Pilot accused of ingesting drugs on flight charges Local 2 News crew

HOUSTON – The commercial pilot accused of swallowing 62 bags of cocaine before boarding a flight as a passenger from Colombia to Houston charged a Local 2 News crew on Thursday.

The incident was caught on camera. Stanley Rafael Hill was released on $50,000 bond shortly before the incident outside Houston's federal court building.

Local 2 Investigates first broke the story Monday. Hill, 49, is accused of smuggling nearly 150 grams of cocaine in his stomach while in his pilot's uniform on Saturday. But the McKinney, Texas, man may have bit off more than he could chew on this trip because in Houston one of those bags may have burst inside him, our source says.

Court documents support that notion saying the regional airline pilot called 911 and was transported to a hospital hear Bush Intercontinental Airport.

"Hill began to pass pellets that later field tested positive for cocaine," the federal indictment reads. "The whereabouts of the remaining pellets is unknown."

As a condition of his release, Hill cannot pilot any aircraft while on bond.

Local 2 Investigates discovered Hill is a Federal Aviation Administration licensed commercial pilot with certification to fly a 737. Documents uncovered showed he flew for ExpressJet from 2007-2008.

It remains unclear whether his security clearances could make it easier to smuggle drugs.

An airline industry source said Hill currently works for a large regional carrier that serves four separate airlines.