'Pickled' US Pilot loses the plot
Published: 06 Nov 2010
A BOOZY pilot was hauled off a jet after naming the wrong city as his destination, it was claimed last night.
First Officer George La Perle, 48, was said to have given off a whiff of alcohol as he told Heathrow security guards he was flying to NEW YORK.
Cops followed him and found him boarding a US plane with 213 passengers bound for DETROIT - nearly 500 miles away from the Big Apple.
La Perle, who was said to have been found in the cockpit with his laces undone, was taken off the Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 as it sat on the tarmac at Terminal 4.
At the airport police station he allegedly gave a reading almost five times the drink limit allowed for pilots. He was held in custody overnight and appeared in court in nearby Uxbridge the next day.
La Perle was said to have given a reading of 89mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The limit for pilots is 20mg, a quarter of the maximum for drivers. The case was adjourned until November 16.
Delta Air Lines said La Perle, of Boston, had been suspended. Scotland Yard said: "He is charged with performing an aviation duty while exceeding the alcohol limit."
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