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Citation :

Pilots Facing Five Years in Prison By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 21 minutes ago



MIAMI - Two former America West pilots who drank 14 beers between them the night before their Phoenix-bound jet was to depart were convicted of being drunk in the cockpit.


Thomas Cloyd and Christopher Hughes face a minimum of probation and a maximum of five years in prison after being found guilty Wednesday of operating an aircraft while drunk in 2002.

A judge ordered both men held without bail and set sentencing for July 20.

"All I can say is that we are very disappointed," said attorney James Rubin, who represented Hughes. He declined to comment on whether the pair would appeal.

The two men bowed their heads when the verdict was read after a two-week trial and jury deliberations over parts of two days. Each man hugged weeping loved ones before being handcuffed and taken to jail.

Prosecutors said the pilots ended an all-night drinking binge at a sports bar about 4:40 a.m. on July 1, 2002 — roughly six hours before their flight was scheduled for takeoff from Miami International Airport. Hours later, they registered blood-alcohol levels above Florida's 0.08 legal limit.

Cloyd, 47, and Hughes, 44, were arrested after security screeners smelled alcohol on them. Their plane had just been pushed back from the gate when police ordered it to return.

Assistant State Attorney Deisy Rodriguez had called the defendants "stumbling, fumbling" drunks who put 117 passengers and crew in grave danger.

The pilots maintained they were not operating the aircraft because the Airbus 319 was being pushed by a runway tug and its steering was disengaged at the time it was ordered back to the terminal.

They were fired by America West after their arrests and lost their commercial pilot's licenses.