Moment drunk Heathrow pilot is arrested while almost 10 TIMES the alcohol limit just minutes before take-off
Drunk first officer Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, 42, from Japan, was arrested at the London airport after failing a breath test
A PILOT who put hundreds of lives at risk while trying to fly almost TEN TIMES the legal booze limit has today been jailed.
Drunk first officer Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, 42, from Japan, was arrested at Heathrow Airport just 50 minutes before the flight was due to take off.
The driver of a crew bus alerted police after smelling alcohol on the pilot for the Japan Airlines flight JL44 to Tokyo.
He was due to fly a Boeing 777 aircraft which holds up to 244 passengers
The co-pilot was caught after security noticed he smelled strongly of alcohol, seemed drunk and had ";glazed eyes", while an officer later noticed he had "difficulty standing straight".
As he was jailed for 10 months at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday, Judge Phillip Matthews said Katsutoshi was clearly "very intoxicated" prior to the evening take-off and had been drinking that day.
He said: "You are an experienced pilot but you had clearly been drinking for a long period up to a time shortly before you were due to go into that plane.
"Most important is the safety of all persons on board that very long-haul flight, potentially 12 hours or more, their safety was put at risk by your inebriation and drunkenness.
"The prospect of you taking over control of that aircraft is too appalling to contemplate. The potential consequences for those on board was catastrophic."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said Japanese Jitsukawa pleaded guilty to exceeding the alcohol limit at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Tests revealed he had 189mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, almost 10 times the 20mg limit for a pilot. The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg.
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After he was challenged, he said he had drank whisky the night before but had already passed a breathalyser test.
Jitsukawa then said he needed to grab his blazer from the plane.
"He (the security manager) went back on the plane to find the defendant in the toilet rinsing and gargling his mouth with mouthwash," the prosecutor said.
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on November 29.
Japan Airlines issued an apology and pledged to "implement immediate actions to prevent any future occurrence", adding that "safety remains our utmost priority".
The flight departed after a 69-minute delay.
In June an experienced British Airways pilot was jailed for eight months for being caught on duty while more than four times the alcohol limit.
Julian Monaghan drank three double vodkas in his hotel room on an empty stomach before he was due on board a flight from Gatwick Airport to Mauritius on January 18.
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