20/11/2003

BA pilots resign following drink allegations

Two BA pilots have resigned following allegations that they had been drinking prior to a flight.

Both pilots were suspended from flying duties while the allegations were investigated.

Captain William McAuliffe, 50, and Pilot David Ryan, 26, both of the flight crew were detained in Oslo airport last week before they boarded a plane bound for London.

A BA spokesperson confirmed that both pilots had tendered their resignations and they had been accepted. Investigations into allegations made against a third female member of the cabin crew are continuing.

When BA staff in Oslo reported the three crew were late for their duty shift they were detained by Norwegian airport police and the scheduled flight was cancelled. The passengers transferred to other services.

Norwegian police said that that the three crew concerned had failed a breathalyser test. They face the possibility of legal action being taken against them in Norway, but the results of blood tests have yet to be made known.

It was alleged that they were in breach of BA's rules about consumption of alcohol in moderation in the day before a flight. The airline has a strict policy of 'no alcohol' present in the blood when reporting for flight duty.

(SP)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

24 March 2014
UK Analysis Leads To Flight MH370 Breakthrough
A breakthrough in the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 is based on work by UK analyst and British satellite firm, Inmarsat. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that fresh analysis of satellite data revealed that Flight MH370 crashed in the Indian Ocean.
21 April 2010
EC Lorry Fears Over Ash Contingency
Contingency plans being made this week for goods movements on foot of earlier flight restrictions could still be thwarted by European bureaucracy.
15 August 2005
Flight recorders recovered from wreckage
The black boxes have been recovered from the wreckage of the Cypriot airliner in which all 121 passengers and crew lost their lives. The incident, the worst ever air accident in Greece, occurred near to Athens at around 12.00pm local time (9.00am BST) on Sunday when Helios Airways Flight 522 plunged into a hillside.
30 May 2012
Transport Committee Warns EU Flight Time Proposals May Jeopardise Safety
Proposed EU rules on the working hours and conditions for pilots and cabin crew must be improved or safety could be at risk, says the Transport Committee in a report examining draft proposals from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to change the rules that govern how many hours a pilot can fly.
29 March 2010
Union Attacks BA Pilots
Unite, the union representing disgruntled British Airways cabin crew, has claimed the airline's pilots are now earning an additional £166 per hour. Unite said the pay changes makes them the world's most expensive on board staff.