Drunk Pilot Arrested On Passenger Jet At Heathrow Minutes Before Take-Off!!!!!!!

by **J The Kidd** Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:54 pm

A pilot was arrested in the cockpit of a passenger jet on suspicion
of being drunk - minutes before the plane was due to take off.

The 44-year-old guy from the States was arrested following a breath
test as the plane waited at Terminal One of London's Heathrow Airport
yesterday morning.

He was reportedly escorted off the Boeing 777 by police as hundreds of passengers looked on.

The man was a first officer for United Airlines and was due to embark on a flight to San Francisco prior to his arrest.

He has been bailed to return to Heathrow airport police station in January.

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.'

The legal limit for pilots is nine microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

This is more than three times stricter than the drink-drive limit which
is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

The pilot was reportedly arrested on flight 955 after failing the breathalyser.

The flight, due to leave Terminal One at 10.05am, was delayed until 12.53pm 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.

United Airlines has now suspended the officer, who earns around £40,000 a year, until the end of the police investigation.

He would face up to two years in prison if convicted.

A United Airlines statement read: 'United's alcohol policy is among the
strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for abuse or
violation of this well-established policy.

'Safety is our No1 priority and the pilot has been removed from service
while we are co-operating with authorities and conducting a full
investigation.'

Last October, a 42-year-old Virgin Atlantic pilot was arrested on
suspicion of being drunk just before the plane was due to take off for
Miami.

The 42-year-old first officer was held by police at Heathrow as final checks were being made.

Six months earlier a 47-year-old Virgin pilot was pulled off a plane bound for New York from London on suspicion of being drunk.

Flight crews are supposed to refrain from drinking alcohol for at least eight hours before flying.