Lawyer Cites Fired Pilot’s Alcoholism in His Defense

One of three former Northwest Airlines pilots accused of flying while intoxicated does not get drunk easily because he is an alcoholic, his lawyer said Tuesday at his trial.

“A person who consumes alcohol builds up a tolerance to alcohol. Your body resists the effects of alcohol,” attorney Peter Wold said, referring to his client, Capt. Norman (Lyle) Prouse.

Prouse is not “a Skid Row drunk” and had no trouble flying a Boeing 727 from Fargo, N.D., to Minneapolis on March 8, despite evidence that he consumed at least 17 1/2 rum and Diet Cokes the night before, Wold said in his opening argument.

Prouse had been drinking for 35 years and entered a treatment program after his arrest, Wold said.

Prouse, of Conyers, Ga., 1st Officer Robert Kirchner, of Highland Ranch, Colo., and flight engineer Joseph Balzer, of Antioch, Tenn., are charged with operating the aircraft while under the influence of alcohol. The federal felony carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Elizabeth de la Vega said in her opening statement Tuesday that while the pilots “may not have been staggering drunk,” results of blood-alcohol tests will show that their skills were seriously impaired.

All three pilots had blood-alcohol levels exceeding .04%, the Federal Aviation Administration’s limit for flying, according to test results admitted as evidence.

Northwest fired the three for violating a rule prohibiting drinking within 12 hours of a scheduled flight. The FAA revoked their pilot’s licenses.

Defense attorneys said Tuesday that the flight, carrying 91 passengers, went flawlessly.

“The issue is not what his condition was the night before or what his alcohol content was the next day,” Wold said. “The government must show their abilities were impaired.”

According to bills from the Speak Easy bar introduced as evidence, Prouse ordered 15 rum and Diet Cokes while Kirchner and Balzer shared seven pitchers of beer over about six hours.

Kathryn Litch, a waitress at the bar, said other patrons bought Kirchner and Balzer another pitcher of beer and that Prouse drank at least 2 1/2 more drinks after Kirchner and Balzer left.

An FAA investigator has testified that the crew smelled of alcohol when they arrived late at the departure gate. While the investigator phoned for instructions on how to handle the situation, the plane departed.