Army tries to ground fat chopper pilots

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Army is trying to thin out the ranks of civilian helicopter instructor pilots at its main flight training base in Alabama with a 250-pound weight limit.

New military rules set to take effect Monday at Fort Rucker set the weight limit for instructors for a major contractor.

Court documents filed by the Army say the rule is needed partly because heavier pilots increase costs since more fuel is required to keep them aloft.

The Professional Helicopter Pilots Association Local 102, a union that represents civilian pilots at Fort Rucker, filed a federal lawsuit trying to block the new weight restriction, but a judge refused Friday to intervene, said union attorney Robert Weaver.

Aside from the union, the suit was filed by six flight instructors whose weight ranges from 252 to 272 pounds, including their flight suits and boots. None of the men would be eligible to continue working if the rule takes effect, the complaint said.

The civilian trainers work for URS Federal Support Services Inc., an Army contractor that was not named in the complaint.

Jim Bloxsom, whose weight is listed at 256 pounds in the complaint, is among the instructors who are suing. He said heftier pilots do increase fuel costs, as the Army claims, so bigger teachers are generally paired with lighter students.

Bloxsom said the new rule isn’t fair because it doesn’t cover instructors who work for Fort Rucker contractors other than URS or military pilots, who sometimes weigh more than 250 pounds.

Plus, Bloxsom said, he only teaches students in a ground-based simulator that doesn’t require aircraft fuel.

“It shouldn’t affect me in the simulator … and it should apply to everyone across the board,” he said.

Pilots who weigh 250 pounds aren’t necessarily fat since many work out, Bloxsom said, but some are overweight.

The Army trains scores of helicopter pilots annually at Fort Rucker, located in the state’s southeastern corner. Much of the work is performed by employees of URS, which the lawsuit said employs about 400 people as instructor pilots, teachers or support personnel.

The military told the company in September it wanted to impose the weight restriction, and URS began a weight monitoring and control program on Oct. 1, according to the complaint. The military at the time agreed to delay the limit until April 1 but still has not explained the new rule, the union claims.

The Army, in asking a judge to let the rule take effect as scheduled, said trucks are sometimes required to remove fuel from training aircraft to lighten them because of the weight of the teachers.

“Other commercial helicopter organizations maintain weight limitations of less than 250 pounds,” the military argued in court documents.

Employees who weigh more than 250 pounds will be placed on paid leave for as long as they have days off to take, the suit said, but they will lose seniority after two years and won’t be allowed back to work until their weight falls below 250 pounds.

The lawsuit was first reported by The Dothan Eagle.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.