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Defense: Pilots weren't drunk - or driving

A trial begins for two ex-pilots, arrested in 2002 as they were about to take off with 124 passengers after a night of boozing.

MIAMI - Two former America West pilots were not impaired even if they smelled of alcohol after a night of heavy drinking, and besides, they were not in full control of their taxiing airliner because it was being towed, defense attorneys told jurors Monday as the ex-pilots' criminal trial opened.

State prosecutors will be unable to show that former pilot Thomas Cloyd and co-pilot Christopher Hughes did anything to endanger their 124 passengers and three flight attendants, the attorneys said in opening arguments.

While the Airbus 319 jet bound for Phoenix was being towed from its gate at Miami International Airport, the steering was disengaged and neither pilot could actually operate the plane, they said.

"The tug driver is maneuvering that plane, not Mr. Hughes, not Mr. Cloyd," said Daniel Foodman, representing Cloyd. "This plane was inoperable at all times the two defendants were in the cockpit."

Cloyd and Hughes are charged with operating an aircraft while intoxicated in the July 1, 2002, incident. Airport security workers noticed a strong odor of alcohol as the pilots boarded the plane. The control tower ordered the takeoff aborted as the plane was being towed from the gate.

Cloyd and Hughes have already lost their commercial pilots' licenses. They face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Assistant State Attorney Hillah Katz told a jury of five men and one woman that Cloyd and Hughes both registered blood alcohol levels above 0.08 percent, Florida's legal threshold of impairment. She said the argument that the pilots were not operating the aircraft was ludicrous.

"Operation is much more than flying that aircraft," Katz said.

A key dispute is whether the engines were running after the plane left the gate. Prosecutors say they were; defense lawyers say the tug operator will say they were off.

Prosecutors say that between them, Cloyd and Hughes consumed seven 34-ounce glasses and seven 16-ounce glasses of beer over six hours at a bar, and at dinner before that, they drank wine and Cloyd had a martini.

The revelry ended about 4:40 a.m., about six hours before the America West jet was preparing to depart. Federal Aviation Administration regulations prohibit commercial pilots from flying within eight hours of consuming alcohol.

An airport security official, Dale Dalton of the U.S. Homeland Security Department, testified Monday that after screeners said they noticed the smell of alcohol on the pilots, he became "very concerned." Eventually, the plane was stopped and the two pilots were arrested.

Testimony is expected to continue for several weeks.

[Last modified May 24, 2005, 03:00:27]