Remember that the Scottish drink drive limit is 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood cf 80mg/100ml in England & Wales.

Completely false.

Does anyone know what's happened to the two Air Transat guys? They were remanded on bail at Paisley Sherriff Court in July and had to hand in their passports. So they've been stuck in the UK for four months, suspended from their jobs - but presumably still paid. Seems very unfair for them to have to wait that long for a final court appearance.

The USA held a U.K. Based pilot for over 6 months. Final outcome was no case to answer.
BALPA helped with his accommodation. So not unusual.

No case to answer? :=

He was lucky enough to cop a plea on felony charges using the 'I didn't know we wuz going flying' claim. I would suggest that defense is far less likely to succeed these days.

Plea Deal Reached By Pilot (washingtonpost.com)

Not sure we are talking about the same airman. But just saying loss of passport = a time in the country not of your choice.

Well, I would certainly agree with those legal scholars who say pilots are a potential 'flight risk'. ;)

".. They were remanded on bail at Paisley Sherriff Court in July and had to hand in their passports. So they've been stuck in the UK for four months, suspended from their jobs - but presumably still paid..."

They got their passports back, they're back in Canada awaiting their court appearance in the UK and are suspended... as for pay, not sure but I think they're compensated by our collective insurance program (TBC).

Thanks gumbi. That sounds like a more naturally just outcome, so far - whatever the two have actually done.

A pilot had been jailed for 10 months for attempting to board a flight from Scotland to America while drunk.
Carlos Roberto Licona, 45, was due to serve as First Officer on the United Airlines flight to Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday 27 August last year.

Airline pilot jailed for being drunk - BBC News

I wonder what the outcome will be for the captain on this flight?

United unfortunately has a lot of experience with international pilot alcohol incidents. In almost all cases that I'm aware of, the pilots kept their jobs and were able to go back to work under the close supervision of the HIMS program.

And, even after these guys in the Scotland incident serve any custodial sentence overseas, they may have more legal music to face back in the U.S. due to the blood alcohol level.

In the past couple of years federal prosecutors in the U.S. have been going after pilots with FAA tickets who blew a .10 percent BAC or higher with felony charges even if the case was settled previously with the FAA.

Here's a recent example:

Brevard County pilot working for U.S. Armed Forces accused of flying Boeing 747 while drunk | WFTV

Here's a Department of Justice press release for another significantly after the fact pilot prosecution:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr...aircraft-while

Why would the Captain face an "outcome"? It was the two new hire FO's that were arrested.

You're right, I didn't think there would be an extra FO on that crossing but there was.

To resurrect this zombie thread as there is some news:

Both the Air Transat pilots from the July 2016 "incident" have now been cleared of all charges. Seems that back in 2016 the prison service deliberately destroyed evidence when the pilots were held briefly in jail.

Why it has taken till now for the charges to be dropped is unclear from the media reports.

BBC report

Would the samples still be valid after a prolonged period - I thought there would be some natural fermentation such as that taken into account when doing tests on accident pilots remains.

Lucky chaps to get away without a conviction, but i imagine finding employment might be a tad difficult...

Captain Perreault and First Office Syed were arrested shortly before taking off from Glasgow airport Two pilots accused of planning to fly a passenger jet from Scotland to Canada while under the influence of alcohol have been cleared after key evidence was destroyed by prison staff. Jean-Francois Perreault, 41, and Imran Zafar Syed, 39, were arrested in 2016, minutes before a flight from Glasgow to Toronto was due to take off. Blood tests were said to have found them above the legal alcohol limit. But the case collapsed when prison staff destroyed some of the samples. The case was due to call at Paisley Sheriff Court on Thursday, but prosecutors offered no evidence against the men and the hearing was cancelled.They will now be offered reinstatement by their airline and the chance to fly again once refresher training has been completed.The Canadian pair were due to fly an Air Transat plane with 250 passengers on board when they were arrested at Glasgow Airport on 18 July 2016. They were taken to Helen Street Police Station in Glasgow, where they were interviewed and blood samples were taken.The charge stated that Captain Perreault had 32 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of blood, while First Officer Syed had 49 milligrams in 100ml of blood.The blood alcohol limit for flying is set at 20 milligrams.Image caption The pilots were due to take control of this Air Transat Airbus A310 They were also accused of acting in a threatening manner and fighting at the Hilton Hotel in the city on the same day.

