| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| 2 Ex-America West Pilots Convicted of Drunk Flying |
| 2005-06-08 |
| MIAMI - Two former America West pilots were convicted Wednesday of operating an aircraft while drunk in the cockpit after an all-night drinking binge. Both men bowed their heads when the verdict was read after a two-week trial and deliberations over parts of two days. They face up to five years in state prison at sentencing. Pilot Thomas Cloyd and co-pilot Christopher Hughes were arrested July 1, 2002, as their jet bound for Phoenix was being pushed back from its gate at Miami International Airport. Police ordered the plane to turn back and arrested the pilots after security screeners smelled a strong odor of alcohol on Hughes, and Cloyd got in an argument over his attempts to bring aboard a cup of The pilots split 14 beers at a bar the night before the flight, ending their revelry about 4:40 a.m. - roughly six hours before their flight was to depart. Hours later, they registered blood-alcohol levels above Florida 0.08 legal limit. Cloyd and Hughes, who maintained they were not operating the aircraft because it was being directed by a tow truck, were fired by America West after their arrests and lost their commercial pilot's licenses. Never heard of that defense working when someone was accused of driving drunk....hope they didn't pay big legal fees for this case. |
| Posted by:Desert Blondie |