FAA Must Explain Ruling to Pilot Who Accidentally Had Beer

An airline pilot who was in a program for alcoholic pilots when he accidentally ate a pulled pork sandwich prepared in beer is entitled to an explanation why the FAA withdrew his conditional flight status, the D.C. Circuit said.

Commercial airline pilot Charles Erwin was alcohol-dependent and placed in the Human Intervention and Motivation Study program run by the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines so he could continue to fly. After inpatient treatment, he was ordered to totally abstain from alcohol and subjected to 14 random drug tests annually.

Erwin ate the pork sandwich at a restaurant in Tennessee in ...