Airline Blames Pilot's Diet for Breath Test Failure
A Virgin Atlantic pilot was arrested just prior to takeoff on suspicion of being over the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit for operating a commercial jet. Virgin Atlantic asserted that the pilot’s breath test failure was caused by his diet. The pilot has been cleared of drinking and flying charges.
Police arrested the pilot at London’s Heathrow Airport before a New York bound flight. Security staff had tipped off police to their suspicion that the pilot had been drinking. An initial breath test showed the pilot to be over the legal limit for drinking and flying. A follow-up blood test showed “the amount of alcohol in the blood was consistent with that of a non-drinker.”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesman blamed a diet the pilot was on for the mistaken breath test result. He said some diets lead the body to generate increased levels of acetone. “It smells like alcohol on someone’s breath.”