Pilots are prohibited from drinking even small amounts of alcohol before a flight for safety reasons. Those who do are not allowed to fly as their senses might be impaired and they would endanger lives.
For airline pilots found to have imbibed before a scheduled flight, it is the passengers who bear the inconvenience.
When the pilot of Japan Airlines Flight JL793 from Honolulu, Hawaii to Chubu Centrair International Airport, Japan on 28 August was found to have drunk three cans of beer the previous day, a last minute replacement was sought, delaying the trip for 18 hours, Business Insider reports.
Kyodo News reported that around 630 passengers were affected by the delay, plus others on two subsequent flights headed for Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
Meanwhile, public intoxication is illegal in Arkansas, USA and offenders could be jailed and fined.
One violator, Crystal Osborn, was arrested on 17 October and jailed for a few days before posting $220 bail. On 4 November, Osborn pleaded guilty to a charge of public intoxication, fined $240, put on 30 days probation, and ordered to work 24 hours of community service, ABC News reports.
Osborn only worked 12 hours, failed a drug test, and didn’t pay the intake fee on time, so a warrant was issued for her arrest, according to ABC News.
However, the warrant was addressed to Osborn’s friend, who then went to the court and asked for its recall. The friend also went to the Van Buren Police Department and explained the mistaken identity.
A police body camera that recorded Osborn’s arrest and driver’s license proved that the friend was not the one who was apprehended and detained in October.
Osborn was arrested on 1 September and pleaded guilty to signing the paperwork of her October arrest using her friend’s name.
The court set her bond at $35,000.