A microlight instructor from Barnet who was killed while flying with a pupil in Hertfordshire last year was under the influence of drink.Jaysukh Madhvani, 54, known as Jay, of Mount Pleasant, Barnet, was nearly seven times over the legal blood-alcohol limit for a pilot, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch report revealed last week. "The level of alcohol in the instructor's body at the time of the accident was such that his judgement was likely to have been seriously impaired," the report stated. Mr Madhvani died when his aircraft crashed after hitting a tree near St Albans, shortly after noon on March 28, 2007. The female student with him was severely injured. Post-mortem tests showed Madhvani had 137mg of alcohol in 100ml of his blood. The UK limit for pilots is 20mg per 100ml. That for motorists is 80mg per 100ml. The pathologist's report stated: "These calculations suggest either that the pilot had consumed a quantity of alcohol the previous evening which would be sufficient to induce stupor or coma in most individuals, or that he had continued to consume alcohol at some stage in the 12 hours prior to his death." It also highlighted that Madhvani's liver was "fatty", and "most likely represents the effect of chronic alcohol use". Madhvani, a father-of-two, who was originally from Kenya, ran two microlight schools, one at Plaistows Farm where the crash happened, and another in Ware, Hertfordshire. Noel Gleeson, the landlord of The Jester pub in Mount Pleasant, Barnet, where Madhvani used to drink, said they were shocked when they heard the results of the investigation. Mr Gleeson said: "It was a real surprise because he wasn't a big drinker. He would pop in here after work, but we didn't see him much in the lead up to his death. "He was a lovely man and would do anything, but a lot of people are surprised about how he died because he seemed a very responsible person." The full report by the AAIB also said that the British Microlight Aircraft Association had "undertaken to publicise to its members the hazards inherent in flying under the influence of alcohol or drugs."
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