Sunwing Airlines Pilot to Be Jailed for Intoxication

Miroslav Gronych was found to be drunk in the cockpit of a Cancun-bound flight last December.

It has been revealed that a captain who passed out in the cockpit of the plane he was supposed to be piloting will be facing jail time due to being intoxicated while on the job. The incident occurred on 31^st December when Miroslav Gronych, a pilot for low-cost Canadian carrier Sunwing Airlines, was found unconscious in his seat just prior to takeoff from Calgary International Airport (YYC).

In court proceedings, as detailed by the Metro, it is reported that Gronych was observed to be slumped in his seat before departure. It is also indicated that the Slovakian national, who was employed on a work visa, was unable to stand upon boarding. He was escorted from the craft and subsequently found to be three times over the legal blood alcohol limit.

A statement of facts presented in court recorded that police had noted that Gronych’s pilot’s wings were fastened upside-down to his uniform.

The statement also indicated that Gronych had been an hour late to arrive for the flight and had blamed this on the fact that he had gotten lost passing through security.

The co-pilot of the flight noted Gronych’s behavior and asked him to leave he plane, which he eventually did. He was detained by gate agents at YYC and taken away by police.

Susan Karpa, Gronych’s lawyer, told the court that her client was unable to sleep the night before the flight and felt as if he was getting a cold. To combat these symptoms, he took pain killers and a few shots of vodka. Her client, she said, intended to wake up in time to make his flight.

Gronych has pleaded guilty to being impaired while in control of an aircraft, the paper reports. His legal team have asked for a three to six-month jail term while the team prosecuting Gronych is calling for the 37-year-old to be sentenced to a year in jail.

A judge is currently considering the sentence and Gronych is due back in court in early April. Speaking of the incident, he said, “I can’t even describe how ashamed I am.”

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