Another flight delayed after pilot exceeds alcohol limit

Before you start banging on in a negative manner, remember ANA prevented this Dimwit from getting into the cockpit.

Wait... 10 x 330 ml beers = 3300 ml of beer.

2 glasses of wine (let's say 100 ml, although it could be 150 easy) = 200 ml

PLUS another bottle of wine the next day, so going by Japanese sizes, 720 ml?

The man drank over 4 liters of alcohol!

That's not 'relaxing,' that's a serious, serious problem!

I'm surprised he isn't dead!

While he clearly has a problem and consumed a lot of alcohol before his flight, I think something is seriously going on that’s increasing the stress levels of these pilots. He had to consume that much to try and relax. The pressure of his job must be immense.

an international flight of a group company

Translation?

Translation?

This was an Air Japan flight. Per the article:

All Nippon Airways and Air Japan are subsidiaries of ANA Holdings Inc.

Job stress?  Pure conjecture.  As usual, we don't know enough about this to do anything other than speculate and tsk tsk.  But the excessive amount of booze is in itself a concern. 

Agree with David, a bottle of wine in the morning?  That isn't normal!

I no longer trust Japanese airlines. I will never fly JAL or ANA again. I have a background in aviation and this is just appalling. Very unprofessional and dangerous.

Thanks zones. Hadn't had my morning coffee at that point. Still say the lead is confusing. And I've been an ANA member for years now and have never heard of Air Japan. Guess I don't charter many flights.

@Jcapan - Actually Air Japan does not operate only charter flights. Many ANA flights to China are Air Japan flights. Air Japan also operates the Hong Kong route, flights to Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

Air Japan is not quite a Low Cost Carrier (LCC) rather a kind of mid cost carrier (fully owned subsidiary of ANA) which uses nearly all foreign pilots who are hired through a 3rd Party.

Well....at least the system prevented the over the limit co-pilot from flying.

I am surprised that he can stand up let alown (possibly drive) to the air port, or even fly, it sound like he's had more than the local stag do!

So, are you ready to admit there is a problem with alcoholism and alcohol abuse in Japan? All prefgessional drivers should be tested before taking a shift. Taxis, buses, trucks and trains. Such a stressful society with little access to recreational drugs must be full of alcoholics.

In this terrible world, it's not surprising that people occasionally turn to different forms of escapism. But please don't put others at risk.

I flew internationally on ANA (itself) last weekend. Excellent service, ahead of schedule. i would choose ANA (or JAL) over any North American carriers.

@Tokyo-Engr, they are screened and selected for interviews by a 3rd party, but the actual interview and sim eval is conducted by current and retired ANA pilots.

ANA pilots must be paraded to pass through the waiting passengers,eye-to-eye test before they board the flights to prevent mishaps. Otherwise paraparapu.......

Some jobs are just not suited to the lifestyle of some people. This pilot needs to find a different job before harm is done to innocent people. Surely freight must be booming with all the online shopping, and it might just give him the space to drink in between long shifts.

About 2% of Japanese are alcoholics. No reason to think the pilot population is any different. Alcoholism is a disease and needs treatment, but it has to be the choice of the alcoholic. If treatment isn't chosen, then that person needs to find a different career.

The Air Japan Co co-pilot had consumed more than 10 330-milliliter cans of beer and two glasses of white wine at his home and a bar on Wednesday night, and a bottle of red wine on Thursday morning before the flight scheduled for 12:55 a.m. Friday.

So, clearly this pilot is a drinker. As am I.

What I mean is that this individual clearly consumes alcohol on a regular basis. And in significant amounts.

I consume alcohol regularly and I used to consume more, when I was involved in heavy client entertainment. Necessary part of the job.

I mention this because I am betting this particular pilot had a routine when it came to his alcohol consumption in relation to his flight schedule.

I am sure he thought that, since he finished his drinking more than 12 hours before his flight, he would be OK in time for his flight. Clearly he wasn't, based on his BAC being above the prescribed level.

