'Ashamed' Sunwing pilot pleads guilty to impaired charge

After emptying a 26-ounce bottle of vodka in his hotel room, Sunwing pilot Miroslav Gronych was so drunk when he stumbled onto the airplane he was supposed to fly from Calgary to Regina that his wing pin was on upside down and he appeared to pass out in the captain's chair. 

Gronych, 37, a foreign national from Slovakia in Canada on a work visa, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to having care and control of an aircraft with a blood alcohol level over .08. He was arrested and charged on Dec. 31, 2016.

His lawyer said Gronych is addicted to alcohol and had already begun treatment in Saskatoon, where he had been living.

• Pilot's blood alcohol was 3 times the legal limit, say Calgary police
• Sunwing pilot accused of passing out drunk in cockpit

Gronych showed up at court on Tuesday in a navy suit and red tie. He sat in the prisoner's box and offered a tearful apology.

"I feel very ashamed," said Gronych. "I feel a lot of remorse."

The married father of two young children said he hasn't had a drink since the day of his arrest.

'A crime of dramatic proportion'

That morning, Gronych flew into the Calgary airport at 12:48 a.m. He was scheduled to report back at 6 a.m. for a 7 a.m. flight scheduled to make stops in Regina and Winnipeg before continuing to Cancun, Mexico, with 99 passengers and six flight crew on board. 

"This was a crime of dramatic proportion," said prosecutor Rose Greenwood. "The last thing the public should have to do is question the sobriety of the pilots."

The details of Gronych's crime come from an agreed statement of facts read in court on Tuesday.

About an hour after he was supposed to report in, Gronych's second-in-command — the first officer — called Sunwing's Operations Control Centre (OCC).

The OCC tracked down the missing pilot, who told them he'd gotten lost after going through security and couldn't find the gate.

Gronych told to get off plane

Gronych staggered onto the airplane about 7:05 a.m. Airport and airline employees he'd passed along the way had already tracked down the first officer to voice their concerns after noting the pilot was slurring his words and couldn't walk in a straight line. 

On the plane, Gronych took about 30 seconds to hang up his jacket.

The first officer took Gronych to the bridge and told him he seemed impaired and had to get off the plane. 

"He seemed very nonchalant and said 'OK, if that's what you feel,'" said the first officer.

Glassy eyes, slurred speech

While Gronych's second-in-command was contacting the OCC with an update, the drunk pilot returned to the cockpit and appeared to pass out with his face against the window.

When he woke up, co-workers told him to leave on his own or be forcibly removed by police. 

Gronych walked off the airplane, and gate agents held him at the end of the bridge until police arrived.

Passengers were told the pilot had suddenly fallen ill, but many had seen him stumble in and believed he was drunk. 

Police noted Gronych had slurred speech, a tired look and glassy and pink eyes. He smelled of alcohol, and his pilot wing pin was fastened upside down. 

Prosecutor wants pilot jailed

As police escorted Gronych through the airport, they noticed he wasn't able to walk in a straight line, and he staggered when standing. 

A replacement captain was found, and the plane left at 8:30 a.m.

In his Delta Airport Hotel room, a maid found an empty 26-ounce bottle of vodka. 

Gronych's intention was to book off the flight as he was feeling ill the night before, according to his account of the morning in question.

He drank some of the vodka, fell asleep and woke up to a phone call from his employer.

'Lacked the willpower not to drink'

Gronych drank the rest of the vodka and headed to the airport.

"There is no reason he can give as to why he decided to drink the alcohol," said Gronych's lawyer, Susan Karpa. "He lacked the willpower not to drink."

Crown prosecutor Rosalind Greenwood has asked provincial court Judge Anne Brown to sentence Gronych to a year in jail. 

Gronych breached the trust of the airline, passengers and crew, she argued in her sentencing submissions.

Though there was "ample opportunity" for Gronych to change his mind, the pilot consumed an "incredible amount of alcohol" instead of going to bed.

"He had literally an awesome responsibility," said Greenwood. 

Seeking treatment for addiction

The Crown wasn't able to find any Canadian cases of pilots charged and sentenced under the Criminal Code. In her research, Greenwood told the judge she was only able to find a U.S. example of pilots being intoxicated and charged. In that case, the captain was sentenced to five years in prison despite his blood alcohol being much less than Gronych's.

Gronych realized he had a drinking problem in 2010, said Karpa. He didn't seek help at the time, but since he was charged, Gronych has begun treatment in Canada and has committed to continuing in Slovakia.

"He will do everything he needs to do to conquer the addiction," said Karpa.

Gronych's wife says her family has been "bombarded by the media" and faced a "public shaming" that feels like he's already faced punishment for his crime. 

Karpa has proposed a three- to six-month sentence. 

Gronych will begin serving his sentence on Tuesday, but the judge hasn't yet decided how long that jail term will be.

Judge Brown will deliver her decision on April 3.