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| Pilot over drink limit sentenced | Pilot over drink limit sentenced |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A US pilot who was over the alcohol limit as he prepared to take off from Heathrow Airport has been given a 10-month suspended jail sentence. | A US pilot who was over the alcohol limit as he prepared to take off from Heathrow Airport has been given a 10-month suspended jail sentence. |
| Erwin Washington, 51, from Lakewood, Colorado, was arrested last November after a colleague smelled alcohol on his breath on the Chicago-bound flight. | Erwin Washington, 51, from Lakewood, Colorado, was arrested last November after a colleague smelled alcohol on his breath on the Chicago-bound flight. |
| A breath test showed the United Airlines pilot was more than three times over the permitted limit to fly. | A breath test showed the United Airlines pilot was more than three times over the permitted limit to fly. |
| He admitted the offence at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday. | He admitted the offence at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday. |
| 'Not acceptable' | |
| Washington was due to captain a Boeing 767 on 9 November 2009 with 124 passengers and 11 crew on board. | |
| The court was told the highly experienced pilot, a married father of three, was over the legal alcohol limit as a result of a "miscalculation". | |
| But Judge Sam Katkhuda told him: "This is simply not acceptable, it was entirely voluntary on your part that you consumed alcoholic drink." | |
| He added: "As pilot, you know well that travelling on aircraft not only places special duty on passengers to behave in a reasonable manner, but also places special responsibility on pilots to comply with their duty." |