Failed Alcohol Test Before Transatlantic Flights, This Pilot Freed And Sentenced To Prison

Pilot illustration (Unsplash/Celeb Woods)

JAKARTA - A pilot airline Delta Airlines was released and sentenced to 10 months in prison for being caught drunk and failing a test before undergoing a transatlantic flight from Edinburgh Airport, Scotland, according to a court statement.

The pilot is named Lawrence Russell Jr. (63) and is a citizen of the United States. Originally, he was scheduled to captain a flight from Edinburgh towield New York airport, United States on the morning of June 16, 2023.

However, he failed an alcohol test, after the alcohol content in his blood exceeded the legal limit set. He brought two bottles of J waygermeister liquor in his bag when he came to work, one of which was half full, the court said on Tuesday this week.

Today's transatlantic flight had to be canceled and Russell lost his job in Delta, according to a court statement from Scotland's Justice.

"Delta is aware of this incident and has released the pilot while conducting a thorough investigation in coordination with Scottish authorities," a Delta spokesman said.

At the time, Delta also apologized to the travelers affected.

In a court ruling, Sheriff (Hakim) Alison Stirling told Russell: "Your bag was found containing two bottles of J waygermeister, one of which was open and the contents were less than half. Since you were wearing a pilot uniform, the police were contacted. Officers arrived shortly thereafter. You gave your details to the police, and told them you are the captain of Delta Airlines."

When asked about the open bottle, the pilot said he had been drinking the night before, but he failed a breath test in the morning when he left for work. He was secured and then taken a blood sample that was found to exceed the limit.

Scotland's legal limit is 20 milligrams to pilot the plane, while the limit for driving the car is 50 milligrams, according to the court.

Meanwhile, in Uncle Sam's country, the limit for a pilot is 0.04 concentrations of alcohol in the blood. US federal regulations prohibit anyone from acting as a civil aviation crew within eight hours of consuming alcohol or while under the influence of alcohol.

The court said Russell was an alcoholic who was recovering and managed to complete a treatment program after the incident, and he is now in the remission stage.

He has twice been drunk driving, according to the court, which also noted he has never been convicted in England.

The pilot captain of the Boeing-767 aircraft pleaded guilty to the charge of "first opportunity" on March 5, which played a role in reducing his sentence from 15 months to 10 months, the court said.

The Sheriff added that prison sentences are appropriate, given the "serious nature" of the breach, saying: "Your offenses show a high level of error and a great potential serious loss."

The court's statement said Russell's own testimony regarding the incident showed she was " sorry for the inconvenience" caused by the cancellation of flights to the company and passengers.

Russell's lawyer, Pamela Rodgers, told CNN he could not comment further on the sentence for his confidentiality.