If ever you have climbed to the top of a 14,000-foot mountain top you know that alcohol and altitude do not mix. At 35,000 feet it can cause you to act irrationally.
Take the recent case of 32-year-old Tom Bradley. A self-proclaimed businessman, Bradley was pounding wine and beer before British Airways personnel cut him off. One would think that after a number of drinks you might be content to “sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.” Not Bradley!
Drunken Rage
Maybe because it was a trans-Atlantic flight from Phoenix to London and the alcohol is free that enraged Bradley. But this moron went ballistic, raging at passengers and airline personnel.
Bradley was arrested after allegedly threatening to stab the pilots with a shard of glass. Witnesses claimed that during the almost 10 hour flight he was repeatedly shouting, swearing and stumbling around, while spitting at those who tried to calm him.
He then allegedly assaulted a senior member of the cabin crew by pushing him into the galley and demanding to know why he was not allowed any more alcohol. He then broke a bottle, was holding the broken glass and mumbling incoherently to himself, but flight attendants specifically heard him threaten to stab the pilots if he was not given more booze.
What the heck was he thinking? It proves the point that booze and altitude do not mix. Maybe airlines should require an alcohol awareness class (either 8 hour or 16 hour) for these problem passengers?