Delta pilot gets 10 months in jail for drinking before flight from Scotland to N.Y.
An American Delta Airlines pilot has been sentenced to 10 months in jail in Scotland after reporting for work intoxicated when he was scheduled to fly to New York last year.
An American Delta Airlines pilot has been sentenced to 10 months in jail in Scotland after reporting for work intoxicated when he was scheduled to fly to New York last year.
Lawrence Barbiers Russell Jr, 63, was supposed to captain a flight from Edinburgh, Scotland, to New York City on June, 16, 2023, but he was arrested after a half-empty bottle of Jägermeister was found in his bag, and his blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit, the court said in a statement Tuesday.
Russell, of Georgia, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty on March 5 in Edinburgh Sheriff Court to a charge of reporting for duty as pilot while exceeding the prescribed blood alcohol limit.
His blood alcohol reading that day was found to be at least 49 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood — which exceeds Scotland’s prescribed limit for pilots of 20 milligrams. The court noted the limit for car drivers is 50 milligrams.
The day of that 2023 flight, Russell’s flight was scheduled to depart at 10:35 a.m. He arrived at Edinburgh Airport's baggage control at 9:15 a.m. wearing his pilot’s uniform.
Rating: 5