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Alleged drunk pilots' trial delayed
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The trial of two America West pilots charged with operating an aircraft while intoxicated was pushed back for two weeks Monday to give the defense and prosecutors more time to prepare. At a brief hearing, the judge in the case set a new trial date of November 4 for Thomas Cloyd, 44, and Christopher Hughes, 41 -- pilots whom prosecutors say drank at a Miami bar hours before they prepared to take off an America West plane on a flight to Phoenix. The trial initially was set for October 21. Prosecutors added one charge of culpable negligence to each pilot during the hearing, accusing the two men of knowing their alleged action could result in harm to others. Both men pleaded not guilty to the charge. The two have already pleaded not guilty to two other charges -- one of driving while impaired, a misdemeanor; the other of operating an aircraft while intoxicated, a felony. Last month, prosecutors released a surveillance tape they claimed shows the two pilots drinking hours before they were pulled off the departing America West flight. The tape, from a Miami bar, shows the men drinking with others at a bar and playing pool. The group ran up a $142 tab at the bar the night of June 30 and early morning of July 1, according to prosecutors. The tape was released to the media by the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office after being disclosed to the defense team. The men failed Breathalyzer tests after they prepared to fly a jet full of passengers aboard Flight 556, scheduled to leave Miami for Phoenix on July 1. They were called back to the gate after taking the plane out on the taxiway for takeoff.
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