Just sorry he was in a Mooney

[Brandt]

 

[toto]

Wow, that's ... something.

Given the number of (apparently) inebriated drivers I see on the road, it's actually refreshing how unusual it is to encounter pilots in the same condition.  I hope that this is a serious outlier.

[shawnd]

This is very sad. IMSAFE checklist totally ignored!   But glad the controller was able to stop the guy before he departed and possibly caused injuries/harm to himself or worse others.

[flyboy0681]

11 hours ago, toto said:

Wow, that's ... something.

Given the number of (apparently) inebriated drivers I see on the road, it's actually refreshing how unusual it is to encounter pilots in the same condition.  I hope that this is a serious outlier.

Just curious, are you a State Trooper? The reason I ask is because it's years between the time that I see truly inebriated drivers and your reply makes it sound like you encounter them all of the time. These days it's difficult to ascertain if a driver is intoxicated or replying to a text message.

[Justin Schmidt]

Didn't this happen a long time ago

[A64Pilot]

A problem with flying with just a little alcohol in your system, not even enough to be legally impaired is if you go to altitude apparently your impairment can increase significantly.

There are many studies that refute this and I think they are looking to see a blood alcohol content increase which of course there isn’t, it’s  well known  that supplemental O2 even at levels lower than required helps prevent cognitive impairment, so combine slight alcohol impairment with slight hypoxia impairment and you may be messed up.

Same with age, us old farts might ought to get on O2 at lower levels than we used to.

[Pinecone]

1 hour ago, A64Pilot said:

Same with age, us old farts might ought to get on O2 at lower levels than we used to.

Yeap.  Younger days, I would have no problem using the above 12,500 for up to 30 minutes.  Now, I am on O2 (with an O2D2) at 8,000.

[Mac80]

9 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

Seems dumb to post things that could harm Mooney pilots.

Frequently posting or jokes over age problems that may or may not impact others and numerous accidents descriptions are not helping your future insurance rates or eligibility.

I just  had several no we don’t want him because of age. No accidents, gear ups, runway excursions, or taxi incidents in over 20 years.

 

[Shadrach]

On 2/12/2024 at 12:35 AM, shawnd said:

This is very sad. IMSAFE checklist totally ignored!   But glad the controller was able to stop the guy before he departed and possibly caused injuries/harm to himself or worse others.

Absolutely. If he’d have made it out and sobered up en route It’s unlikely he’d have been caught. I don’t think this was his first time flying impaired. Maybe just his first time flying drunk out of a controlled airport.

[toto]

On 2/12/2024 at 11:04 AM, flyboy0681 said:

Just curious, are you a State Trooper? The reason I ask is because it's years between the time that I see truly inebriated drivers and your reply makes it sound like you encounter them all of the time. These days it's difficult to ascertain if a driver is intoxicated or replying to a text message.

Not a State Trooper, but any time I’m driving on a Friday or Saturday night I see cars that shouldn’t be on the road. Especially if there’s a big event or whatever and people are heading home. But I’ve never seen a pilot that I thought was intoxicated. 

[A64Pilot]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:29 PM, Mac80 said:

Seems dumb to post things that could harm Mooney pilots.

Frequently posting or jokes over age problems that may or may not impact others and numerous accidents descriptions are not helping your future insurance rates or eligibility.

I just  had several no we don’t want him because of age. No accidents, gear ups, runway excursions, or taxi incidents in over 20 years.

 

OK, I’ll bite.

How does my post saying that altitude can increase the effects of alcohol or that as we age maybe we should get on O2 earlier hurt Mooney pilots, or any pilots for that matter?

How could that possibly affect our insurance rates?

I would hope the opposite. I’m older by the way and concede the fact that I’m not what I used to be. I used to have better than 20/20 vision, but at 40 Presbyopia kicked in and now I wear glasses to fly. I see that as being proactive and taking action to negate an age induced limitation. The truth is as we age we lose some capabilities, vision for example is common, so I see it as being proactive to recognize that fact and take actions that minimize the adverse effects of aging.

Why do you think that you can’t fly part 121 after 65?

How is going on O2 at a lower altitude and or limiting my altitude if O2 isn’t available any different than wearing glasses?

When the day comes that an insurance company won’t insure me anymore I’m not going to stop flying. It probably will have an effect on what I fly and where I fly, but I’m not going to stop flying, why should I?

They are private companies, free to do as they want, now admittedly the government had stepped in and tied their hands so that statement isn’t completely true anymore, but if they choose to stop insuring at some age, that’s their right to do so, so far.

[Shadrach]

On 2/13/2024 at 7:13 PM, toto said:

Not a State Trooper, but any time I’m driving on a Friday or Saturday night I see cars that shouldn’t be on the road. Especially if there’s a big event or whatever and people are heading home. But I’ve never seen a pilot that I thought was intoxicated. 

I see that daily. There must be a lot of day drinkers our during the week…or…perhaps they are driving a smartphone at the same time.

[Shadrach]

On 2/13/2024 at 6:29 PM, Mac80 said:

Seems dumb to post things that could harm Mooney pilots.

Frequently posting or jokes over age problems that may or may not impact others and numerous accidents descriptions are not helping your future insurance rates or eligibility.

I just  had several no we don’t want him because of age. No accidents, gear ups, runway excursions, or taxi incidents in over 20 years.

 

I get that it’s a sore subject. I’ve members of my family that are no longer insurable and some that will be in that category inside of 15 years.  However, I am 99.9% sure that underwriting decision are not influenced by forum posts.