drunks-on-a-plane

London police arrested an American Airlines pilot twenty minutes before he was scheduled to fly 204 passengers from London to Chicago. 57-year-old Captain Joseph Crites was four-times over the legal alcohol limit and reeking of booze when he tried to enter his Boeing 777's cockpit.  More »

Yes, Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com is rounding up the worst airline passengers of 2009 — in May. Maybe he's optimistic and doesn't expect the lady who drank all the hand soap from the lavatory to be topped in the many months ahead — or maybe he just wants to write a follow-up in December. Either way, we love it.  More »

Ah yes, alcohol and planes mix together once again — resulting in three days of jail for one St. Louis man who thinks "shoe bombs" are funny.  More »

The Chicago Tribune says that a couple are suing United Airlines, claiming that the airline "negligently over served" the man — causing him to become drunk and to beat his wife.  More »

A United Airlines crew was apparently forced to use duct tape to restrain an unruly passenger after the normal ankle cuffs kept slipping off. The passenger, who was apparently quite intoxicated after having several drinks at the airport (she also brought alcohol onto the plane), is accused of slapping a flight attendant on the behind, and grabbing and pulling the hair of a passenger whom she'd fallen on.

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This whole "drunks on a plane" thing is getting out of control. First it was the passengers, then the flight attendants... now it's the pilots.   More »

Once again we remind you not to drink too much at the airport before getting on your flight. We know airports are boring and sad and they make you want to kill the pain with copious amounts of gin. Don't do it -- or you could end up punching a JetBlue flight attendant in the face.  More »

The first sign that Russell Petrie was too drunk to fly was probably when he boarded the plane and yelled "let's party and have some drinks!"  More »

Here's a bad idea:  More »

U.S. Airways is now suing the state of New Mexico, claiming that they do not have the right to deny them a liquor license. [KVIA]  More »

Sorry alcoholics, US Airways is now banned from serving alcohol on all flights to and from New Mexico. The state Regulation and Licensing Department had already denied the airline a temporary liquor license in June after US Airways served alcohol to a passenger who later crashed his car, killing a family of five. The Licensing Department yesterday rejected the airline's permanent application, claiming that it:

...cannot reasonably find that approval of application will protect the public health and safety or that it is in the public interest.

An American Airlines passenger was found sitting on a jet bridge at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, covered in salad dressing and missing a shoe, according to the Star-Telegram.  More »

Drunks on a plane strikes again. A co-pilot for Virgin Atlantic was arrested after showing up drunk at Heathrow. A replacement had to be found who could fly his plane to Miami. [PersonnelToday]  More »

Sarah Mills, 26, a flight attendant for Delta operator Atlantic Southeast Airlines, was thrown off her flight for showing up to work drunk.  More »

Nick Nolte's flight was delayed at the Kauai airport, so he decided to roll around on the floor passing in and out of consciousness. At one point several of the other passengers had to help him put money in a vending machine.   More »

We'd heard of the "mile high" club, but we'd always assumed that it involved the plane's lavatory. Not for Carl Persing and Dawn Sewell. Carl has been convicted, yes, convicted of interfering with flight attendants and crew members after he and his girlfriend were "embracing, kissing and acting in a manner that made other passengers uncomfortable."  More »