A private US cargo pilot has been charged with flying while drunk with a blood alcohol content of 0.27 percent, well above the .04 percent limit permitted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Court records allege 28-year-old Phillip Lavoie lost touch with air traffic controllers for an hour while flying from Florida to North Carolina in December. Air traffic officials noticed the plane was descending and had slightly veered from its path.

The Tampa Bay Times reports Tyndall Air Force Base dispatched two fighter jets.

A federal flight inspector and police said Lavoie smelled of alcohol and was crying when he landed.

Lavoie was charged with operating a common carrier under the influence of alcohol.

His attorney, Summer Goldman, says Lavoie has entered a residential treatment program.