Former British Airways pilot Julian Monaghan arrives at Lewes Crown Court this morning
A British Airways pilot who turned up for work to fly 300 passengers to Mauritius after downing three double vodkas was today jailed for eight months.
Julian Monahgan, 49, was hauled off a Boeing 777 by armed police after failing a breath test in the cockpit of a packed holiday jet at London Gatwick Airport.
Monahghan admitted he started drinking at 10.15am in his hotel room at Gatwick after flying into London Heathrow overnight from South Africa.
He drank three miniature bottles of vodka, mixed with coke, before he was due to be a pilot on the 9.20pm flight.
The doors were closed and the flight was about to push back when police boarded. BA rules prohibit staff from drinking eight hours before work.
Airport technician Verity McAllen noticed a smell of alcohol on his breath despite Monaghan chewing gum as final checks were carried out on the plane.
She reported he concerns and police were called. Monaghan was one of two senior officers on board. Police waited five minutes before testing Monaghan after asking him to remove his gum.
Officers noticed the smell of drink on him as they drove him to Crawley police station, even though he was still chewing gum.
The veteran BA pilot was hauled from the cockpit at London Gatwick Airport in handcuffs
Her Honour Judge Janet Waddicor said passengers and public had the right to expect commercial pilots not to be over the alcohol limit.
The judge reduced his sentence from 12 months for his early guilty plea. She said: ‘No doubt many of the passengers were looking forward to a holiday in Mauritius.’
The flight was delayed by one hour and 40 minutes, the judge said, adding: ‘Entirely because you had presented with an alcohol reading four times the limit for pilots.
‘The limits for pilots are pitched deliberately low because of the responsibility which attaches to the job. The lives of the people on board are in the hands of the pilot.
‘The people who live on the flight path are entitled to feel they are safe. It may be you would have got away with it because you say you weren’t aware you were over the limit.
‘You say you were staggered at the reading and when the police reading was confirmed you resigned.
Monaghan has admitted one count of reporting for duty as a pilot while over the limit
‘It will come as some consolation and comfort to passengers that a technician came to stand very close to you when checking out a piece of equipment she was aware of a strong odour of intoxicating liquor on your breath.
‘Miss McaAllan reported her suspicion and police were called,’ Her Honour Judge Waddicor said. ‘Good for her.’
Amy Packham, prosecuting, said: ‘He maintains he hadn’t had any alcohol in the eight hours before reporting for duty.
‘The Crown submit that eight hours is a long period of time and if that is correct, there must have been a significant amount consumed just prior to that for the reading to be as high as it was ten hours later.’
Ms Packham said: ‘He was over the limit even for a car, for a pilot he was four times over. He gave a prepared statement in interview saying he had flown from Cape Town to Heathrow.
‘He had nothing to eat on the flight had one glass of wine and got the bus to his Gatwick hotel.
‘He said he stayed in his room on his own until 6pm. He got to the aircraft at 7.30pm and said he felt fine.
‘He was shocked when told he was being arrested and was surprised at the reading.
Monaghan (pictured on holiday) was drunk as his packed British Airways jet taxied for take-off
‘He said: “I remain saddened and bewildered by these events and will wait for the blood sample which has been taken.”‘
As soon as blood test results were confirmed, Monaghan resigned from BA
Emly Jones, defending, said he has lost everything and is now a shadow of the man who had dreamed of being a pilot as a young boy.
Mr Jones said the former BA pilot will never fly commercially again and he offered an unreserved apology to the passengers and his family.
He added that the father of two has not spoken to his son, now sitting GCSEs, since the incident, saying ‘There is deeply felt and genuine remorse.
‘There is a real understanding that what he has done is serious and has caused damage to himself, his employers and his family,’ he said.
Staff called 999 shortly before take-off from Gatwick on January 18. Stewards decided to call the police before the aeroplane left the departure gate.
Monaghan was arrested and led off the aircraft in handcuffs. He admitted having 86mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system. The limit for pilots is 20mg.
Monaghan joined BA in 2001. First officers with the airline typically earn more than £60,000
Judge Waddicor said: ‘It must have been humiliating for you to be escorted from the plane and to the runway and must have been startling for the passengers onboard.
‘It is a personal tragedy you have lost your reputation and your salary. What better deterrent for a pilot as to what can happen if you drink than to see what has happened to you.
‘The safety of passengers and the public confidence in airplane pilots is critical.
‘Passengers should feel confident the man or woman flying the aircraft which they are travelling several thousand feet above the ground has not exceeded the alcohol limit.’
The court heard Monaghan may seek a new career flying drones in South Africa.
Monaghan, who divides his time between South Africa and Harmondsworth, West London, admitted being over the limit when he appeared at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on June 6 and was sent to Lewes Crown Court for sentencing.
Last week, the magistrate at Crawley described his mitigation by comparing his blood alcohol level to drink driving as ‘spurious’.
Chair of the bench Dr David Wiggins said at the time: ‘I have to say the comparison to drink-driving is somewhat spurious in these circumstances.
‘A pilot in a Boeing 777 is somewhat different from driving on the road, so we are completely ignoring that comment.’