Drunk Sunwing Pilot Gets Prison Sentence

A pilot at Canadian leisure carrier Sunwing Airlines was given an eight-month prison sentence on Monday after appearing to pass out while drunk prior to a flight to Mexico.

The pilot, 37-year old Slovakian national Miroslav Gronych, pleaded guilty to having three times the permitted level of alcohol in his system while being in charge of an aircraft.

Gronych, in Canada on a work visa, will serve just over seven months of the sentence after time served was taken into consideration. He was also banned from flying for a year after his release.

The incident took place prior to takeoff of a New Year’s eve 2016 flight to Mexico. The plane was due to stopover at Regina and Winnipeg before heading on to Cancun.

The co-pilot requested that Gronych leave the plane, but he returned and fell asleep in the cockpit. Gronych was escorted off the plane and handed over to police.

The sentencing comes less than two weeks after two United Airlines pilots were given 15 and 10 months custodial sentences in Scotland after being found to have attempted to fly from Glasgow to Newark Airport while over the permitted alcohol limit.