Justice - Drunk and unqualified, the Brazilian private pilot faces justice

Every year, the management of Saint-Barthélemy airport records between 200 and 300 security incidents of all kinds. The vast majority are minor incidents. On May 21, 2024, one of these minor but systematically reported incidents could have had serious consequences. On that day in May, two pilots of Brazilian nationality flying a private plane landed their aircraft under rather unusual conditions. As a result, the main pilot, Eduardo Alves de Abreu, was summoned to appear before the Saint-Martin Magistrates' Court on January 16.

A pilot who smells of alcohol
On the day of the incident, it was close to midday when the pilots began their approach. The controllers were immediately alerted by the runway integration and overflight trajectory, which did not comply with procedures. The landing was perilous, but successful. But the pilot does not park his aircraft in the area reserved for private flights. When the security manager came to meet him, he realized that the pilot did not have the document attesting to authorization to land in Saint-Barthélemy. The BGTA (Brigade de Gendarmerie des Transports Aériens) was alerted, and they noticed that both the main pilot and his co-pilot smelled of alcohol. After toxicology tests, the pilot was found to have 0.61 grams of alcohol per liter of blood. In short, above the legal limit.
On January 16, Eduardo Alves de Abreu did not attend the court hearing. Nor was he represented by a lawyer. Aged 41, the Brazilian pilot did not hear the prosecutor's closing argument: "He broke the most basic safety rules. This private pilot flew around the Caribbean after leaving Fort Lauderdale (he was arriving from Anguilla when he landed in Saint-Barth, editor's note). He said he had consumed five beers the night before. He did not have a certificate attesting to the qualifications required to land in Saint-Barthélemy, and his blood alcohol level was noted. What's more, he didn't bother to appear in court. He must have thought that if he put his head in the sand, he'd get away with it. "The public prosecutor's representative is asking for a suspended sentence of two months' imprisonment, a fine of 800 euros and a six-month ban on flying aircraft. The civil aviation authorities have already imposed a six-month ban on the pilot.
The court reserved its decision, which will be published in a forthcoming issue.