Pilot jailed for flying hungover between Palma and Norwich

A BRITISH pilot was sentenced to nine months in prison after he flew a private jet between Palma and Norwich while hungover.

Ian Jennings, 47, was detained after flying a Canadair CL601-34 Challenger with 12 people on board from Son Sant Joan airport to Norwich Airport on October 30. 

During the flight, one of the passengers thought he was behaving strangely, called the emergency services and said she thought the pilot was drunk. 

Once on the ground, the police gave him a breath test and the officers detected 31 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit for pilots is nine microgrammes. 

Jennings’ licence was suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority.

“The public must have 100 per cent confidence that pilots in this country are 100 per cent sober,” said the judge after sentencing him.

“The devastation you could have wreaked, not only to passengers but also on the ground goes without saying. It is my duty to send a clear message that any pilot who commits this kind of offence must expect an immediate custodial sentence,” he added.