Lawrence Russel, 63, of Georgia, an American airline commercial pilot was caught over the alcohol limit before he was due to fly a Boeing 767 full of passengers from Edinburgh to New York. Captain Russel, of Delta Airlines was searched by Airport security officers at about 8:00 on 16 June 2023 and found two bottles of Jagermeister in his luggage- on of which was half full, was later arrested following a failed breath test. The pilot was remanded in custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to reporting for duty as a pilot while being impaired through drink or drugs. The court heard the alcohol level in the pilot’s blood sample was “not less than 489mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is just 20 mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

Pamela Rogers, defending lawyer, provided the court with medical report of the treatment Russell has been receiving for his alcoholism and said he was “under no illusion” to the seriousness of the offence.

Sheriff Alison Stirling deferred sentence to later this month for the preparation of reports.