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Pilot jailed for flying jet while ‘drunk’
A pilot who flew a jet from Spain to the UK while he was three times over the drink drive limit has been jailed.
The pilot was jailed for nine months
Ian Jennings, 47, from Gosport in Hampshire, was arrested at Norwich Airport on 30 October at Norwich Airport after a concerned passenger reported him to the police.
The executive chartered plane had been carrying millionaire scrap metal businessman Andre Serruy, a woman and three teenage girls, according to reports by the BBC.
Jennings, who has 20 years experience as a pilot, admitted to flying while over the limit in November.
His defence team claimed he had fallen foul of “topping up” after several days of heavy drinking to celebrate his engagement.
Jennings claimed he had only drunk three pints of lager the night before the flight.
Jailing him for nine months, Judge Stephen Holt said the public needed to be confident pilots were “100% sober”.
His licence has been suspended by the Civil Aviation Authority.