A 65-year-old amateur pilot was arrested for flying drunk after a rescue helicopter had to guide him to the airfield in Schoengleida, Germany. He had drunk wine and beer before taking off, and continued to drink while flying.
The unnamed man was able to land the Cessna, and “wobbled” to his car. Airfield authorities called police, who arrested the man on his way home. He tested over four times the legal limit for driving. Link -via Arbroath
(image credit: Flickr user jon gos)
''Come on, I know you're down there,'' he radioed. ''Where the bloody hell have you hidden yourself?''
Control tower staff say he also sang a few songs, cracked a mother-in-law joke and told them to ''pull their fingers out as I've got a party to go to''.
Fearing instrument failure, the tower scrambled a rescue helicopter, which homed in on the man in clear-blue skies west of the airport, and gave instructions for the pilot to follow it back.
The unnamed man was able to land the Cessna, and “wobbled” to his car. Airfield authorities called police, who arrested the man on his way home. He tested over four times the legal limit for driving. Link -via Arbroath
(image credit: Flickr user jon gos)
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Thanks, Sarah. I wondered why they reported it as the legal limit for driving, rather than the legal limit for flying. I would have hoped it would be zero tolerance.
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I wonder why they let him even get to the car?!
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Indeed they do, Ted. In the US, it is 0.04 % BAC. That's about half the usual limit for drivers. Other rules state 8 hours "from bottle to throttle", and most airlines have more stringent company rules ( like 24 hours ). It's just not a good idea. This guy was lucky.
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End of pilot's license forever.
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Do they have a legal limit for flying?
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