British Airways pilot tried to fly 300 passengers while FOUR TIMES the alcohol limit after downing vodka in the morning
Julian Monaghan, 49, drank a vodka and coke at 10.30am before turning up for duty to pilot a 12-hour flight from Gatwick to Mauritius, a court heard
A BOOZY British Airways pilot tried to fly 300 passengers while four times the drink fly limit after downing vodka in the morning.
Julian Monaghan, 49, faces jail after he was arrested by armed cops at Gatwick airport when a flight technician smelt booze on his breath.
He had drank a vodka and coke at 10.30am before turning up to fly part of the 12-hour flight from Gatwick to Mauritius.
Monaghan was set to be the third pilot on the Boeing 777 due to leave the West Sussex airport at 8.20pm on January 18.
But he was arrested after a flight technician raised the alarm.
Tests showed Monaghan had 86mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system. The legal limit for a pilot is 20mg.
Monaghan today appeared at Crawley Magistrates' Court to plead guilty to the reporting for duty as a pilot when his level of alcohol was over the prescribed limit.
Emlyn Jones, defending, said his client drank the booze well in advance of the eight-hour alcohol rule - known as "bottle to throttle".
Mr Jones told the court: "He was not due to take up his responsibilities as pilot of the plane on take-off.
"He would not have been charged with taking up the role of pilot until three- and-a-half hours into the flight."
Mr Jones told the court Monaghan had been on a overnight flight as a passenger the night before, and had spent the day without food or sleep.
He added: "He turned up for work appalled, astonished and horrified that he was still over the limit."
Mr Jones said his client was only "a fraction" over the drink-drive limit of 80mg per 100ml of blood, and that Monaghan was not falling over drunk and no harm was caused.
This was rejected by chair of the bench Dr David Wiggins, who said: "I have to say the comparison to drink-driving is somewhat spurious in these circumstances.
"A pilot in a Boeing 777 is somewhat different from driving on the road, so we are completely ignoring that comment."
Asking for the court to consider sentencing Monaghan on Wednesday, Mr Jones, said: "He has thrown away the only career he has ever known.
"He has been a pilot his whole life, and that has gone."
Sending the case to crown court, Dr Wiggins told the ex-pilot: "I think you need to prepare yourself there is a very, very high chance that it will be an immediate custodial sentence."
The 12-hour flight, from Gatwick to Mauritius, was scheduled to leave at 8.20pm, but the plane was left waiting at the gate while airline staff looked for a third pilot.
Most read in news
Monaghan is due to be sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on June 12.
A spokeswoman for British Airways said: "This behaviour is completely unacceptable and not what we expect from our highly professional fleet of pilots.
"The safety and security of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority."
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours