Drunk pilot jailed
27.03.09
An airline pilot has been jailed for being over the drink limit while in charge of a jet packed with holidaymakers minutes before it was due to take off from Birmingham Airport. Patrick Kyagera was performing pre-flight checks in the cockpit of a Boeing 757 bound for the Canary Islands on December 22 when fellow crew members reported he smelt of drink. He was removed from the jet and a police breath test revealed that he had five times the legal limit for pilots. The official blood reading two hours later showed he still had twice the limit.
Mr Kyagera, aged 43, from Purley, Surrey, was preparing to take off at 8.30am on Monday, December 22, after drinking a ‘considerable amount of alcohol’ at a family party on Saturday followed by several glasses of wine on Sunday. He admitted ‘performing an aviation function with alcohol above the prescribed limit’ and was jailed for six months at Coventry Crown Court yesterday. Judge Anthony Cleary told him that he had put the lives of all 229 passengers and crew on board, and many more people on the ground, at ‘unimaginable risk’.
Although Civil Aviation Authority medics say Mr Kyagera is fit to fly again, but a criminal conviction means he will not be considered for airport security clearance for ten years.
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