Who is Mike Beaton? Personality explored as British Airways pilot gets sacked, banned after snorting cocaine before flight

Mike Beaton, a British Airways pilot, has been fired for snorting cocaine off a woman's bare chest while partying in South Africa and trying to fly a passenger-filled plane.

The married father of one had downtime for a night in Johannesburg before he was scheduled to co-pilot a flight to London four weeks ago, as per the New York Post. Beaton spent the evening indulging in drinks, drugs, and women while boasting about the entire incident to his flight attendant friend via text message.

On September 26, 2023, reports came out that the 12-hour flight to Heathrow Airport he was supposed to co-pilot was canceled, costing British Airways around $120,000, as per The Sun.

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Mike Beaton was fired and banned from British Airways

According to The Sun, Beaton is a married man from Devon and runs a retreat with his wife.

As per the text conversation between Beaton and a female colleague, he had met two local men, a female Welsh holidaymaker and another woman he described as a “young Spanish bird.”

He boasted to the flight attendant in a text:

"We all walk back up to the hotel bar for ‘one last one before bed’. Welsh and one of these guys are getting on very well, but she’s told him that I’m her boyfriend."

The group ended up in one of the local men's apartments where they snorted the cocaine. Mike Beaton described the atmosphere around the flat saying:

"Spanish has hooked up with one of the two local lads and is having her t*ts sucked on their sofa. I’ve lost my shirt somewhere and one of the local lads produces a plate with a few lines of coke. So then there’s a debate about whose chest is the best to do a bump off."

Mike Beaton then stated that he "ended up snorting coke off a girl’s t*ts in Joburg.'' The ex-pilot also talked about his s*xual encounter with the Welsh woman, saying:

"Stayed the night with Welsh, sh*gged her for ages (I guess the coke played a part), and then was so f*cked I couldn’t even lift my head until gone 2."

As per the New York Post, his colleagues reported the incident when he insisted on flying the plane after a night of doing drugs. The authorities were alarmed and decided to cancel the 12-hour flight which cost British Airways an estimated £100,000. The plane was then flown after an overnight delay after the airlines found a replacement first officer, as per Sky News.

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British Airways' actions against Mike Beaton

Mike Beaton was suspended from British Airways at first and sent to London. British Airways gave a statement to Sky News, saying:

"Safety is always our top priority. The matter was referred to the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority] and this individual no longer works for us."

Beaton was drug-tested at Heathrow Airport and then subsequently fired after he failed the test.

A source from British Airways talked about their training process with the New York Post saying:

"Of all the bad behavior that goes on downroute between flights, this incident is hard to believe. A first officer is trained rigorously and knows the law inside out. Their remit is protecting the safety of passengers."

They added:

"When he was tested for drugs at Heathrow, the alcohol would no longer have been found in his system, but the Class A drug was. He will never fly again."

British Airways assured their customers that they were not at risk after Beaton's drug and partying fiasco. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority told The Sun:

"An airline must immediately inform us if a UK pilot has misused drink or drugs boarding, or being on board, an aircraft."

Mike Beaton's wife has not released a statement on the matter.