Gareth Vipers reports for the WSJ:
A Delta Air Lines pilot was sentenced to 10 months in jail for turning up for a flight more than two-times over the aviation alcohol limit.
Lawrence Russell Jr. was caught trying to board a plane with two bottles of Jägermeister in his carry-on luggage, one of which was half empty, according to court filings released Tuesday.
Russell, 63 years old, arrived at Edinburgh International Airport early on June 16 roughly 80 minutes before he was due to pilot a Boeing 767 to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. He was wearing his pilot’s uniform and had a Delta lanyard and crew pass, Sheriff Alison Stirling said during sentencing in Edinburgh.
His bag was searched by security after an X-ray screening showed it contained bottles of liquid. After the bottles of alcohol were discovered, Russell failed a breath test and was then arrested, Stirling said. Blood tests later showed Russell had a blood alcohol level more than two times the aviation limit, she added.
I’ve heard of this happening, but not of someone actually going to the slammer for it. Driving a car while drunk is bad enough, but showing up drunk to fly a 767 is reckless disregard for human life.
I will raise a glass to the Scots for imposing a custodial sentence for this one — after I get home.
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