Delta Pilot Sentenced to 10 Months for Attempted Intoxicated Flight

Lawrence Russell Jr. attempted to pilot a flight from Edinburgh to New York while nearly two and a half times over the legal alcohol limit.

A Delta Airlines pilot, Lawrence Russell Jr., was sentenced to 10 months in jail for attempting to fly a transatlantic flight from Edinburgh to New York while intoxicated.
Russell was found to be almost two and a half times over the legal alcohol limit with a blood alcohol content of 49 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood, exceeding Scotland's limit for pilots of 20 milligrams.
The incident occurred on June 16, 2023, when Russell's carry-on luggage containing two bottles of Jägermeister was flagged during security screening.
Russell, a 63-year-old from Georgia, has two previous convictions for driving under the influence in the US and had completed a recovery program for alcoholism prior to the incident.
The court noted Russell's remorse and reduced his sentence from 15 months to 10 months due to his early guilty plea.