Drunk BA pilot 'had empty litre bottles of vodka at his lodgings': Colleagues 'covered up' for pilot jailed for being almost six times over the limit as he prepared to fly out of Gatwick

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Former pilot Julian Monaghan, 49, is led into a prison van at Lewes Crown Court today

A British Airways pilot who turned up for work to fly 300 passengers to Mauritius after downing three double vodkas was today jailed for eight months.

Julian Monahgan, 49, was hauled off a Boeing 777 by armed police after failing a breath test in the cockpit of a packed jet at London Gatwick Airport, just ten minutes before it was due to take off.

However, colleagues claimed he had a longstanding drinking problem that saw him down one-litre entire bottles of vodka a night.

'There is a pilots' 'dosshouse' on the Bath Road opposite Heathrow which has five bedrooms and pilots can bed down there on the night before a flight,' a source said.

'It's a convenient place to get some rest before a long-haul flight. Then they usually go straight to the airport and report for duty. 

'After Mr Monaghan stayed there, empty vodka bottles – one-litre ones – were often found. It became a routine discovery and the cleaner eventually twigged and was all for reporting it to BA, but was talked out of it.

'It seems that pilot colleagues must have realised there was a problem with this guy, so someone was covering up for him. 

'You can't just turn a blind eye to something like that. It goes beyond being loyal to a friend and colleague.'

BA rules prohibit staff from drinking eight hours before work, which the company pointed out when told about the empty vodka bottles.

'We have never received any such claim. We have very strict rules about alcohol consumption ahead of a flight, and the safety and security of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority,' it said.

Monaghan is led into the van after he was jailed for eight months for being drunk in the cockpit

'This behaviour is completely unacceptable and not what we expect from our highly professional fleet of pilots.'

BA was also warned seven years earlier that Monaghan posed 'a safety risk' and was 'not fit to operate' after he was involved in a drunken argument in a bar.

The airline argued that this was an isolated incident and did not constitute a warning he was unfit to fly planes. 

Monahghan admitted he started drinking at 10.15am in his hotel room at Gatwick after flying into London Heathrow overnight from South Africa.

He drank three miniature bottles of vodka, mixed with coke, before he was due to be a pilot on the 9.20pm flight.

The doors were closed and the flight was about to push back when police boarded.

Airport technician Verity McAllen noticed a smell of alcohol on his breath despite Monaghan chewing gum as final checks were carried out on the plane.

She reported her concerns and police were called. Monaghan was one of two senior officers on board. Police waited five minutes before testing Monaghan after asking him to remove his gum.

Officers noticed the smell of drink on him as they drove him to Crawley police station, even though he was still chewing gum. 

Her Honour Judge Janet Waddicor said passengers and public had the right to expect commercial pilots not to be over the alcohol limit.

Officers noticed the smell of drink on Monaghan as they drove him to Crawley police station

The judge reduced his sentence from 12 months for his early guilty plea. She said: 'No doubt many of the passengers were looking forward to a holiday in Mauritius.'

The flight was delayed by one hour and 40 minutes, the judge said, adding: 'Entirely because you had presented with an alcohol reading four times the limit for pilots.

'The limits for pilots are pitched deliberately low because of the responsibility which attaches to the job. The lives of the people on board are in the hands of the pilot. 

'The people who live on the flight path are entitled to feel they are safe. It may be you would have got away with it because you say you weren't aware you were over the limit.

'You say you were staggered at the reading and when the police reading was confirmed you resigned. 

'It will come as some consolation and comfort to passengers that a technician came to stand very close to you when checking out a piece of equipment she was aware of a strong odour of intoxicating liquor on your breath.

'Miss McaAllan reported her suspicion and police were called,' Her Honour Judge Waddicor said. 'Good for her.'

Amy Packham, prosecuting, said: 'He maintains he hadn't had any alcohol in the eight hours before reporting for duty.

'The Crown submit that eight hours is a long period of time and if that is correct, there must have been a significant amount consumed just prior to that for the reading to be as high as it was ten hours later.'

The veteran BA pilot was hauled from the cockpit at London Gatwick Airport in handcuffs

Ms Packham said: 'He was over the limit even for a car, for a pilot he was four times over. He gave a prepared statement in interview saying he had flown from Cape Town to Heathrow.

