Pot-puffing pilot: Will he fly again?

Pot-puffing pilot was fired by Horizon Air after admitting regular use of marijuana for back pain. After an arbitrator ordered that he be rehired, Horizon Air is suing to keep the pot-puffing pilot out of the cockpit.

By Associated Press / April 24, 2013

Horizon Air, which is being rebranded by its parent company, which owns Alaska Air, fired a pilot for regular use of marijuana. Now, the airline has gone to court to avoid having to rehire the pot-puffing pilot.

Courtesy of Alaska Airlines

Enlarge

Horizon?Air?wants a judge to stop a pilot who was fired for using marijuana from returning to the cockpit, a news website said.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "on"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

The Seattle-based airline fired pilot Brian Milam after he failed a random drug test in November 2011 and he acknowledged smoking to cope with back pain and other issues, seattlepi.com reported Monday (http://bit.ly/10bbkWh?).

The firing was challenged by the Airline Professionals Association and an arbitrator ruled in the union's favor, saying?Horizon?failed to fully review Milam's record before firing him.

Horizon?filed a lawsuit last week in federal court, asking the judge to throw out the arbitrator's ruling.

"Horizon?is not willing to place an impaired pilot back in the cockpit," said Mark Hutcheson, an attorney representing?Horizon. "Doing so would violate federal law and contravene a well-settled public policy prohibiting a pilot from flying while using drugs."

Milam was the first?Horizon?pilot to fail a drug test since the airline began testing in 1989, the lawyer said.

The union was displeased the case has gone to court.

"We are happy with the process that led to the arbitrator's decision in this case and are extremely disappointed with?Horizon?Air's?decision to file a lawsuit following the outcome," APA Teamsters Local 1224 President Daniel C. Wells said in a statement.

The drug test was conducted to meet federal requirements designed to ensure pilots are not abusing alcohol or using drugs illegally. Milam acknowledged the drug test was properly administered and that he had been smoking marijuana, but never on duty or the night before an early shift, the website reported.

Following the drug test, he successfully completed a treatment regime.

In the decision issued in February, arbitrator Cliff Freed found?Horizon?erred in the way it fired Milam.

The airline's employment rules allow employees to keep working if a substance abuse counselor agrees and a review of company records shows the worker's retention is in?Horizon's?best interest.

Freed noted Milam's drug counselor found him fit for work. But,?Horizon?did not review its own records before firing Milam, the arbitrator said.

Freed ordered that Milam be allowed to return to work.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/fjN2ljMUe8M/Pot-puffing-pilot-Will-he-fly-again

Beyonce Bow Down Jason Molina UCF Pigeon Forge Fire beyonce cyprus cyprus