Ind: Arrested airline pilot 'six times over drink limit'

Arrested airline pilot 'six times over drink limit'
By Pat Hurst

The Independent (UK)
Published: 20 March 2007

An airline pilot turned up for work almost six-and-a-half times over
the drink limit to fly a plane, a court was told yesterday.

James Yates, 46, smelt strongly of alcohol and was unsteady on his
feet when he reported for duty at Manchester airport, the city's
Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

A first officer with American Airlines, he was to be one of three
pilots on a 10.30am flight to Chicago with 181 passengers in February
last year. But he failed to find his pass at a security gate and
officials called police who arrested him, Martin Walsh, for the
prosecution, told the jury. "He provided a specimen of breath and it
was positive."

The first specimen showed Mr Yates had 71mg of alcohol in 100ml of
breath. The legal limit for driving a car is 35mg and for an aircraft
9mg, the court heard. A blood sample showed 129mg of alcohol in 100ml
of blood, the court was told. The legal limit for flying is 20mg.

Mr Yates, from Ohio, told police he had come to tell the captain he
was sick and unable to perform his duties, and it was not his
intention to fly that flight.

"The Crown say that is untrue," Mr Walsh said. "He arrived at the
airport in uniform. He tried to gain entrance through security checks
used by the air crew, not by the passengers."

Mr Yates had missed a bus taking the flight crew from a hotel to the
airport. When the captain had gone to his hotel room he appeared
"dishevelled" and followed the crew in a cab to the airport, the court
heard.

Mr Walsh said: "The Crown's case is he clearly had been drinking
heavily, had consumed alcohol and when he got to the airport his
intention was to go through security check-in with the intention of
performing his function of first officer on the flight."

Mr Yates denies carrying out an activity ancillary to an aviation
function, that of acting as first officer, while over the limit.

The case continues.


http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/cri...cle2374364.ece