PILOT 4 TIMES DRINK-FLY LIMIT
Shamed BA officer facing jail after being arrested before take-off on 300-passenger jet
A PILOT held for being drunk in the cockpit of a British Airways plane is facing jail.
Julian Monaghan, left, was four times the legal limit on the 300-seat jet. A magistrate warned: “There is a high chance of a custodial sentence.”
BOOZY pilot Julian Monaghan was dramatically hauled off his British Airways jet in handcuffs as stunned passengers looked on, after he was found to be over four times the limit.
And the 49-year-old was yesterday warned he faces jail for being drunk in the cockpit of the 300-seat Boeing 777 that was about to take off for Mauritius.
Monaghan said he had drunk just one vodka and tonic at 10.30am to help him nap in the afternoon, magistrates heard.
After he was arrested by armed police at 8.20pm, tests showed he had 86mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. That is just over the limit of 80mg for driving but more than four times the 20mg for flying.
Monaghan will be sentenced next week and chairman of the bench Dr David Wiggins warned him: “I think you need to prepare yourself. There is a very, very high chance that it will be an immediate custodial sentence.”
The magistrate hit back at Monaghan’s lawyer Emlyn Jones who pointed to the fact his client was just over the limit for driving. Dr Wiggins said: “The comparison is somewhat spurious.
“Driving a Boeing 777 is somewhat different to driving a car on the road.”
Prosecutor Mel Wotton said Monaghan, who divides his time between South Africa and Harmondsworth, West London, was a first officer acting as third pilot on the January 18 Gatwick flight.
He told Crawley magistrates court: “One of the aircraft technicians was concerned they could smell alcohol on the pilot.
“Bosses spoke to police who duly arrived and they could also smell alcohol.”
Monaghan, who has since left BA, failed a breath test. Pilots have an “eight hours bottle to throttle” ban on drinking.
Mr Jones told the court: “His eighthour prohibition began at five past 12.
“He had the drinks that morning to help him sleep in the afternoon. He spent the day without food and without sleep.
“He turned up for work appalled, astonished and horrified to find he was over the limit.”
Monaghan admitted reporting for duty as a pilot while over the limit. He will be sentenced at Lewes crown court on Tuesday.
Mr Jones added: “By his guilty plea he has thrown away the only career he has ever known. He has been a pilot his whole life and that has gone.”
A British Airways spokesman 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.
“Julian Monaghan no longer works for the airline.”
Driving a 777 is somewhat different to a car on the road DR DAVID WIGGINS CHAIRMAN OF BENCH