Intoxicated pilot three times the limit

An intoxicated pilot was caught preparing to fly a commercial passenger jet out of Canberra Airport while more than three times the legal flying limit.

Skywest Captain Damian John Shelley blew 0.07 at the 6am start of his shift on October 13, 2012, during which he was rostered to fly five commercial flights across the ACT and NSW, the Canberra Times reports.

The then 42-year-old, who had been drinking the night before, was sprung after being selected at random for testing by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

An initial test which recorded Captain Shelley above the 0.02 limit for pilots was twice confirmed on the day and again by a medical review officer two days later.

The pilot admitted to drinking four pints between 5pm and 10pm the previous day, but did not think it would affect his ability to fly from Canberra to Sydney, before making four flights between Sydney and Port Macquarie later that day.

The incident was referred to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Captain Shelley was charged with a criminal offence but escaped with a non-conviction order in the ACT Magistrates Court earlier this month.

He no longer works for Skywest which was absorbed by Virgin Australia in the weeks following the incident.

Source: Canberra Times
Author: Chloe Ross, Approving editor: Lachlan Williams