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Boozy Jet Airways pilot arrested minutes before flight

        London: A Boeing 777 pilot was hauled out of the aircraft after he smelt of alcohol, as he prepared to take off with 300 passengers. Michael Harr, 62, who had been to a Christmas party the night before, was breath-tested and taken off the Jet Airways flight to Mumbai. The cops were tipped off when an airport staff smelt alcohol on the pilot as he passed through routine security. The airline pilots are to avoid alcohol for eight hours before flying. Harr was taken to Heathrow police station for a blood test, and bailed until next year. The passengers on the flight 9W119 included relatives of people killed and injured in the Mumbai massacre last month. It was delayed until a replacement pilot was found. "Harr absolutely stank of booze," the Sun quoted a source as saying. "Security were immediately suspicious about him and deemed that he wasn't fit to fly. "He was arrested and now faces losing his job. He is only a couple of years away from retirement and has blown everything. "Apparently, he and some of his younger colleagues had been out on Saturday night and the drinking got out of hand. "He thought he could keep up with the youngsters," the source added. A spokesman for Jet Airways said: "The first pilot was replaced and passengers were only delayed by ten minutes."
-Dec 23, 2008