Drunk Pilots

Drunken Pilots Lose Appeals Court Case

MIAMI Two pilots who were drunk in the cockpit have lost an appeals court bid to overturn their convictions and prison sentences.

The pair were about to fly an American West plane from Miami to Phoenix back in 2002. But an airport screener smelled alcohol on their breath, and as the jet was being towed from the gate, police came out and ordered it brought back.

Testimony at their trial showed the pair spent six hours at a sports bar, consuming 14 glasses of beer before leaving less than six hours before takeoff. Tests later showed them still above Florida's legal limit for drunken driving.

One of the pilots had been on probation for a highway D-U-I just months before. He got five years behind bars for operating a jetliner when drunk. His partner was sentenced to two and a-half years.

Both have been fired by America West.

Source: http://kvoa.com/