A pilot who was found to be almost two and a half times over the aviation alcohol limit as he prepared to take charge of a trans-Atlantic flight from Edinburgh to New York has been jailed for 10 months.
Capt Lawrence Russell Jr was caught with two bottles of Jägermeister in his hand luggage, one of which was half empty, during a bag search at Edinburgh airport in June last year.
The Delta Airlines pilot was arrested by police and subsequently provided a sample that was said to be “not less than 49mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood”.
The strict legal aviation limit is just 20mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
Russell, 63, was sentenced at Edinburgh sheriff court on Tuesday after pleading guilty in March to reporting for duty as a pilot while being impaired through alcohol.
Jailing Russel for 10 months, Sheriff Alison Stirling said a prison sentence had to be imposed for “punishment [and the] protection of the public” while noting he had two previous convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol in the US.
The court heard how Russell, an American from the state of Georgia, was rostered to fly the Boeing 767 plane from Edinburgh to New York’s JFK airport early on 16 June 2023.
He was stopped after two bottles of Jägermeister were discovered in his carry-on baggage when it went through an X-ray security machine.
Russell, who was wearing a pilot’s uniform and wore a lanyard with the word “Delta” printed on it, admitted he was the owner of the alcohol.
Defence agent Pamela Rodgers told the court that her “remorseful” client was a recovering alcoholic who had not drunk alcohol for 277 days and had completed the 12 steps to recovery rehabilitation programme.
Responding to the sentence, Lynne Barrie, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “Lawrence Russell’s conduct would have endangered many lives; the consequences could have been catastrophic.
“He showed a reckless disregard for the safety of his passengers and crew. 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.”
