Alcoholic pilot arrested at Manchester Airport gets suspended sentence
A pilot who turned up for a flight from Manchester to Philadelphia while still over the drink-fly limit has been spared a prison sentence after the court heard he was being treated for alcohol addiction.
A security officer contacted police after he noticed David Copeland smelt of booze when he arrived at Manchester Airport to pilot the flight on February 7.
Police stopped the American Airlines’ flight as Copeland was preparing to take off and a blood test showed he had 27 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system, which was over the UK legal limit of 27.
The legal limit in the US for flying is 40, but the judge said that Copeland, and American, should have known the limit in the UK was lower. He told the 63-year-old pilot: "You are an experienced pilot who no doubt has been in this country on a number of occasions before and knows the relevant limit.
"It is a serious offence because of the responsibility you, as the pilot of a commercial airline, hold.
"You hold the lives of many people in your hands when you get into that plane."
The court heard that the night before his flight, Copeland had eaten with the rest of the crew and drunk ‘a modest amount’ of alcohol. Afterwards, he drank rum in his hotel room.
He observed industry rules to stop drinking eight hours before his flight, but didn’t realise that there might still be alcohol in his system the following day.
Since his arrest, he had been diagnosed with alcoholism and has been undergoing treatment, including spending 30 days in a residential unit and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings daily, the court was told.
Judge Greene said if Copeland successfully completed six to eight months of the programme he would be required to undergo a neuro-psychiatric evaluation to assess his fitness to fly.
Copeland was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after admitting the charge of performing an aviation function while impaired by drink during an earlier hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court.
He was also ordered to pay £400 costs.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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