Kentucky pilot pleads guilty to flying air ambulance while under influence of alcohol
A helicopter pilot has admitted flying an air ambulance while impaired by alcohol during an emergency flight in Kentucky.
Morgan J. Wiljanen, 46, pleaded guilty to a charge of operating an air common carrier while under the influence of alcohol, a charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
At the time of the incident on March 21, Wiljanen worked for Air Evac EMS Inc. The air ambulance company, which operates under the name Air Evac Lifeteam, says it is part of a network that operates from more than 300 locations in 38 states.
Wiljanen, along with a flight paramedic and a nurse, picked up a patient at Baptist Health Hospital in Corbin and headed for the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington, lifting off a few minutes before noon.
On the way to Lexington, the Bell helicopter began flying erratically, with an unexplained loss of altitude, which “greatly concerned” the paramedic and nurse, according to Wiljanen’s plea agreement.
The paramedic saw Wiljanen slumped over in his seat and unresponsive, according to the plea.
The crew members shouted at Wiljanen over the intercom on the helicopter and after several tries got his attention.
They convinced him to land at the Central Kentucky Regional Airport in Richmond, telling him that a crew member was sick, according to the plea.
Wiljanen made a non-standard approach to the airport, forcing to other aircraft to take evasive maneuvers.
The patient was transferred to a ground ambulance for the trip to the UK hospital, and Wiljanen was taken by ambulance to Baptist Health Hospital in Richmond to be evaluated.
A blood alcohol test performed on Wiljanen at 2:19 p.m. showed a concentration of 0.35%, according to the plea agreement.
That would be more than four times the level of 0.08 at which drivers in Kentucky are presumed to be drunk.
After someone drove Wiljanen back to the Air Evac base in Corbin he took two breathalyzer tests about eight hours later. One showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.145 and the other, just over 20 minutes later, showed a level of 0.127, according to the court record.
Air Evac said in a statement to the Herald-Leader that it placed Wiljanen on leave immediately after seeing the test results and reported the incident to the Federal Aviation Administration, then terminated him from the company following a review.
Wiljanen pleaded guilty Dec. 15 in federal court in London before U.S. Magistrate Judge Hanly A. Ingram, who recommended that U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom accept the plea.
