Dear Sir,
Two pilots have recently been arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of alcohol as they prepared to fly a transatlantic passenger jet from Scotland to the US.
The flight, carrying more than 140 passengers, was delayed for 10 hours while the airline sought replacement pilots.
There have been other cases also of pilots of being arrested for being drunk just before they were about to fly the planes. 
Flight crew members have also been arrested or subject to disciplinary action for being intoxicated on the job. 
There have been countless documented and and unreported incidents of drunk pilots and crew members over the past 30 years. In 1961, Aero flight 311 crashed in Finland, killing all 25 on board, a tragic incident caused by drunk pilots.
Pilots have shown impairment in their ability to fly an ILS approach or to fly IFR and even to perform routine VFR flight tasks while under the influence of alcohol, regardless of individual flying experience.
Most of the adverse effects produced by alcohol relate to the brain, the eyes and the inner ear, three crucial organs to a pilot. Visual symptoms include eye muscle imbalance,which leads to double vision and difficulty focusing. Inner ear effects include dizziness and decreased hearing perception. 
If other variables are added such as hangovers, sleep deprivation, fatigue, medication use, altitude hypoxia, or flying at night in bad weather, the negative effects are significantly magnified.
Just as motorists are subjected to breathalyser tests at road blocks, pilots must be tested for alcohol consumption before they are allowed to assume flight controls. Pilots in the US and most of Europe are now only tested randomly or if there is a suspicion that they are drunk. 
Drunk pilots are a monumental disaster waiting in the wings. The reality is scary. There are at least 100,000 aircraft airborne every day. More than 1.7mn passengers fly every day across the globe and around 200,000 pilots are in command.

Farouk Araie
[email protected]

Privacy changes raise concern

Dear Sir,
A trust deficit has been created among WhatsApp users worldwide following the changes in its privacy policies. 
Not only mobile number but location, the last-seen status, contact number with name and e-mail ID stored in the phone, membership details with other group and friends, profile name and picture, recipients of message and senders, hardware, mobile model, IP address and mobile network … all are likely to be exposed to at least nine third-party companies, including Facebook and Instagram.
The details that are extracted through WhatsApp would be more accurate than available on any other similar platforms. Options are limited for subscribers: Either opt out or enjoy the service by sharing more information about us to the world. 

Girish R Edathitta
(e-mail address supplied)