20 Jan 2012

Dismissed pilot loses grievance bid

3:08 pm on 20 January 2012

A Pacific Blue pilot who was fired amid drug allegations has lost his personal grievance claim against his former employer.

The pilot, whose name is suppressed, alleged he was unfairly dismissed by Pacific Blue and that the airline's investigation into the matter was flawed.

An Employment Relations Authority decision has rejected those claims and says Pacific Blue acted responsibly.

The pilot's dismissal came after a number of incidents involving drugs and alcohol.

The final incident occurred at a party at his home in June 2009 whe he supplied a number of colleagues with pills.

The pilot says the pills were Red Alert, a legal herbal product, however toxicology reports on a young woman who was taken from the party to hospital for a drug or alcohol overdose showed BZP in her system.