I have a feeling that he had not adjusted his drinking habits to ensure that he met the more restrictive requirements that ANA had put in place.

It would be interesting to know his actual BAC when he was tested prior to the flight.

give him break. he was relaxed. which do you trust? an experienced pilot or a boaing 737 high tech driverless plane?

yay! The jokes about drinking before boarding a JAL or ANA flight being mandatory, and/or the jokes about how the costs were higher were starting to get dry. Now we'll just wait and see on how the companies and government yet again deflect and pretend this is not an issue and talk about how banning pilots and flight attendants from drnking shouln't be made law as it is elsewhere.

give him break. he was relaxed. which do you trust? an experienced pilot or a boaing 737 high tech driverless plane?

thats just what people cant seem to understand, 1000s of people die every year in road accidents regarding intoxicated drivers which is why most countries are very strict in policing drink driving. Now youve got professional pilots , who are mostly eductaed and intelligent they shouldn't need to be told the dangers of flying while intoxicated , one mistake and 100s could die. there is no F breaks free passes, if you get caught intoxicated before/during flying there should be equal if not harsher punishment to people who drive intoxicated. ZERO tolerance. If pilots having drinking / stress problems they need to seek help before getting back into a cockpit.

Does anyone else have the suspicion that this has been going on for years, but the 2 companies out there that recently keep popping up in the news are just now getting around to do something about it.

About 2% of Japanese are alcoholics. No reason to think the pilot population is any different.

Those drinking pilots are non-Japanese.

The pilot appears to be a raging alcoholic, this didn't just start this week. This issue should have been picked up earlier

tinawatanabe: "Those drinking pilots are non-Japanese."

Ah, let me guess, tina... another Chinese and Korean conspiracy, right? It is a well known fact that this nation has an extremely high alcoholism rate, fueled by what are essentially company-mandated drinking parties. A good friend of mine is retiring from Panasonic at the end of this month because he is literally ill from the CONSTANT enkais: year-end, new year, fiscal year end (and at the 20 farewell parties), fiscal new year (and the 20 welcome parties), section parties, after parties, after after parties with the section chief, etc. The airlines are NO different, and that is why Japan does not want to make any laws related to alcohol and banning pilots from drinking. What was the nationality of the co-pilot in question, tina? How about the co-pilot before him? How about the one who called in sick again in he was so drunk and couldn't go in? How about the one in Britain pulled off the plane after a breathalyzer test?

Or better yet, it's not you who is a drunk pilot, so why do you get so offended at the thought the person is Japanese? You should be more concerned with the safety of the people, especially after two fatal accidents lately saw the deaths of many! But nope, you're more concerned about image and taking it personally, then calling drunk pilots foreigners.

Maybe he was flying in a different time zone.

The Air Japan Co co-pilot had consumed more than 10 330-milliliter cans of beer and two glasses of white wine at his home and a bar on Wednesday night, and a bottle of red wine on Thursday morning 

I'd be puking my guts out Wednesday night, totally unable to drink any of the red wine Thursday morning.

Start firing these people on the spot. I wouldn't want this guy as my taxi driver, nor cutting my grass, let alone as a co-pilot with a say over whether I potentially live or die on a flight.

consumed more than 10 330-milliliter cans of beer and two glasses of white wine at his home and a bar on Wednesday night, and a bottle of red wine on Thursday morning

My goodness, how does any human being consume that much alcohol in such a short time period? If I have just two drinks, I'm basically done for.

ANA should be commended for catching him and stopping him from flying.

I'm wondering if some of these guys are self-medicating for insomnia. A pilot would be reluctant/restricted from using some of the prescription sleep-aid medications, and certainly sleep deprivation would render one unfit to fly. Moreover a medical diagnosis of insomnia would likely put a flight restriction on the record.

Varnes-san he didn't consume 4 liters of alcohol, he consumed 4 liters of water containing about 400 ml of alcohol. That is still a lots, almost half a liter but over a long time. He was partly drunk because of the last bottle of wine considering it was probably 13% .