The “drunk” skipper of a Virgin Atlantic flight was hauled off his plane in HANDCUFFS in front of shocked passengers.
Police swooped after being alerted by security staff who suspected the £120,000-a-year flier had been boozing.
The pilot, 47, was then breathalysed and arrested behind the controls — as more than 300 people on board flight VS003 waited to take off for New York.
An airport insider said: “A member of security smelt alcohol on his breath and called cops.
“Officers boarded at the last moment and led the pilot away in handcuffs.
“Another few minutes and he would have been flying across the Atlantic with hundreds of passengers. The results could have been catastrophic.”
Virgin Atlantic — headed by tycoon Sir Richard Branson — has suspended the captain pending blood test results. If these are positive he will be charged and face court. The pilot was given police bail.
The arrest was at 8.59am on Saturday as the Airbus 340 was standing at a gate in Heathrow’s Terminal 3. A replacement pilot was found and the flight departed an hour late.
Scotland Yard confirmed: “Police arrested a 47-year-old pilot on a Virgin flight to JFK.”
Virgin, like most airlines, operates a zero-tolerance policy to drink and drugs. Aircrew are told they can have had NO alcohol eight hours before duty and only a small amount 24 hours before.
The limit for flying is nine micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath — compared to 35 micrograms for driving.
Virgin said: “We would like to apologise for the inconvenience and also reassure passengers that safety is our priority.
“As the matter is part of an ongoing police inquiry we cannot comment in any further detail at this stage.”
Source: CHARLES RAE and BEN ASHFORD, The Sun
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