FAT pilot fired for excessive blood alcohol level

Taipei--Taipei-based airline Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) confirmed Tuesday that it sacked a pilot in early March after discovering that his blood had a higher alcohol concentration level than the legal limit.

The pilot, surnamed Yeh (?), was found on March 7 to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at 0.52 milligrams of alcohol per liter of breath (mg/L), right before he was about to pilot domestic flight FE081 from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan to Magong in offshore Penghu County, FAT said in a statement.

Yeh was prevented from taking control of the plane and the flight crew was replaced, the carrier said.

The alcohol concentration level in Yeh's blood was much higher than the legal limit of under 0.1 mg/L stipulated in Taiwan's Aircraft Flight Operation Regulations, FAT said.

In addition to firing Yeh on the spot, the company also filed a claim for damages from him, the airline added.

The case was exposed to the public by the tabloid Apple Daily newspaper, which reported earlier in the day that the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) regards Yeh's violation of the regulations as grave.

After an investigation into the case, the CAA has instructed FAT to change its random BAC checks into a requirement on all crew members, the daily said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel