drunk helicopter pilot.....

[boh347]

Crazy son of a gun.

http://m.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/jan/26/helicopter-pilot-was-drunk-dps-alleges-ozona-arres/

[RdRdrFan]

What an idiot!

[Matteo]

AH! To be 21 again.... Young dumb and well you know the rest... You know that is not his HELO and his dad probably has plenty of inlfluence in the area so they will prabably be gettin drunk tomorrow laughing it off at another cook out.

[Cooper]

Some people are crazy!

[Legdog]

At least they were'nt texting... or were they?

[Matteo]

I wonder if at any time he said " Hold my beer. Watch this!!!"

[Tmag]

Gonna be hard to get a guilty verdict since he was already out of the chopper when they made the arrest. His lawyer will show where he got drunk at the party after the flight.

A guy that drove into a snow bank last month was drunk when they found him in his car. He told the jury he drank whiskey to stay warm until he was found. It worked, jury found him not guilty.

[Matteo]

How does one get to be a Helo pilot by age 21 anyway????

[muley4x4]

that's crazy stuff

[JLively]

How does one get to be a Helo pilot by age 21 anyway????

I was at flight school in the US Army at 20. Got my bars and wings shortly after I turned 21. Yep, can be done.

[PCFM]

Agreed. They took the ride but his attorney will beat the rap. No way can they prove that the pilot was intoxicated during the flight, and the PI on private property, if it was private will not stick either. Could be the making for more bad case law.... And we do not need anymore than has already been made.

Could be more to the story, but from what was said...The arrest should not have taken place and the pilot should have been taken out of service for at least 24 hours.

[erix_GE]

lol hey when your flying theres no white or yellow lines
so who ya gonna hit? the only question is why in the heck would you fly a helo to a party?

[agtex42]

How does one get to be a Helo pilot by age 21 anyway????

Most places around here charge $150-$200 per hour plus the instructor fee for a Robinson. Aviation gas ain't cheap but the biggest cost involved is maintenance. I'm not sure what the FAA requirements are before you can take a checkride but I'd assume at least fifty, and that only gets you qualified for VFR if you want to fly in the clouds or otherwise during instrument conditions add several more hours plus instructor fees on top of it.

Point being it ain't cheap, and this kid threw away a rewarding future in aviation in exchange for a drunken exhibition in front of friends. I don't care who your connections are the FAA doesn't take this kind of behavior lightly. The whole situation makes me sad and a bit angry but I'm glad to be reading about an arrest rather than an accident report.

[bdog14]

the only question is why in the heck would you fly a helo to a party?

The same reason you'd take a limo to a party ????

[JBH1979]

lol hey when your flying theres no white or yellow lines
so who ya gonna hit? the only question is why in the heck would you fly a helo to a party?

To pick up chicks why else! If I could fly a helo to the corner store I would!