A drunken Japanese pilot has been jailed after being caught more than nine times over the alcohol limit as he prepared to fly a passenger jet from Heathrow Airport.
First officer Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, 42, was arrested at the airport after failing a breath test 50 minutes before the Japan Airlines flight to Tokyo was due to depart.
Tests revealed he had 189mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, almost 10 times the 20mg limit for a pilot.
The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 80mg.
Judge Phillip Matthews described the co-pilot as “very intoxicated” ahead of the October 28 flight, as he sentenced him to 10 months’ imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday.
“You are an experienced pilot but you had clearly been drinking for a long period up to a time shortly before you were due to go into that plane,” the judge said.
“Most important is the safety of all persons on board that very long-haul flight, potentially 12 hours or more. Their safety was put at risk by your inebriation and drunkenness.
“The prospect of you taking over control of that aircraft is too appalling to contemplate. The potential consequences for those on board was catastrophic.”
In June an experienced British Airways pilot was jailed for eight months for being caught on duty while more than four times the alcohol limit.
Julian Monaghan drank three double vodkas in his hotel room on an empty stomach before he was due on board a flight from Gatwick Airport to Mauritius on January 18.