American pilot caught with stun gun at Edinburgh Airport spared jail

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An American airline pilot who was caught carrying a high voltage stun gun in his luggage at Edinburgh Airport has escaped a jail sentence.

Ryan Cecil, 56, was found to be carrying the firearm in his carry-on luggage as he attempted to board a flight he was piloting to New York in January this year.

Cecil - a captain with United Airlines - told security officers who found the stun gun that the item was a torch but soon confessed after armed police were called to the scene.

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Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the commercial airline pilot had flown from Newark Airport in the US two days previously and was flying back home when he was stopped at around 7.30am on January 20 this year.

Prosecutor Matthew Miller said Cecil’s small cabin bag had been rejected by an airport security machine and the luggage was searched by staff. Mr Miller said a security officer discovered the stun gun hidden inside a pair of gloves but that Cecil had taken hold of the weapon and claimed it was just a torch by illuminating a light and placing it back in his bag.

Ryan Cecil appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff CourtRyan Cecil appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court
Ryan Cecil appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court | Alexander Lawrie

Mr Miller said: “The security officer seized the stun gun out of the bag and Mr Cecil has again taken it from his hand. The security officer has taken the stun gun off Mr Cecil and alerted his supervisor.

“Multiple security staff attended after it was identified as a stun gun and accordingly police officers were also contacted to attend. This is due to the stun gun being a firearm and fireman officers attended.”

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Cecil was taken to Livingston police station where he told officers: “I am in violation but it was accidental.”

The pilot was held in custody for two nights and subsequently appeared at the capital court. Cecil appeared back in the dock on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited weapon, namely a stun gun, that was designed or adapted to discharge a noxious liquid, gas or electricity at Edinburgh Airport on January 20 this year.

Lawyer Mathew Nicholson, defending, told the court: “He must have placed it in his bag when he left Newark in New Jersey to pilot the plane to Edinburgh. He was completely unaware it was in his bag. That bag went through security checks and went undetected and he spent two nights in Edinburgh before planning on flying back.

“He fully accepts this was gross carelessness by him and the item in question is not a regulated item in the United States. Had he been aware it was in his bag he would have removed it.”

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Mr Nicholson said Cecil has been as a commercial pilot for 23 years and has an exemplary record and previously served in the armed forces for 27 years reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel.

The court heard Cecil, whose address was given as care of a solicitors in Glasgow, is “deeply embarrassed and ashamed” at appearing in court but his employers are keen to keep him on.

Sheriff Charles Walls said: “This is a very serious offence and ignorance of the laws of Scotland or in any country is not an excuse.

“This would have caused major disruption at the airport and if it had fallen into the wrong hands then it could have been very serious. However I accept what has been said in your behalf and I accept you have been of previous good character with no previous convictions and while I can impose a custodial sentence I don’t propose to do that today.”

Cecil was sentenced to pay a fine of £8500 as an alternative to a custodial sentence.

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