United Airlines Flight Attendant Drank So Much During Flight to London She Had to Be Rushed to Hospital

A long-serving United Airlines flight attendant quit the carrier in disgrace after she drank so much alcohol while looking after passengers on a transatlantic flight to London that she had to be met by emergency medical responders on the tarmac and rushed to the hospital.

The 56-year-old former flight attendant had worked for United Airlines for more than two decades, but days after the incident, she submitted her resignation as criminal proceedings were pursued by British authorities.

Last week, Margit Lake from California attended a court hearing close to Heathrow Airport when she pleaded guilty to a single count of performing an aviation-related function with more than the prescribed level of alcohol in her body. 

The court was told that Lake was one of a dozen crew members working on an overnight United Airlines flight from San Francisco to London Heathrow on October 17.

During the flight, Lake admitted to drinking multiple miniature bottles of liquor, but her defense attorney told the court that she was dealing with a significant amount of grief and was feeling isolated. As a result, she turned to alcohol to help her calm down.

Lake claimed she had snuck the miniature bottles onboard with her, and had not drunk any of the onboard supplies.

She ended up drinking so much that she became unwell, and her coworkers were so concerned for her welfare that they called ahead to have an ambulance waiting on arrival.

In evidence submitted to the court, paramedics said they could smell alcohol on her breath and had to be taken to the hospital for low blood pressure.

Police were subsequently called, and Lake was arrested on suspicion of an offense under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003.

Lake was found to be nearly 11 times over the legal alcohol limit for aircrew, with a blood alcohol reading of 216 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. In the United Kingdom, the limit for pilots, flight attendants, and other critical aviation staff is just 20 milligrams of alcohol.

Prosecutors alleged that Lake’s actions posed an “obvious risk to herself and other passengers,” but the judge spared Lake a prison sentence and fined her £1,461 ($1,870), as well as a £584 victim surcharge, and £85 in court costs.

Matt’s take – This would have been a different story if it were a pilot

British courts have a track record of being pretty lenient towards flight attendants who are found to be over the alcohol limit, although that certainly isn’t the case for pilots who invariably end up spending time in prison for the same offense.

• Earlier this year, a veteran Delta Air Lines pilot was jailed for 10 months after being stopped just before boarding a flight at Edinburgh Airport. The pilot was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 49 milligrams.
• In 2018, a Japan Airlines pilot was also jailed for 10 months after being found to have at least 189 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood ahead of a flight from London Heathrow.

While flight attendants do have a lot of safety responsibilities, it’s pretty clear that British Courts view the risk posed by pilots being drunk at the controls as far more serious, with potentially devastating consequences.