Japanese pilot Katsutoshi Jitsukawa has been jailed for 10 months after failing a breath test just 50 minutes before the Japan Airlines (JAL) flight to Tokyo from London last month. (London Metropolitan Police via AP)
A Japan Airlines pilot who reported for a London-to-Tokyo flight almost 10 times over the alcohol limit has been sentenced to 10 months in prison.
Katsutoshi Jitsukawa was arrested Oct. 28 after the driver of a Heathrow Airport crew bus smelled alcohol and reported it to security officials.
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Tests found the 42-year-old first officer had 189 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood in his system, almost 10 times the 20 milligrams limit for a pilot. The limit for drivers in Britain is 80 milligrams.
Judge Phillip Matthews said Jitsukawa had put passengers at risk and the consequences could have been "catastrophic."
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Passing sentence Thursday at London's Isleworth Crown Court, the judge said "the prospect of you taking over control of that aircraft is too appalling to contemplate."
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