Drunk Aussie pilot seven times over limit

A drunken airline pilot who tried to fly a packed plane to Dubai when he was seven times over the alcohol limit was sent to jail yesterday.

John Cronly-Dillon, 51, was sentenced to four months by a judge who told him he had brought an unblemished 25-year career to a stupid andignominious end.

The Australian pilot for Emirates had been on such a bender, Isleworthcrown court in London heard, that his drink level sent monitors through the ceiling, even though he claimed to have observed the ban on pilots taking alcohol within 12 hours of a flight. He was arrested after stumbling around during a routine search at Heathrow, making incoherent jokes about ``not blowing up my plane'' with his breath smelling strongly of drink.