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Drunk Pilots Face Up To Five Years
Chris Crum
Staff Writer
2005-06-08
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
A Miami jury has found two ex-pilots that used to work for America West guilty of operating a plane while intoxicated. Now they're looking at up to five years in state prison.
The two defendants, Captain Thomas Cloyd and his co-pilot Christopher Hughes, stayed out drinking the night before they were supposed to fly to Phoenix.
They were arrested about three years ago at Miami International Airport after police were told by security screeners that they smelled alcohol on the two pilots. Apparently the screeners got in an argument with the pilots as they tried to take coffee on board the Phoenix-bound flight. According to CNN,
Federal law prohibits pilots from consuming alcohol in the eight hours before a flight. Videotaped evidence has shown the men drinking in a Miami bar six hours before their scheduled departure.
The blood alcohol level of both men fell above the state standard of 0.08 percent, but below the federal standard of 0.10.
America West fired Cloyd and Hughes after the arrest because they "violated company policy", and the Federal Aviation Administration revoked their pilots licenses.
Their sentence from Judge David Young is due for July 20. The defendants told the judge they would plead guilty if they only received 14 months in prison, but they were rejected.
The defense's argument was that Cloyd and Hughes were never in control of the aircraft, because police stopped the flight when they were told about the possibility that the two had been drinking.
One of the witnesses in the trial told the jury that Cloyd said, "That s*** doesn't apply to me" when security wouldn't allow him to take his coffee on board.
While on the stand, the witness told the jury, "Today, it's up to you to tell them that s*** does apply to them." They have obviously now learned that it does, and get to look forward to doing time.
About the Author:
Chris Crum is a staff writer for SecurityProNews and WebProNews.
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