Holiday jet pilot admits he was drunk

A FINNISH airline pilot pleaded guilty yesterday to preparing to fly a plane full of holidaymakers to Turkey while under the influence of alcohol.

Heikki Tallila, 50, was arrested by Greater Manchester Police at 7:20am on 23 August, minutes before his flight was due to leave Manchester Airport bound for the popular Mediterranean resort of Dalaman.

The pilot was arrested as he completed his standard pre-flight checks when airport authorities and police officers boarded the plane and demanded he leave the flight deck to carry out a breath test - which was later found to be positive for signs of alcohol.

It emerged in court yesterday that Tallila, who had worked for Finn Air for more than 20 years, was tested by police in a routine spot check shortly before he boarded the flight and that a breathalyser and a later blood test found him to be operating over the limit imposed on pilots operating in the UK.

Appearing before Trafford Magistrates’ Court in Manchester yesterday Tallila admitted one count of preparing to fly an aircraft while over the legal limit to fly.

The Finn Air Boeing 757 flight, which had 225 mainly British passengers aboard, had been due to depart to Dalaman as part of a regular summer service of the Helsinki-based operator.

The court heard that after he was removed from the flight deck Tallila was given a breath test in the terminal building before being taken to a nearby police station for a blood test, which showed further evidence of alcohol in his system. The court was also told he had since been sacked from his position.

Strict laws ban Finnish pilots from consuming any alcohol for 12 hours before flying and under legislation introduced in the UK in March police now have powers to breathalyse pilots and cabin crew suspected of attempting to fly under the influence of alcohol.

The legal alcohol limit for pilots and cabin crew in the UK is 20mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, while for drivers it is 80mg of alcohol.

During his brief hearing in court yesterday Tallila spoke only to confirm his personal details and was later released on unconditional bail.

He was expected to return home to Finland before appearing at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court on 2 December.