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Over-the-limit PIA pilot Irfan Faiz jailed for nine months
Pee Aayee Aey (PIA) - Another feather in the cap
LEEDS & WEST YORKSHIRE
22 November 2013 Last updated at 12:08
Over-the-limit pilot Irfan Faiz jailed for nine months
A pilot arrested in the cockpit of a Pakistan International Airways airliner for being over the legal alcohol limit to fly has been jailed for nine months.
Irfan Faiz, 55, from Pakistan, was held at Leeds Bradford Airport on 18 September as he was about to fly an Airbus to Islamabad.Security staff had said Faiz smelled of drink and was unsteady on his feet.
Sentencing him at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Justice Coulson QC said the pilot's drinking had threatened the public.The court heard Faiz gave an initial reading of 41 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath on a police officer's handheld device.
'Bottle and throttle'The legal limit for driving a car is 35 microgrammes, but for flying in the UK it just nine.
He later gave a reading of 28 microgrammes, the court was told.
Faiz told police he had consumed three quarters of a bottle of whisky before the flight, which was due to depart at 22:10 BST.
However, he said he had stopped drinking at about 03:00.
Mr Justice Coulson said he was "astonished" to hear pilots regularly flying out of the UK were not aware of the rules about alcohol consumption, which are based on the amount of alcohol present in the body.
It was "extraordinary" that the rules in Pakistan only stated there should be a 12-hour gap between "bottle and throttle", no matter how much the pilot had drunk, the judge said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-25052665?print=true
Pee Aayee Aey (PIA) - Another feather in the cap
LEEDS & WEST YORKSHIRE
22 November 2013 Last updated at 12:08Over-the-limit pilot Irfan Faiz jailed for nine months
A pilot arrested in the cockpit of a Pakistan International Airways airliner for being over the legal alcohol limit to fly has been jailed for nine months.
Irfan Faiz, 55, from Pakistan, was held at Leeds Bradford Airport on 18 September as he was about to fly an Airbus to Islamabad.Security staff had said Faiz smelled of drink and was unsteady on his feet.
Sentencing him at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Justice Coulson QC said the pilot's drinking had threatened the public.The court heard Faiz gave an initial reading of 41 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath on a police officer's handheld device.
'Bottle and throttle'The legal limit for driving a car is 35 microgrammes, but for flying in the UK it just nine.
He later gave a reading of 28 microgrammes, the court was told.
Faiz told police he had consumed three quarters of a bottle of whisky before the flight, which was due to depart at 22:10 BST.
However, he said he had stopped drinking at about 03:00.
Mr Justice Coulson said he was "astonished" to hear pilots regularly flying out of the UK were not aware of the rules about alcohol consumption, which are based on the amount of alcohol present in the body.
It was "extraordinary" that the rules in Pakistan only stated there should be a 12-hour gap between "bottle and throttle", no matter how much the pilot had drunk, the judge said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-25052665?print=true
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