Lyle P. Lost His License and His Freedom Before Finding Sobriety in a Federal Cell

About This Speaker Tape

A Boeing 727 captain's life detonated on March 8 1990 when he and two other pilots were arrested for flying under the influence. Lyle P. describes the fallout as a 'media blitzkrieg,' where he became the national face of aviation disgrace mocked by late-night comics and stripped of his licenses.

The wreckage extended to his family specifically a white-hot hatred for his adopted daughter who ran away a bitterness that fueled a solitary desperate drinking habit in hotel rooms. After a stint in treatment and 424 days in federal prison Lyle navigated a series of improbable miracles: regaining his licenses from the ground up and receiving a personal invitation from the CEO of Northwest Airlines to return to the cockpit. He ended his career as a 747 captain and eventually received a presidential pardon moving from the status of a federal felon to a man who found peace in the 'healing dark.'

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Laughter: Joke about Stockbridge, Georgia and Pantyhose, Alabama.
• 3:15 Lyle P. describes the arrest of three pilots in Fargo, ND, and the resulting national media firestorm.
• 10:45 The moment of arrest and the feeling of leaving his career in a 'cloud of shame and disgrace.'
• 15:20 The first lesson in willingness: agreeing to enter treatment immediately on a Friday night.
• 20:10 Discussion of his Native American heritage and the influence of his parents' alcoholism.
• 28:40 The 'white-hot' hatred for his adopted daughter, Dawn D., and the isolation of his drinking.
• 34:10 The federal indictment and the emotional collapse in treatment.
• 38:50 The sentencing hearing and the application of acceptance and powerlessness.
• 43:10 Life as inmate 04478-041 in Atlanta Federal Prison.
• 51:20 The miracle of being rehired by Northwest Airlines and returning to the cockpit.
• 58:15 The announcement of his presidential pardon.
• 1:02:00 Closing poem and applause.