A Japanese driver, 10 times over his alcohol limit, jailed in the UK

LONDON: A Japan Airlines pilot was jailed for 10 months on Thursday, November 29, after being caught 10 times over the alcohol limit shortly before takeoff from London Heathrow airport.

First officer Katsutoshi Jitsukawa, aged 42, was sentenced by the Isleworth Court of Justice, in West London.

The Japanese co-pilot was arrested at Heathrow on October 28, after failing a breath test 50 minutes before Japan Airlines' JL44 flight to Tokyo, in the cockpit, took off.

"You are an experienced pilot, but you had clearly been drinking for a long time, shortly before you arrived in the plane," said Judge Philip Matthews.

"The most important thing is the safety of everyone on this very long-haul flight, potentially 12 hours or more, and their safety has been endangered by drunkenness and drunkenness.

"The prospect of you taking control of this plane is too appalling to be considered, and the potential consequences for those on board were catastrophic."

The court heard that the security services had noticed that he had a strong smell of alcohol, that he seemed drunk and that he had "glassy eyes", while he was not drinking. an officer had noticed that he had "difficulty standing".

A breath test revealed that it exceeded the limit by more than 10 times with 93 milligrams of alcohol over 100 milliliters of breath. The legal flight limit is nine mg.

The Boeing 777 that he had to fly, accommodating up to 244 passengers, finally took off with 69 minutes late.

Jitsukawa pleaded guilty to the charge of having served an aviation function when his faculties were impaired by alcohol. He appeared in court by videoconference from Wandsworth Prison in South London.

Jitsukawa's lawyer, Bill Emlyn Jones, said the pilot had developed insomnia and depression due to the wear and tear of long-haul travel.

Jitsukawa feels a "dishonorable disgrace" and apologized to the airline, passengers and his family "for the shame he inflicted on them," said the lawyer.