A drunk pilot who tried to fly a Delta Airlines plane from Scotland to the US, putting hundreds of lives at risk, has been sent to jail for 10 months.
Captain Lawrence Russell Jr was caught with two bottles of Jägermeister in his hand luggage, one which was half empty, during a search at Edinburgh airport in June 2023.
Tests found he was almost 2.5 times over the legal aviation limit.
Russell, who the court heard is an alcoholic, had been scheduled to pilot a Boeing 767 from Edinburgh to New York’s JFK airport.
Officials stopped Russell after an X-ray machine detected the bottles in his carry-on bag.
The 63-year-old was sentenced at an Edinburgh court today after pleading guilty to reporting for duty as a pilot while being impaired through alcohol.
As the 10-month sentence was imposed, the pilot from Georgia in the US was told that prison was necessary for “punishment (and the) protection of the public”.
Earlier, Russell’s lawyer had explained the pilot was now in recovery for alcoholism.
Prosecutor Lynne Barrie said Russell’s conduct “would have endangered many lives” and “the consequences could have been catastrophic”.
“He showed a reckless disregard for the safety of his passengers and crew,” Barrie said.
“The pilot of a commercial aircraft holds the lives of hundreds in his hands. He would have put all of them at serious risk.
“This conviction should send the message that crimes of this nature will be robustly dealt with.”
