Flying Drunk

The True Story of a Northwest Airlines Flight, Three Drunk Pilots, and One Man's Fight for Redemption

Joseph Balzer

• Publisher: Savas Beatie
• Year: 2009
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781611210484
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

March 8, 1990: An intoxicated three-man crew, including Flight Engineer Joseph Balzer, fly a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 with 91 passengers aboard from Fargo, North Dakota to Minneapolis, Minnesota.Northwest Airlines, alcoholism
July 25, 1990: All three pilots stand trial for flying a commercial airliner while under the influence of alcohol; all three are convicted and sent to federal prison.July 26, 1990 – present: Joe Balzer fights for redemption and to regain all that he has lost. Flying Drunk is his story.Since he was a young boy, Joe Balzer dreamed of flying. He pursued his goal with a vigorous passion and earned his pilot licenses, piling up hours of flight time with a wide variety of planes and jets with one overarching goal: to one day fly for a major airline. But Joe had a problem. He was an alcoholic and refused to admit to himself that he had a problem.His alcoholism caught up with him in March 1990, when Joe was arrested with two other pilots for flying a commercial airliner while under the influence of alcohol. His world began crumbling around him and his new marriage faced the ultimate test. He lost his promising career and his dignity. Every major media outlet, including The New York Times, Newsweek, and Time Magazine covered the shocking story for the stunned American flying public. The trial that followed drained Joe’s life’s savings and federal prison nearly broke him. Flying Drunk is Joe’s bittersweet and thoroughly chilling memoir of his twisted journey to a Federal courtroom, his time in the notorious Federal penitentiary system in Atlanta, and his struggle to recapture all that he held dear.Today, Joe is a recovering alcoholic, celebrating more than nineteen years of sobriety. The long road back from perdition led him to American Airlines, where good people and a great organization recognized a talented pilot who had cleaned up his act and was ready to fly again, safely.Flying Drunk is an incredible journey of the human spirit, from childhood to hell, and back again. Everyone should read and heed its message of hope and redemption. No one who does will ever forget it.About the Author: Joe Balzer is a pilot for American Airlines with more than 15, 000 hours of flight experience. He has a Master’s Degree in Aerospace Education and is also an inspirational speaker, traveling around the country speaking to pilots and other groups on the dangers of alcohol and other addictions, bringing his audience to laughter and tears with his powerful message of hope. Joe lives in Tennessee with his wife Deborah and their two children. Flying Drunk is his first book.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Prologue, Acknowledgments, Note on Sources
• Chapter 1: Early Life
• Chapter 2: Adolescent Years
• Chapter 3: Dreaming of Flying
• Chapter 4: Joe the Teacher
• Chapter 5: Liftoff
• Chapter 6: Delta is Ready When You Are
• Chapter 7: Paying My Dues
• Chapter 8: Eastern: “The Pilot's Airline”
• Chapter 9: Northwest Airlines: I'm Flying a Bowling Shoe!
• Chapter 10: The Five-Day Trip From Hell
• Chapter 11: Nightmare in Fargo
• Chapter 12: The Worst Day of My Life
• Chapter 13: The Calm Before the Storm
• Chapter 14: Stranded and Alone
• Chapter 15: Media Circus
• Chapter 16: Tragic Homecoming
• Chapter 17: Criminal Charges
• Chapter 18: “Under the Influence”
• Chapter 19: Getting Real
• Chapter 20: Trial—and Errors
• Chapter 21: A Brief Reprieve
• Chapter 22: Turning Myself In
• Chapter 23: Wrong Turn?
• Chapter 24: Heavy Metal
• Chapter 25: The Big House
• Chapter 26: Happy New Year!
• Chapter 27: Stayin' Alive
• Chapter 28: Oh No, Not “The Hole!”
• Chapter 29: Watch Your Six O'clock
• Chapter 30: “Halfway” Home
• Chapter 31: Home Sweet Home
• Chapter 32: Angels and Wings
• Chapter 33: Yonder the Wild Blue
• Chapter 34: Just Call Me “Captain”
• Chapter 35: Dreaming the Impossible
• Chapter 36: Go Ahead, Make My Day
• Chapter 37: The Day of Reckoning
• Epilogue: “This is Your Captain Speaking”
• Appendix: Facts Established at Trial
• About The Author