Physical Wellness

Former Alaska Airlines Pilot Charged With Drunken Flying

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Jan 25, 2016 09:40 AM EST

Last Wednesday, cops took into arrest an ex-Alaska Airlines pilot David Hans Arnston, of Newport Beach, California. He was charged with being drunk while flying two planes in June 2014.

His blood alcohol levels were randomly recorded after the flights. It was between 0.134 percent and 0.142 percent, according to AZ Family.

He had been manning two flights out of Portland on June 20, 2014. The first one was between San Diego and Portland while the second was between Portland and Orange County, Calif. After he landed at the Orange County airport, the airlines subjected him for drug and alcohol tests.

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)'s legally permitted alcohol level is 0.10 percent for pilots, and it also insists that he should be free of alcohol for eight hours before he enters a flight cockpit, the New York Daily News 

Hence, Arnston was suspended from Alaska Airlines after the facts were revealed. He got released on bail of $25,000 and will go to court on Feb. 10, which might convict him and sentence him to 10 years.

"Unfortunately, about 10 percent of the population are alcoholics and airline pilots are not necessarily exempt from that. It is such a rare occurrence, that is why it is of interest here. ..You look at the safety record of airlines in the last 10 years. It is incredible," FAA investigator Tom Young said, according to Fox 21 News.

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