Former America West Pilots Convicted
By Carol Kennedy
Published on August 02, 2005
Christopher Hughes, 44, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and Thomas Cloyd, 47, was sentence to five years. The incident occurred on July 1, 2002 when, after drinking up to 14 jumbo beers at a Miami bar, the two showed up late for a 10:30 a.m. flight. The Airbus A319 aircraft was ordered back to the terminal when an airport security screener reported that the pilots smelledof alcohol. The two pilots were subsequently fired from their jobs and the FAA revoked their pilots' licenses.
The lawyers for the pilots attempted to argue that the pilots should not be convicted as they were not actually operating the aircraft at the time.
The flight in question had 124 passengers and three flight attendants on board.
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