Pilot charged over drunken stupor

Captain had three times legal alcohol amount in system

CALGARY // Canadian police have charged a pilot for Sunwing Airlines with impairment after he was found to have passed out in the cockpit before take-off. The pilot had boarded the Boeing 737 with 99 passengers and six crew members in Calgary, Alberta, for a flight that was to make stops in Regina, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, Manitoba, before continuing on to Cancun in Mexico.

But before the Sunwing flight took off early on Saturday, the co- pilot found the pilot in a drunken stupor in the cockpit. “They found him slumped over in the seat. He was the captain,” said Sgt Paul Stacey of Calgary police.

He said the pilot had three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system.

The pilot was taken off the plane and charged with having care and control of an aircraft while being impaired, as well as having a blood-alcohol level exceeding .08 while in care and control of an aircraft.

His name will be released after he has appeared in court.

Sunwing, a budget Canadian carrier, said its flight took off a short time later with another captain.

“We are very apologetic for any upset that this has caused and would like to assure our customers that safety remains our utmost priority,” a spokeswoman said.

Sgt Stacey said Transport Canada had been contacted and he expected the pilot to face additional charges.

The Canadian transport authority said it was a criminal offence for flight crew to work within eight hours of consuming alcohol or while under the influence. It said the pilot’s records and Sunwing’s procedures and protocols were being reviewed.