Former British Airways pilot Julian Monaghan arrives at Lewes Crown Court this morning

'He had nothing to eat on the flight had one glass of wine and got the bus to his Gatwick hotel. 

'He said he stayed in his room on his own until 6pm. He got to the aircraft at 7.30pm and said he felt fine.

'He was shocked when told he was being arrested and was surprised at the reading.

'He said: 'I remain saddened and bewildered by these events and will wait for the blood sample which has been taken.''

As soon as blood test results were confirmed, Monaghan resigned from BA

Emly Jones, defending, said he has lost everything and is now a shadow of the man who had dreamed of being a pilot as a young boy. 

Mr Jones said Monaghan had remembered drinking three miniature bottles of vodka - each of which are the equivalent to a double bar serving - which he can buy at a discount in a duty-free scheme available to airline staff.

Mr Jones said the former BA pilot will never fly commercially again and he offered an unreserved apology to the passengers and his family. 

Monaghan was shocked by his arrest, surprised by the readings, his fall from grace had been very public and has caused huge embarrassment, Mr Jones said.

Monaghan has admitted one count of reporting for duty as a pilot while over the limit

The court was told his teenage son - now sitting his GCSEs - has not spoken to him since and, due to a costly divorce a decade ago, he has no savings.

But he is hoping to find work in South Africa - where he was living - by re-training as a drone pilot to take pictures of homes for estate agents, the court heard.

Mr Jones said: 'There is deeply felt and genuine remorse. There is a real understanding that what he has done is serious and has caused damage to himself, his employers and his family,' he said.

Staff called 999 shortly before take-off from Gatwick on January 18. Stewards decided to call the police before the aeroplane left the departure gate.

Monaghan was arrested and led off the aircraft in handcuffs. He admitted having 86mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system. The limit for pilots is 20mg.

Judge Waddicor said: 'It must have been humiliating for you to be escorted from the plane and to the runway and must have been startling for the passengers onboard.

'It is a personal tragedy you have lost your reputation and your salary. What better deterrent for a pilot as to what can happen if you drink than to see what has happened to you.

 Monaghan (pictured on holiday) was drunk as his packed British Airways jet taxied for take-off

'The safety of passengers and the public confidence in airplane pilots is critical. 

'Passengers should feel confident the man or woman flying the aircraft which they are travelling several thousand feet above the ground has not exceeded the alcohol limit.' 

Monaghan, who divides his time between South Africa and Harmondsworth, West London, admitted being over the limit when he appeared at Crawley Magistrates' Court on June 6 and was sent to Lewes Crown Court for sentencing.

Last week, the magistrate at Crawley described his mitigation by comparing his blood alcohol level to drink driving as 'spurious'.

Chair of the bench Dr David Wiggins said at the time: 'I have to say the comparison to drink-driving is somewhat spurious in these circumstances.

'A pilot in a Boeing 777 is somewhat different from driving on the road, so we are completely ignoring that comment.'

A BA spokesman said: 'This behaviour is completely unacceptable and not what we expect from our highly professional fleet of pilots.

'The safety and security of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority.' 

Monaghan joined BA in 2001. First officers with the airline typically earn more than £60,000

Detective Constable Stuart Macpherson, the officer in charge of the case, said: 'Monaghan was reported to us through the diligence and integrity of the aircraft technician who smelt alcohol on his breath and alerted the authorities as appropriate.

'Although he offered mitigating circumstances and was not an operating pilot on the day in question, he was still an active member of the flight deck and could have been called upon at any moment. Therefore his mitigation does not alter the fact that he potentially put the lives of more than 200 people at risk.

'There are no lay-bys at 30,000ft and has Monaghan been required to take control of the aircraft in the event of an emergency on the flight deck in the early stages of the flight, his judgement and abilities would have been impaired.'

Senior Crown Prosecutor Alice Trodden, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: 'The defendant was four times over the prescribed alcohol limit when he reported for duty as first officer for the flight.

'The defendant was arrested just ten minutes before the flight was due to push back and the potential consequences, had he been required to take control of the plane while impaired in the event of an emergency, cannot be underestimated.

'In the face of the overwhelming evidence put forward by the police and CPS, the defendant pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity.'