Pilot killed in NT cattle station helicopter crash had high blood alcohol level and was flying too low, ATSB finds

[facthunter]

It's pretty much compulsory in some places. NT is the last frontier but probably not as bad as it was when I first went there regularly in 1965 on. Nev

[Ferris]

This is a tragedy for the deceased pilot's famiily and those involved, but almost certainly preventable.

 

The ATSB report indicates a post mortem blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of between 0.140 and 0.200%, dependant on where the alcohol was measured. Both are high readings and not solely the result of decomposition. To my mind the BAC found in the bladder is irrelevant as the body has already discarded this alcohol and it was not in his blood stream. The alcohol found in the chest cavity is a different matter, suggestive that the pilot's true BAC was closer to 0.200%.

 

The collision occurred around 8.00 am on a Saturday morning. The accident report does not detail what the pilot was doing on the Friday evening, which I would have thought was relevant to the investigation.

 

After drinking the body continues to absorb and process the alcohol, but typically reaches peak BAC 30 minutes to an hour after cessation of drinking (typically 45 minutes, but there's a whole heap of variables). The body disposes of alcohol at between 0.01 and 0.02% per hour.

 

So doing a count back, this puts the pilot at between 0.15 and 0.22% when he refuelled the aircraft at 7.15 am.

Counting back even further. Assuming the pilot stopped drinking at midnight. His peak reading at about 1.00 am would have been between 0.22 and 0.32. Even had he stopped drinking at 3.00 am he would still have been significantly drunk.

 

Another option is that the pilot stopped drinking at some time during the night and then topped up in the morning (alcoholic behaviour).

 

Either way, his workmates and those around him would have known this pilot was unsafe to fly. What we will never know are the peer group pressures that were placed on the pilot to fly when he clearly was not in a fit state.

 

Ultimately and sadly this accident was caused by pilot error long before he took off.

[Student Pilot]

The peer group pressure is on to drink....................

[NT5224]

The drinking culture is still strong in NT.

 

NO!!!?

[facthunter]

A lot of drinkers think alcoholism is for other people. I "CAN hold my liquor" (Means you can still walk a couple of yards without falling over). Don't kid yourself. If you can't meet people and talk without a beer in your hand or can't go 4 days without a drink and not go crazy , YOU are an alcoholic. IF you fly, get help. A Qantas 737 female skipper was removed from a flight when it was forced to return to the finger when the cabin crew smelt grog. They may have a rehab programme, but the siutuations is not permissible, obviously. Nev

[poteroo]

The peer group pressure is on to drink....................

 

Not so much these days, but it was really strong in the 60's & 70s. I can remember going to a BBQ (somewhere in WQ), and everyone flew back to their own stations around midnight. They would have blown waaaaay over! As a new PPL, I was stunned.

 

On one of my 1st jobs in 1967, the Senior pilot was too drunk to be roused at 0500, so, despite not having completed my last 'route check', I was sent packing on a 3 hrs x 10 stop flight in a C185. I survived, but had I been ramp checked it could have been difficult to explain. This wasn't the only time I'd heard of this sort of event either.

 

Thank goodness that as a society, we've become more responsible with alcohol. However, it requires self-discipline if you are working away from the normal restraints of police, CASA, chief pilots, or chief flying instructors.