Pilot sent to jail for selling drink mix made to cover drug, alcohol usage

A District Court Judge in Pittsburgh last week sentenced a former US Airways Express pilot to nine months in prison for selling a powdered drink mix that he claimed would completely mask the effects of  drugs and alcohol. By doing so, the product would enable pilots, train engineers and truck drivers to pass federal drug tests even though they were users.

As Stephen Sharp, 41, of Port Orange, Florida apologized for this actions of selling the drink powder on the internet, the judge interrupted him and said: "If you think those years were hard, how do you think you would have felt if a pilot was able to disguise his intoxication with your product and crash a plane killng 250 people?" Sharp was attempting to apologize to his family for the difficulties he has put them through. After federal agents raided Sharp Labs in early 2008, Sharp lost his job as a commercial pilot. He is married and has an 11-year-old daughter.

While Sharp asked the court for probation rather than jail time, the judge denied the request and reprimanded him for not recognizing "the magnitude of the potential harm" of what he had done.

Sold via the internet site www.yourintheclear.com, Sharp Labs also sold another 1,500 chemical products. At the same time that he had the online store, Sharp piloted regional jets for PSA Airlines, which operated flights for US Airways Express. He flew for the airline for six years before being let go earlier this year. PSA Airlines, based in Dayton, Ohio, is wholly-owned by US Airways Group and operates as US Airways Express.

The online product description for the mix that was marketed to pilots and others who were required to take drug tests administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration said, "You simply mix the powder with a large glass of cranberry juice one to five hours before your test and then just relax!"

Probation instead of jail time? I don't think so.