Drunk PIA pilot jailed for nine months

LONDON: An experienced Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilot who was found to have consumed more than three times the permitted alcohol level as he was about to fly an Airbus with 156 people on board to Pakistan, has been jailed for nine months in Britain.
Irfan Faiz, 55, father-of-two, was breath-tested at Leeds Bradford Airport on September 18 as he was undergoing pre-flight checks in an Airbus 310 with 145 passengers and 11 crew on board and was found to be in a completely drunken state, dishevelled and sleepy-looking. He was about to pilot the PIA 776 flight to Islamabad when he was asked to leave the cockpit due to concerns raised by security staff who said he smelled of drink and was unsteady on his feet. It is believed that the PIA staff reported him to the authorities.
Sentencing Irfan Faiz at the Leeds Crown Court, Justice Coulson said it was “extraordinary” that the rules in Pakistan only stated that there should be a 12-hour gap between “bottle and throttle”, no matter how much the pilot had drunk. The judge said he was “astonished” to hear that pilots regularly flying out of the UK were not aware of the rules in this country, which are based on the amount of alcohol present in the body.
Faiz gave an initial reading of 41 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath on the police officer’s handheld device. The legal limit for driving a car is 35 microgrammes but for flying in the UK it is just nine, the court heard. He later gave a reading on the evidential machine of 28.
The pilot told police he had consumed three-quarters of a bottle of whisky but had stopped drinking at about 3am. He was arrested before the flight which was due to depart at 10.10pm.
Faiz’s barrister, Paul Greaney QC, told the court his client was not a heavy drinker but was under a lot of stress at the time because of a kidnap threat against his family back home. The court heard that the defendant is from a prominent family in Pakistan. The defence lawyer said that Faiz was not aware of the drink-fly rules in the UK.
The judge told Faiz: “This has been a high-profile case, attracting a good deal of media interest. It is important that the sentence I pass carries the important message that, in general terms, airline pilots who are in drink when they are about to fly will go to prison. Many people find flying a difficult and nervous ordeal at the best of times. They need to have absolute confidence in their safety and security.” Faiz admitted a charge of carrying out an ancillary aviation function while impaired by alcohol, contrary to the Railways and Transport Act 2003, at a previous hearing.
Speaking to The News, a spokesperson of the PIA confirmed that no legal aid was provided to Irfan Faiz. “We have made it clear that any PIA official found in violation of rules in Pakistan or abroad will be dealt strictly according to the relevant laws. We await to receive the written verdict about Irfan Faiz. Upon the completion of his sentence, Irfan Faiz will have to face further action in Pakistan for bringing into disrepute Pakistan and the PIA,” said the spokesperson, adding that Faiz will not be retained. The spokesman further added that PIA steward Syed Shahrukh Shah, who has been charged with the importation of 2.5KG Heroin (Class A) to the UK, will not be provided help at any stage and soon disciplinary action against him will be taken “when we are informed about the evidence on him”. “The strict policy applies in these cases as well as in all other cases where rules have been violated,” added the spokesperson.