GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A co-pilot pulled from a plane for being drunk was convicted Friday, May 26, of operating a common carrier under the influence of alcohol, a potential 15-year felony.
Sean Michael Fitzgerald, 35, of Boca Raton, Florida, was convicted by a jury in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.
He was arrested before a flight at Traverse City's Cherry Capital Airport.
He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.343 percent, more than four times the limit for motorists to be presumed intoxicated. The legal limit for pilots is 0.02 percent
His attorney had argued that he didn't actually fly the plane.
The incident occurred around 7 a.m. Aug. 25.
Fitzgerald was in the cabin, preparing for a flight to Massachusetts, when pilot Manny Ramirez detected the odor of alcohol. He noted Fitzgerald slurring his words, too.
Traverse City police responded and took Fitzgerald off the plane.
Fitzgerald worked for private charter company, Talon, which fired him.
The plane was not ready to fly, and wheel chocks were still in place, but acting-U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge said "that does not lessen the gravity of (Fitzgerald's) crime."
Fitzgerald told police that he had two beers at lunch the previous day.
He will be sentenced Sept. 19 by U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker, who presided over the four-day trial.