A pilot for Delta Airlines has been jailed for ten months following a drinking binge on a flight from Edinburgh to New York.
Captain Lawrence Russell Jr was almost two and a half times over the aviation alcohol limit as he prepared to take over a trans-Atlantic flight last year June. He was caught during a bag search at Edinburgh Airport with two bottles of Jägermeister in his hand luggage, one of which was half empty, reported The Guardian.
He was immediately arrested by police following a sample he provided that was allegedly "not less than 49mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood."
The official legal aviation limit is only 20mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
The pilot, 63, was handed down his sentence on Tuesday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after he pleaded guilty in March to reporting for duty while intoxicated.
Sheriff Alison Sterling announced jailing Russell for ten months is a sentence that had to be imposed for "punishment (and the) protection of the public" while emphasizing his two previous convictions in the United States for driving under the influence of alcohol.
An American from Georgia state, Russell was scheduled to fly the Boeing 767 plane from Edinburgh to New York's JFK Airport early on June 16, 2023.
During a security check, two bottles of Jägermeister were revealed in his carry-on bag as it went through an X-ray security machine.
When approached by airport authorities wearing his pilot's uniform and Delta lanyard, Russell admitted the bottles were his.
Defense agent Pamela Rodgers expressed to the court that her client was "remorseful" and a recovering alcoholic who had abstained from consumption for 277 days after completing the 12 Steps to Recovery rehabilitation program.
Procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, Lynne Barrie, responded to the sentence, "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."
