from AvWeb

FAA ADMINISTRATOR ARRESTED FOR DUI

Randy Babbitt, administrator of the FAA, was taken into custody Saturday by Fairfax County police and charged with driving while intoxicated, local news has reported. At about 10:30 p.m. Babbitt was seen driving on the wrong side of the road and was pulled over. He was alone in the car at the time and no accident related to the incident has been reported. After being taken to a local jail, he was released on a personal recognizance bond. Babbitt flew 25 years for Eastern Airlines and was sworn in to lead the FAA on June 1, 2009.

I hate it when that happens

Do you think he'll have to declare that on his next flight physical?

An absolute classic............. Thanks LFB

No drinking plan filed.

His defense might be he just got back from England.......

lc

It seems in his short term as administrator, his favorite phrase has been " I am outraged at the .....fill in the blank.... behavior of this or that pilot". "Throw the book at them... we will set an example".
Well, who is he outraged at now?
Maybe some time in jail, rather than O.R. release might have made an impression. And give up any federal pension that we might be paying him down the road, as he sips bourbon and soda on Long Island.
(no offense to New Yorkers... fill in your own destination)

I love the adds that pop up on this forum. This thread sent me an add for a good DUI defence outfit.

Tim

Sounds like he broke the...

No smoking within 12 hours
No drinking withing 50 feet

Rule.

Got a feeling he belongs to the "Do as I say, and not as I do" school like most of those kind of guys do.

Gump

I think we should invite him to JC in June. Probably fit right in.

OregonMaule wrote:I think we should invite him to JC in June. Probably fit right in.

Yeah, he won't have a driver's license so he might as well fly in.

Gump

Randy Babbitt...

...is a good guy. An aviator. One of us. No pussycat. A man's man. You would like him. And Yes he would fit in at JC. 25 years at Eastern Airlines, prior to bankruptcy...8 years as president of the Airline Pilot's Assn. two years head of the FAA; a world recognized expert in all aspects of aviation...labor, management, regulation, safety, working aviator. He is/was the most well qualified FAA Administrator within my lifetime.

It makes me sad that he put himself in this situation. I am grateful that no one was hurt or any property damaged. Thankfully the police stopped him before an accident could happen. I don't think that any responsible person anymore decides to intentionally become intoxicated then drive a car....at least not in polite society. There was a time until maybe 25/30 years ago that such behavior was common place and acceptable. Folks considered it part of being a red bloodied American.....the cops would often just follow you home....but not any more. Well I hear that in Montana they still look the other way...but I digress.

Maybe Randy has a drinking problem. Maybe he just did something real stupid. Me? Been there done that. Guilty on both accounts. Society is different now but many of us have been or could have been busted sometime in our life....just like Randy. It bothers me when we are all so quick to turn on our fellow man. Must be a bunch of Puritans on BCP. If so....for some reason that comes as a surprise.

This will probably end Randy's career. I wish that it were not so but imagine that he is history. If he needs help I hope that he gets it. I for one am grateful for all that he (and his father before him) contributed to aviation.


bob

Well Bob, it is easy to be philosophical about drunk drivers.... if it is just philosophy. I fully agree, he is a very experienced aviator. He has also taken a tough stance on controllers, pilots and instructors who make an honest mistake. The penalties have been severe.
The philosophical considerations and debates ended for me during my first flying job in 1975. My good friend and his three year old son were killed instantly by a drunk driver near the airport. Of course, as is usually the case, the drunk survived. Randy's penalty should be the same as he would apply as administrator.
Department of Transportation has zero tolerance policy. Respectfully submitted: Flightlogic

Sure hope he looses his flight privileges ...in my opinion, he's got just enough brains to fly paper airplanes and no more...even then, I hope he rounds up the pointy part of the nose!

As Bob pointed out, has ANYone posting on this forum ever taken a drink of alcohol then driven a car?

The old story "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" might apply here.

That certainly is NOT to suggest in any way shape or form that driving drunk is okay or should be tolerated. It shouldn't. Point I'm trying to make is the guy screwed up, and he'll pay the price. I don't think we need to vilify him publicly on a forum.

I don't care for the man's administration. He should and probably will have to jump through some hoops to keep his medical and certificates. Just like anyone else.

He has probably already lost his job as Administrator.

I for one hate the thought of going back to an Administrator like the two just prior to Babbit, neither of whom were even pilots.

The man made a mistake, and a very grave one. He should and I'm sure will, pay a very steep price for that mistake.

And, unfortunately, aviation once more takes a kick in the crotch with the media circus.

MTV

The media circus is sure not fun to watch, when thinking about the "kick in the crotch" for aviation. If John Doe gets pulled over for being drunk, or even kills someone while driving intoxicated nobody gives a boo. Yet, people tasked with jobs like these can and should be expected to perform at a higher level and to lead by example. It's a high publicity job and everything they do reflects in some way or another on quite many people. The press must jump on it, even if only to cover up the real problems from becoming known to the public.

Pretty sure his pension won't be affected by any of this and that's sad for the taxpayer. Might as well make sure he stays in his job and at least works for his money.

Shakespeare comes to mind.....
Hoisted on his own Petard?

The word remains in modern usage in the phrase hoist with one's own petard, which means "to be harmed by one's own plan to harm someone else" or "to fall into one's own trap," literally implying that one could be lifted up (hoist, or blown upward) by one's own bomb.

I'm not taking 'sides', but life does have its ironies....

lc

flightlogic wrote:Well Bob, it is easy to be philosophical about drunk drivers.... if it is just philosophy. I fully agree, he is a very experienced aviator. He has also taken a tough stance on controllers, pilots and instructors who make an honest mistake. The penalties have been severe.
The philosophical considerations and debates ended for me during my first flying job in 1975. My good friend and his three year old son were killed instantly by a drunk driver near the airport. Of course, as is usually the case, the drunk survived. Randy's penalty should be the same as he would apply as administrator.
Department of Transportation has zero tolerance policy. Respectfully submitted: Flightlogic

Flightlogic,

I do not disagree with anything that you say in your posting.

To others. Randy lost his pension at EAL after 25 years. Two years of Federal Service will not provide him with much in the way of a Federal pension. I am not certain that his 8 years as ALPA President provided him with any significant pension either. But he has made a lot of money for many, many years. His Salary at ALPA alone was 10 times the average annual income in this nation. He should be secure unless he has blown it all.

My problem has always been with those who gloat or take pleasure in the foibles, moral shortcomings and failures of others.... especially public figures. No wonder that the best and brightest shy away from public service.....even in Presidential politics. We are all the poorer as a result.

I hope that he recovers from this and finds a way to continue contributing to the promotion and safety of aviation.

Bob

I feel couple arrows my way but your point of view would likely change if you were the one picking up kids and parents body parts and calling siblings to tell them they've lost love ones to drunk drivers...who themselves often live through the accident....sorry, not time for it but I can assure you that I dont care who they are, what they do...its the act in itself that is unacceptable.

There are 3 principles to sentencing and deterrent is one of them...perhaps the strongest principle to make your neighbourhood a safer place thus I dont mind harsh punishment if it will affect other's decision not to drink and drive...sometimes media is good that way.

The will of this particular individual to start contributing to society/aviation once again is to be applauded and I'll be the first one to do it if he does so. He just needs to face the music and take the lumps and bumps he deserves if afterall he is found guilty of it.