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Cops arrest entire drunk crew from Ukraine airline
We've occasionally written about a captain being pulled from his plane for being over the legal drinking limit, but arresting the entire crew for being drunk? Pretty sure that is a first. The airline in question is Ukraine based carrier Donbassaero. When local police acted on a tip, they boarded the Yak-42 plane and measured alcohol levels between 0.075 and 0.052 in every member of the crew - flight attendants, pilot and flight engineer. The legal limit in the Ukraine is 0.02.
The airline issued the following statement:
The flight was scheduled to fly from Simferopol to Kiev with 86 passengers and was just several minutes away from its departure time. The passengers ended up leaving for Kiev almost 12 hours late. The incident caught the attention of the federal government who have promised a full investigation."The exact causes behind the long delay in the departure of the plane are being investigated, after which Donbassaero's management will take adequate measures".
Gallery: Ten pilots you don't want in your cockpit
Filed under: Ukraine
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)
watdafuk Mar 12th 2010 3:21PM
So i guess the flight was delayed a bit ?
melissabgmini Mar 12th 2010 5:35PM
If all of the crew was drinking im sure they were celebrating something worth getting arrested and loosing their lisences for etc...maybe they hit the ukranian lottery! O.o
yxk0012 Mar 12th 2010 3:23PM
We were returning to Kiev from an expedition in the Caucasus in 1989 (more than 30 people with 30-to 40-kg backpacks). When the baggage people at the airport saw this, they simply refused to load the backpacks (late evening, no equipment, we're not #!&%ing robots, etc.). So we said, "Should we load them ourselves?". The answer was - I kid you not - "Go ahead and load". And so we did. They only looked in and told us to spread the backpacks around the hold. Oh, and remember - there was already a real war in parts of the Caucasus, and we were in the largest airport in the region (Mineralnye Vody, for those who know) and looked like guerrilla fighters ourselves (except we were obviously Slavic). After that, no story about Aeroflot surprises me.
Susan M Mar 12th 2010 4:01PM
Norman, you wrote:
"Flying used to be the safest way to fly."
Huh...?
macspop125 Mar 12th 2010 3:28PM
What's the big whoop?? You're acting like endangering the lives of a hundred or so people is some big deal....they're just humans after all. What's next, preventing children from drinking booze, or will bit be safety car seat for infants? Jeez, loosen up a bit!
zoidburg Mar 12th 2010 3:31PM
I don't know about alcohol levels in other countries, but in the US, 0.02 is legally drunk for pilots. For some people that could be only one drink. It could also be the wrong mouth wash. And yes, certain mouth washes can show up on breath testers.
James Mar 12th 2010 3:51PM
Does not sound to me like any of them were drunk. Under a .08. They all couild of had a shot of cough medicine.
dmytrok Mar 12th 2010 4:03PM
This photo is one year old :), but neverthless YAK-42, Donbassaero and Kiev-Borispol
earthtotheinsane Mar 12th 2010 4:08PM
Everyone is happy and everything is just fine.
olan5 Mar 12th 2010 4:09PM
What a horrible, dangerous situation. Ya' know, all airlines and airports should stop serving alcohol, period! It would lower the price of tickets too because it's expensive to take care of drinkers and drunks.
randy Mar 12th 2010 4:20PM
???? expensive to "take care of" drinkers and drunks???
you've got to be insane to board any flight dead sober these days !!!
Karl Mar 12th 2010 4:12PM
Norman you are brave!! I rather fly than drive a Toyota
Wendy Mar 12th 2010 5:02PM
For you information...Toyota is the safest ones on the road right now. They are taking even more extra steps in making sure of that & also their sales are up because of all the incentives they're offering. I love my Toyota & every single one I see!! It's not the vehicle that's unsafe...it's most of the idiots behind the wheel!!!!!
william Mar 12th 2010 4:14PM
Ukraine what a party place, hay guys you have to read the book Understand Russian Women by donald stevens . and your next step is go there have fun 15 women to one man kiev is great !
Bubba Mar 12th 2010 4:29PM
Ladiesh an general pleesh enjoy our yak as we fly our attendent to Kiev. Don't forget to enjoy our ampule schelection of beverlies on our serving cart. We'll be flying high soon and taking off in about another half hour.
Henry Mar 12th 2010 4:50PM
Only one state ( South Dakota ) doesn't accept breathalyzer test as evidence in DUI cases. It must be blood or urine test.
Wendy Mar 12th 2010 4:55PM
What damage?? Oh no...you can't drink & drive?? The limit should be .02 here & everyone caught driving over that should be jailed for 5 years no matter what!!! Make our streets safer!!
Carlo Oompah Mar 12th 2010 4:54PM
If M.A.D.D. continues on un-restricted & without restraint, they're going to rule society with their soap box, bible thumping crap while pretending to speak for the majority of humankind. All they are doing is trying to soothe their own conscienceness by pointing their bony fingers at anyone who takes a drink without being strapped down in their Lazy-boys at home. Maybe it's time for a new federally recognized group, D.A.M.M....... Drivers Against Mad Mothers. Give it a thought...
Jim Mar 12th 2010 4:55PM
UPURS: My sentiments EXACTLY. This is WAY out of control, and this witch hunt needs to come to an end. Being drunk is far different from having a very small amount of alcohol in your system (and 0.02 IS very small!) and it's already ridiculous in the state of Ohio, where I live, at 0.08. That's about a beer and a half for me; I'd need to drink at least 4 or 5 before I'd even feel the beginning of a buzz!
As it stands currently, I can't stop off on a Friday night and have a large draft beer on my way home because I'd be considered "legally drunk". I've been drunk before, and trust me, it takes a LOT more than that to do it for me. Maybe this level is accurate for a small female who never drinks, but not for most of us! This is insanity and it HAS GOT TO STOP. The bottom line is that it all comes down to MONEY, and how much of it the state and local governments can STEAL from law-abiding citizens. Each and every day, folks, we're losing our personal rights and freedoms; we need to REVOLT.
upurs Mar 12th 2010 4:57PM
MADD and NHTSA are trying to make the BAC.02 in america too..!..they have been quietly using tax dollars to fund their "bogus'' laws and have been arresting/jailing innocent people across america for years now..!..THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE,or GAO has concluded that the BAC.08,is not a level where drivers are hampered by the influence of alcohol..their findings have shown that ,.12 is the first degree of driving under the influence..!...MADD and NHTSA have been arbitrarily enacting incorrect laws and using tax dollars to continue their quest for prohibition of alcohol in america..!..go to; motorists(dot) org to read the whole story...its free..thank you