Pilot accused of being drunk held on $25,000 bond
12/22/2003
By CANDACE SMITH / Associated Press
A pilot accused of showing up drunk to fly a plane from Washington to London was ordered held Monday on $25,000 bond and told not to leave the country.
[redacted] was dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit when he appeared on a closed circuit television link from jail, where he has been since late Friday, when he was arrested at Washington Dulles International Airport.
Security screeners alerted Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police after detecting alcohol on [redacted]'s breath, an airport spokeswoman said. Officers escorted [redacted] off the plane and questioned him at the airport before charging him with attempting to operate an aircraft while under the influence of an intoxicating drug or alcohol.
An authority officer testified he approached [redacted] about two hours before his plane's scheduled departure. The officer said no passengers were aboard, and the flight attendants were readying the cabin.
[redacted], 55, spent the weekend at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center in Leesburg, about 40 miles west of Washington, D.C. The 14-year Virgin Atlantic veteran remained suspended by the airline, which said [redacted] is a U.S. citizen who lives in London and had a spotless record with the company.
[redacted]'s lawyers tried to persuade Loudoun County Traffic Court Judge James Forsythe to allow their client to return home.
"He's not doing well. He has a medical condition — a heart condition," lawyer Thomas Hill told the judge, adding [redacted] needed to see his cardiologist in London. Outside court Hill declined to elaborate about the heart condition.
"He's a model of stability in terms of his life," Hill told the judge. Hill said his client has been married 25 years, and his wife and two children live in London. "He's not a flight risk at all."
Prosecutors were against any bond because [redacted] lives overseas.
"Once a defendant has crossed that border it is very difficult to get them to come back," said Forsythe, who moved the case to the criminal division.
The 383 passengers and crew of 17 on flight VS 022 were put up Friday night at area hotels, with their flight finally leaving Saturday night more than 26 hours late. Passengers received a voucher for a free flight on the airline.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it would carry out a civil investigation along with Virginia's criminal investigation. The FAA licenses pilots to fly within the United States.
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