Drunk pilot who passed out in cockpit moments before take off was three times legal limit
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A pilot who allegedly passed out drunk in the cockpit of a plane moments before take off was three times over the legal drink drive limit, police have revealed.
The man, named as 37-year-old Slovakian Miroslav Gronych, was due to fly the plane from Calgary, Alberta, in Canada, to Cancun, Mexico, on New Year's Eve.
But he was arrested after crew noticed him "behaving oddly before he became unconscious in the cockpit".
He was escorted off the plane and taken into custody where police tested him and claim he was three times over the legal drink drive limit.
Sgt. Paul Stacey told a news conference: "Pilot charged with being impaired was 3 times the legal limit.
"They found him slumped over in the seat. He was the captain."
Mr Gronych has been charged after the incident on the Sunwing Airlines 737-800 plane.
He was due to carry 99 passengers and six crew.
Mr Gronych was charged with having care and control of an aircraft while impaired, and having care and control of an aircraft with a blood alcohol level over .08.
(Photo: Getty)
He is due to appear in court on January 5.
Sunwing airlines released a statement apologising for the incident.
It read: "Dear Customers,
"We would like to take the opportunity to advise you of an incident that occurred earlier this morning.
"We can confirm that shortly before 7 a.m. local time, the gate agents, first officer and crew of Sunwing flight 595, departing from Calgary and destined for Cancun, determined that the Captain was unfit to fly and reported this accordingly.
"The Captain was immediately escorted off of the aircraft and the incident is now under investigation with local authorities.
"We are very appreciative of our crew’s diligence in handling this very unfortunate matter in accordance with procedures.
"We were able to secure a new Captain and are pleased to report that our customers are now en route to their destination after experiencing a minimal delay.
"We are very apologetic for any upset that this has caused and would like to assure our customers that safety remains our utmost priority."