in your car drunk and being caught drunk before you'd actually begin driving wouldn't have you punished drunk driving would it? About to do something isn't basis to convict someone for what he was about to do.

 

I already said I don't care about the legalistic view behind it. 
 

Like you've decided to underline, the basis of my POINT is morality.

So since you are talking about morality, how about the huge fatigue issue widespread with airlines making crew fly right up to the limit and manipulating rosters/stand by & days off.

 

Trust me, far more dangerous then someone being caught with the equivalent of a glass of wine running through the bloodstream. Quite handy that no portable device to detect dangerous fatigue levels exists on the market.

 

The captain got what we he deserved, he never put anyone at risk, he simply broke the law.

I already said I don't care about the legalistic view behind it. 

 

Like you've decided to underline, the basis of my POINT is morality.

When we stop caring about laws and start punishing for "morality",we are in real trouble....And based on whose morality,s??

Like you've decided to underline, the basis of my POINT is morality.

Not really. We are all agreed what the pilot did was wrong. the discussion is about the severity of punishment. that's not a matter of morality.

 

So since you are talking about morality, how about the huge fatigue issue widespread with airlines making crew fly right up to the limit and manipulating rosters/stand by & days off

In the UK it's also an offence to fly in dangerous state of fatigue and the penalty for that is also up to 2 years imprisonment.

Not really. We are all agreed what the pilot did was wrong. the discussion is about the severity of punishment. that's not a matter of morality. In the UK it's also an offence to fly in dangerous state of fatigue and the penalty for that is also up to 2 years imprisonment.

What happens in reality is another matter, pilots flying fatigued unfortunetly is a major issue.

When we stop caring about laws and start punishing for "morality",we are in real trouble....And based on whose morality,s??

 

Am I punishing anyone? 

I'm simply saying that it is morally wrong to operate heavy machinery when inebriated.

 

 

 

So since you are talking about morality, how about the huge fatigue issue widespread with airlines making crew fly right up to the limit and manipulating rosters/stand by & days off.

 

 

I am not talking about fatigue or anything else, just operating heavy machinery when inebriated, like I'd already mentioned. 

That way, I can bring up any number of moral issues in the world, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I can say:

So since you are talking about morality, how about the unemployed/unpaid workers in Kingfisher airlines?

 

But that has nothing to do with what I'm putting across.

 

Not really. We are all agreed what the pilot did was wrong. the discussion is about the severity of punishment. that's not a matter of morality.

 

That is a matter of morality.

I don't know what you're trying to do, telling me what my point is, but let me make it clearer for you:

If you were to drink a bottle of whatever alcohol you prefer, fly a private aircraft by yourself, with only yourself to kill if you c*ck up, then yes, 9 months is fine.

 

If you were to drink a bottle of whatever alcohol you prefer, fly an airliner with 300+ people on board, and you kill them all if you c*ck up, it's much more severe, which is why the jail sentence, IN MY OPINION, BASED ON MY MORALS, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THAT I AM NOT THE LAW, NOR AM I A LAWYER, should be increased to match.

Well of course fatigue is relevant! Operating machinery when fatigued is just as dangerous as being intoxicated. Pay rights by kingfisher or any other airline is irrelevant.