A Delta Airlines pilot who was preparing to take charge of a flight from Edinburgh to New York was discovered to be two-and-a-half times over the allowed alcohol limit. Following an invetigation, the pilot has now been sent to jail for 10 months.
At the time of the arrest, which took place on 16 June last year, Delta pilot Lawrence Russell Jr was about to command a Boeing 767 plane. During an X-ray security check, the man was found to have stashed two bottles of Jägermeister in his hand luggage, one of which turned out to be half-empty.
After he failed a breath test at 9:30 am, a blood sample proved the pilot had “not less than 49mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood”, whereas the legal aviation limit is set at 20mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The pilot was arrested by the police and received his sentence last Tuesday.
The Edinburgh sheriff court sentenced the 63-year old pilot to 10 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to reporting for duty while being impaired through alcohol. Pamela Rodgers, who defended the pilot, explained to the court how her “remorseful” client was a recovering alcoholic. According to her, he hadn’t drunk any alcohol for 277 days and had completed the 12 steps of a recovery rehabilitation programme.
Sheriff Alison Stirling, however, insisted on the prison sentence not only to protect the public but also because Russell already had two previous convictions for driving under the influence in the United States. “Lawrence Russell’s conduct would have endangered many lives; the consequences could have been catastrophic. He showed a reckless disregard for the safety of his passengers and crew. The pilot of a commercial aircraft holds the lives of hundreds in his hands. He would have put all of them at serious risk. This conviction should send the message that crimes of this nature will be robustly dealt with”, Lynne Barrie, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders Police, said after the hearing.
