Delta pilot pleads guilty to being drunk before trying to fly from Scotland to U.S.

EDINBURGH, Scotland — A Delta pilot has pleaded guilty to being almost two-and-a-half times above the legal limit for alcohol before making a flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Captain Lawrence Russell, 63, was sentenced to 10 months in a Scottish jail.

Russell was set to fly a Boeing 767 from Edinburgh, Scotland to New York City in June 2023.

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His carry-on baggage was flagged by an X-ray machine and security agents found two bottles of Jägermeister, one of which had been opened and was half-empty. He admitted that the alcohol was his.

He failed a breath test and a blood test showed there were 49 milligrams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of his blood. The legal limit is just 20 milligrams.

They say he was wearing a pilot’s uniform and a Delta lanyard.

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“Lawrence Russell’s conduct would have endangered many lives; the consequences could have been catastrophic,” said Lynne Barrie, Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders. “He showed a reckless disregard for the safety of his passengers and crew. The pilot of a commercial aircraft holds the lives of hundreds in his hands. He would have put all of them at serious risk.”

The BBC reported that the court also heard that Russell has two previous convictions for DUI in the U.S.

Delta shared a statement with Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday night that confirmed Russell is no longer employed by Delta, that read,

“Delta was aware of this incident and removed the pilot from service while conducting a thorough investigation in coordination with Scottish authorities.”

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