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'Drunk' pilot held as jet is due to leave Heathrow
Jack Lefley20 Oct 2008
A PILOT was arrested on suspicion of being drunk in the cockpit of an airliner at Heathrow minutes before the plane was due to take off.
The 44-year-old American first officer was reportedly escorted off the Boeing 777 by police as hundreds of passengers looked on.
The United Airlines flight to San Francisco was delayed for nearly three hours while a replacement co-pilot was found. Police were tipped off by ground staff who suspected the pilot had been drinking before the 5,300-mile flight.
He was arrested after a breath test as the plane waited at Terminal 1 yesterday morning and has been bailed to return to Heathrow police station in January.
Police said the man had been arrested on suspicion of "being aviation staff performing an aviation function whilst exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit".
The legal limit for pilots is nine micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
That is more than three times stricter than the drink-drive limit which is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
United Airlines has suspended the pilot, who earns about £40,000 a year, until police have finished their investigation. The officer would face up to two years in prison if convicted.
The flight had been due to leave Terminal 1 just after 10am yesterday but was delayed until 12.53pm.
The Metropolitan Police said: "At approximately 9am on Sunday officers attended an aircraft at Heathrow Terminal 1 and arrested a man aged 44 years. The man arrested is bailed to return to the police station on 16 January, pending further enquiries.
"He was arrested on suspicion of being aviation staff performing an aviation function whilst exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit contrary to Section 93 of the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003.
"A breath test was administered we do not discuss results."
Flight crews are not supposed to drink any alcohol for a minimum of eight hours before a flight.
A Virgin Atlantic pilot was arrested on suspicion of being drunk minutes before his plane was due to take off in October last year.
The 42-year-old first officer was held by police at Heathrow on the Miami-bound flight as final checks were being made.
Six months earlier, a 47-year-old Virgin pilot suspected of being drunk was handcuffed and taken off a plane due to fly from London to New York.
United Airlines said: "United's alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for abuse of violation of this well-established policy.
"Safety is our number one priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are cooperating with authorities and conducting a full investigation."
