20.02.10
An American pilot for United Airlines received a 10-month suspended prison sentence yesterday over an incident late last year when he reported for duty to fly a jet on a transatlantic flight while over the alcohol limit. Erwin Vermont Washington of Lakewood, Colorado, was removed from a plane at Heathrow in November shortly before it was due to take off for Chicago, after a colleague smelled alcohol on his breath.
A breath test at the airport found he was 3 times over the alcohol limit for pilots. A blood test soon afterwards showed that he had a blood alcohol content of 0.05%. The limit for pilots is 0.02%, whereas the legal limit for driving a car in the UK is 0.08%.
The 51-year-old pilot pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing. Defence lawyer Neil Fitzgibbon said he was sorry for his actions and was enrolled in a rehab program. United ‘wish to retain his services,’ the airline said in a statement, and it will ‘continue to provide support as this employee takes responsibility for his actions.’
Judge Sam Katkhuda at Isleworth Crown Court said Mr Washington's behaviour was ‘simply not acceptable. As a pilot, you know that traveling on aircraft not only places special duty on passengers to behave in a reasonable manner, but also places special responsibility on pilots to comply with their duty.'
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