At the police station each blood sample was split in two - one of each for the prosecution and one for each pilot.The pilots' samples were placed within their property, as they were in custody, and remained there during their initial court appearance, during which they were remanded in custody.When the pilots arrived at Low Moss Prison in East Dunbartonshire, prison guard Paul Scoular said he thought the samples would be worthless evidentially and, along with prison nurse Mara Fraser, destroyed them.'No protocol'

Mr Scoular, 46, gave evidence at a hearing in September, which can only be reported now the case has concluded. He said he was "unsure" what to do as he had "no previous experience of receiving a blood sample in to custody" during his 20-year career working at Scottish jails - and he said no official protocol existed.Mr Scoular said: "My understanding was they should've been stored and kept in a cooled environment."I asked Mara Fraser whether the samples would still have integrity or whether there may have been a deterioration due to them not being stored in a chilled environment."I spoke to Mr Syed and Mr Perreault and raised my concerns. I wasn't sure if it was worth retaining the sample."

He did not seek the advice of the police, prosecutors, or managers - and told the pilots he was going to destroy them He added: "There was no facility in the prison for storing them. They both gave me a verbal consent to destroy it." Prison nurse Mara Fraser, 54, said in evidence: "I informed him [Paul Scoular] I'd have to find out what to do with them. "I put them in to a locked drawer in the nurses' office. None of the nurses knew what to do."I didn't know the protocol. I later found out the patients were liberated so I destroyed them [the samples] - I put them in to a sharps bin."Lawyers for the pilots argued their right to a fair trial was compromised because there was now no opportunity for them to have the samples independently tested.

The pilots were arrested under section 93 of the Act.It focuses on the limit of any alcohol consumption and says it is an offence to perform or prepare to perform certain aviation-related functions with more than a prescribed level of alcohol in the body.That limit is set at 20 milligrams of alcohol per 100 ml of blood for those activities carried out by aircrew and air traffic controllers. In the case of breath, nine micrograms of alcohol in 100 ml are allowed and in urine the limit is 27 milligrams of alcohol in 100 ml.The drink-drive limit in Scotland is more than twice the blood limit, which currently stands at 50micrograms in 100ml and reflects the speed of reaction needed by aircrew and air traffic controllers to respond to potential emergency situations.Aviation functions can be defined as acting as a pilot during a flight, acting as navigator of an aircraft or as a flight radio-telephony operator during a flight, as well as acting as a member of the cabin crew. Anyone convicted of committing an offence under the act can face up to two years in prison or a fine or both.A Crown Office spokesman said: "It is the duty of the Crown to keep cases under review. "After full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances, including the recent decision of the Court of Appeal, Crown Counsel instructed there should be no further proceedings at this time."We are working with Police Scotland to ensure there are proper processes and guidance in place covering the retention and storage of samples when an accused person is remanded in custody."Mr Perreault, of Ontario and Mr Syed of Toronto had denied all the charges against them.

Both men were suspended by their employer Air Transat following their arrest but will now be reinstated and offered the chance to fly again.An Air Transat spokesman said: "We will be meeting with them in the next few days to plan their reinstatement since there is no charge against them and we have no evidence that they have broken any law nor our internal rules"They will need to undergo retraining and requalification as per applicable legislation, and we will put in place measures to ensure that their behaviour is exemplary."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Council Van (Post 10130747)

They do not need to find employment, as they were not guilty they are free to return to work.

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As Larry L. Archie, Esq. famously advertises, 'Just because you did it doesn't mean you're guilty.' :D

. maybe, maybe not.