Delta pilot gets 10 months in jail for drinking before overseas flight

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(NBC News) — An American Delta Airlines pilot has been sentenced to 10 months in jail in Scotland after reporting for work intoxicated when he was scheduled to fly to New York last year.

Lawrence Barbiers Russell Jr, 63, was supposed to captain a flight from Edinburgh, Scotland, to New York City on June 16, 2023, but he was arrested after a half-empty bottle of Jägermeister was found in his bag, and his blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit, the court said in a statement Tuesday.

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Russell, of Georgia, was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty on March 5 in Edinburgh Sheriff Court to a charge of reporting for duty as a pilot while exceeding the prescribed blood alcohol limit.

His blood alcohol reading that day was found to be at least 49 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood — which exceeds Scotland’s prescribed limit for pilots of 20 milligrams. The court noted the limit for car drivers is 50 milligrams.

According to the statement, the flight was scheduled to depart Scotland at 10:35 a.m. Russell showed up at 9:15 a.m. and went through security, where he was stopped due to liquids being detected in his bag.

Security found two bottles of Jägermeister, one full and one half-empty.

Russell was arrested at 10:12 a.m. after failing a breath sample. The statement also said he was taken to a nearby police station, where a blood sample was taken.

The pilot was initially given a 15-month sentence, but since he pled guilty at the earliest opportunity, his sentence was reduced by five months.

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