A former commercial airline pilot was sentenced to nine months in prison Friday for selling a product online designed to help its users beat drug tests.

Stephen Sharp, 41, of Port Orange, Fla., operated the website yourintheclear.com and sold a powder to be mixed in cranberry juice one to five hours before a scheduled drug test. The website promised a 100 percent pass rate to beat tests for both marijuana and cocaine.

During the hearing before U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone, Mr. Sharp's attorney argued that his client had already suffered a great deal since federal agents raided Sharp Labs Inc. on May 7, 2008.

Mr. Sharp lost his job working for US Airways and will not be allowed to work as a pilot in the future, said attorney Fritz Scheller.

"We do agree that it's a serious offense in that Mr. Sharp is a pilot and should have known better," Mr. Scheller said.

But he went on to say that his client was a good family man, had no criminal history and needed to continue to work to be able to provide for his wife and daughter.

"This event that's occurred in Mr. Sharp's life is truly aberrational," Mr. Scheller said.

Mr. Sharp, who faced a recommended guideline range of six to 12 months in prison, asked to be sentenced to either straight probation or home detention.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Houghton told Judge Cercone to send a message.

"We are a mobile country, and the safety of all our citizens is jeopardized by this conduct," she said.

The product Mr. Sharp was selling was used to help beat federally mandated drug tests taken by truck drivers, pilots and others in the transportation industry.

Judge Cercone, in strong words, agreed with Ms. Houghton.

He asked Mr. Sharp what he would have done had another pilot used his product to cover up drug use and then crashed a plane with 250 people aboard.

"Did you ever contemplate that? Did you ever think about what your conduct could lead to?" Judge Cercone asked. "Did you even care?"

Mr. Sharp, who tried repeatedly to apologize, couldn't answer.

"This conduct is really despicable," the judge said. "The magnitude of the potential harm to others is vast."

Citing the need for deterrence for others who might be watching the case, Judge Cercone rejected the idea of anything other than incarceration.

"There's a very receptive audience in this case that my sentence might touch," the judge said.

Mr. Sharp, who pleaded guilty in April to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, will be permitted to self-report to prison.

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