A SCOTS student has taken the Neknominate craze to new heights – by apparently downing a pint in the cockpit.
Thorfinn Stout, 21, uploaded a video of himself in the front seat of a light aircraft with one hand on the control column and the other holding what appears to be a pint of lager.
The Stirling University student, originally from Kirkwall, Orkney, is understood to have been a a passenger rather than co-pilot and there is nothing to suggest he is intoxicated.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules do make it clear that it is illegal for a passenger to be drunk aboard an aircraft.
And the head of one Scottish flying school said they banned all alcohol in their light aircraft because they “do not mix”.
Mr Stout, who is reading business studies and sports studies, is heard in the video saying: “Ready for a pint.”
As Mr Stout downs the drink in one, his hands are on the controls of the plane in front of him.
After posting it on his Facebook page, a friend called Andy Croy wrote: “Haha quality mate.
“Reports of a small aircraft swerving over Kirkwall can be confirmed then.”
A CAA leaflet on passenger safety in light aircraft states that pilots should “not take passengers who are under the influence of alcohol (or anything worse)”.
It adds: “They could hazard the flight. Drunkenness in an aircraft is an offence under ANO 2009 Article 139.”
Jack Simpson an instructor at Edinburgh Flying Club said that it would be “inadvisable” to let passengers on board a light aircraft drink any alcohol.
Mr Simpson said: “Alcohol and planes do not mix.
“If it is a passenger drinking it is not illegal but it is inadvisable. It’s up to the pilot, but it is absolutely not advisable. We wouldn’t allow anyone to take alcohol on the plane at all.
“We have a line that says there should be at least ‘8 hours between the bottle and the throttle.”
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Although passengers are not prohibited from drinking alcohol onboard an aircraft, they are legally obliged to follow the instructions of the pilot in command at all times.
“If a passenger’s actions interfere with the pilot’s control of the aircraft, they can be charged with recklessly endangering that aircraft, an offence taken very seriously by the courts, and which carries with it the possibility of a custodial sentence.”
Mr Stout could not be contacted for comment.
His mother, Anne Stout, from Kirkwall, Orkney, said that her son was not the co-pilot, but did not wish to comment any further.
