‘Drunk’ pilot thrown off packed passenger plane in Canada minutes before take-off ‘three times over the legal alcohol limit’

A PILOT who nearly flew a passenger jet from Canada to Mexico while ‘drunk’ has been named.

Miroslav Gronych, 37, was discovered “slumped over the seat” in the cockpit of a passenger jet by his co-pilot ahead of flying from Canada to Mexico.

Mr Gronych, from Slovakia, is alleged to have had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system and has been charged with impairment after the incident on New Year’s Eve.

He was released on $1,000 bail and ordered to return his passport.

He is also prohibited from flying a plane in Canada whilst on bail.

Officers said the pilot boarded the Boeing 737 for Sunwing Airlines with 99 passengers and six crew members in Calgary, Alberta, for a flight that was scheduled to make stops in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, before continuing on to Cancun, Mexico.

But before it took off police said the gate crew as well as crewmembers on the aircraft indicated he was behaving strangely.

Police allege the co-pilot found the pilot passed out in the cockpit.

Sgt. Paul Stacey told a press conference: “They found him slumped over in the seat. He was the captain.”

Sunwing spokeswoman Janine Massey praised the rest of the crew for handling what she called a “very unfortunate matter”.

She said: “We can confirm that shortly before 7am local time, the gate agents, first officer and crew of Sunwing flight 595, departing from Calgary and destined for Cancun, determined that the captain was unfit to fly and reported this accordingly.”

Sunwing, a low cost Canadian carrier, said the plane took off a short time later with another captain.

Massey continued: “We are very apologetic for any upset that this has caused and would like to assure our customers that safety remains our utmost priority.”

Stacey said Transport Canada has been contacted and he expected the suspect could face additional charges.

She said: “It had all the potential for a disaster but I’ll tell you this much the likelihood of a pilot on a major airline like this actually being able to take off when they’re impaired like that is pretty slim, because there’s a lot of checks and balances.

“There’s the other flight crew and there’s gate crew and they’re all about safety … So, I’m not surprised that he got caught before (the plane) left the terminal.”

Transport Canada spokesman Dan Dugas said in an email that it is a criminal offence in Canada for a flight crew to work within eight hours of consuming alcohol or while under the influence.

Dugas said Transport Canada is reviewing the pilot’s records and Sunwing Airlines’ procedures and protocols.

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