Photo: PAUL J.RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images
By: The opinion Posted Jun 21, 2023, 19:36 pm EDT
Lawrence Russell Jr., 62 and Delta Airlines pilot, was arrested in Scotland for allegedly exceeding the alcohol limitknown as the “Drink-Fly” limit, police said.
According to official information, the man was charged under Section 93 of the Railway and Transport Safety Act and appeared before Edinburgh Sheriff’s Court.
The “Drink-Fly” limit refers to the maximum amount of alcohol a pilot can consume before flying an aircraft. The limit is four times less than driving a car.
Russell pleaded no guilty to the charge and was taken into custody, “committed for further examination,” a Police Scotland spokesman said, according to ABC News.
Russell is expected to appear in court again “within the next eight days.”
Russell was scheduled to pilot Delta flight DL209, which was headed to New York’s JFK airport from Edinburgh, Scotland, the company said. The EDI-JFK flight was subsequently canceled and alternative flights were provided to customers, the airline said.
In a statement, the company said: “Delta confirms that one of its crew members was detained at the EDI airport. Delta is assisting authorities with their ongoing investigations…we apologize to customers affected by the cancellation.”
According to the UK Rail and Transport Safety Act, a person commits an offense if they “perform an aviation function at a time when the proportion of alcohol in their breath, blood or urine exceeds the prescribed limit”.
In the case of breath, the prescribed limit is 9 micrograms of alcohol per 100 milliliters, and 20 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters in the case of blood, as established by Law.
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