Lakewood pilot pleads guilty to UK alcohol offense

A Lakewood airline pilot Tuesday admitted in an Uxbridge, England, court room that he tried to board and fly a United Airlines Boeing 767 from London to Chicago after consuming too much alcohol.

Erwin Washington, a 51-year-old Lakewood resident, was arrested Nov. 9 after an airline employee smelled alcohol on Washington’s breath as he prepared to depart from Heathrow Airport.

The flight with 124 passengers and 11 crew members aboard was canceled and the passengers rebooked, a United spokeswoman told the Edge.

Washington pleaded guilty at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on charges of to being above the British blood-alcohol level for working pilots. A breath test showed Washington’s blood-alcohol level was more than 2 1/2 times the amount allowed under British law, according to evidence presented at trial court

The Uxbridge Gazette reported Washinton posted a reading of 31 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit being nine micrograms and that a subsequent blood test indicated Washington’s had 50 milligrams per 100ml of blood. The limit for pilots is 20 milligrams. The legal limit for driving a car is 80 milligrams, according to the Gazette.

Washington will be sentenced Feb. 5 and remains out on bail. He could face up to two years in jail and fined.

The court declined to impose conditions on Washington’s release despite his failure to appear at a court hearing in late November. Washington’s attorney told the court his client was ill and could not travel to London for that hearing..

“Safety is our highest priority and the pilot has been removed from service while we are cooperating with authorities and conducting a full investigation,” United Airlines said in a statement released by McCarthy. “United’s alcohol policy is among the strictest in the industry and we have no tolerance for violation of this well-established policy.”