"Drunk and Stoned" Qantas Pilot has Appeal Bid Refused

4th May 2016

One now ex-Qantas pilot is feeling the full ire of his unadvised decision to get drunk during an overseas stopover and grope a female co-worker's breast. Even claims that his drink was spiked with an illicit drug while at a pub in Santiago, Chile, didn't save him as the industrial umpire rejected this claim.

With just that, Stephen Gregory, a first officer Boeing 747 pilot has thrown away 20 years of experience down the drain as he got himself fired for the misconduct back in February 2014.

While on a stopover in Santiago, Mr Gregory and others from the plane's crew visited a pub in the city's Bellavista district when he left and returned about half an hour later. As he was returning with a female co-worker, he groped and held her breast as she kept trying to defend herself from such attempts.

Upon return, the airline had him undergo a urine test and, finding traces of cannabis sacked him with five week's pay.

Gregory tried to put it all on his drink being spiked, but this wasn't a good enough explanation for Fair Work Commissioner Ian Cambridge, who said:

"The significantly more plausible proposition which is most strongly supported by the totality of the evidence is that the applicant separated from his colleagues as a deliberate act in the pursuit of imbibing cannabis."

On Tuesday, the tribunal confirmed Fair Work's earlier ruling and denied Gregory an appeal, stating:

"It is well accepted that in a workplace such as this high standards of behaviour are required. Despite those high standards Mr Gregory was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation as to how he came to have cannabis in his urine, or about much of the events on the night in question? he was unable to satisfactorily explain his conduct in sexually harassing a colleague."

Some Jester Names WiFi Hotspot "Mobile Detonation Device"

When naming a WiFi hotspot, it's okay to be funny and inventive, as long as the name doesn't insult someone or cause a panic in an airplane. Whoever named his hotspot "Mobile Detonation Device" clearly didn't think how this might concern 40 passengers on a Qantas flight.

The sadly named hotpot was spotted by one of the passengers shortly after she boarded the plane and she immediately alerted the crew about this. The captain promptly announced over speakers that the plane would be delayed until the device is located. However, after a search, the crew was unable to find the device or the jokester.